Reflections on Man’s ascent toward the triumph of good over evil, of liberty and freedom over tyranny

Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in International Law, Harvard University

Note to readers

Following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and writing about it here or in The Trenchant Observer blog almost every day since February 2022 has affected the author, as undoubtedly it has affected those of you who read every column, particularly if you are reading slowly enough to reflect on what you are reading.

I am surely not alone when I feel tired of this war, outraged day after day by the barbarism of Russian soldiers, outraged at times to the point of numbness. Like readers, at times I would like to look away from the horror and the carnage of this war, and to stop thinking about the potential effects on the world a Russian victory might have.

“Enough!” I think, “I need a break.”

And I take breaks, if only for a day ot a weekend. But always I return to the task, like a moth to the flame. I view it as my duty, my solemn professional and moral obligation, as an international lawyer and as a citizen of this world we are continually remaking, to share my knowledge of international law, history, and current affairs with readers. And to express the outrage and urgency I feel after watching and reporting on what is going on.

At times, reflecting on history and the great flow of events and people through the centuries, I think of larger issues. Now, below, I hazard to share of few of these reflections, from March 14.

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Adapted from The Trenchant Observer, March 14, 2023

Open AI’s new engine, GPT-4 suggests the immense possibilities that exist for the future of mankind.

The continuing war in Ukraine suggests the immense obstacles that mankind faces if it is ever to seize those possibilities.

Scientific advances empower man, yet they also hold the potential to enslave him forever.

Man, if he is to be saved, if he is to be redeemed as it were, will have to rely on something much more powerful than science. A power of the spirit, perhaps.

For only if man adheres to good spiritual values and exercises keen judgment based on those values will he potentially survive as a free being capable of the sublime.

If man does not have and act on high spiritual values, history suggests, his liberty and freedom of thought and speech and action may be cruelly curtailed.

Man’s hope rests on the fact that throughout the ages there has been a spiritual dimension to his existence, a spiritual longing and a longing for freedom and justice even when these were not attained or attainable.

Over thousands of years, man–or rather specific men and women–have struggled to defend values born of the spirit. This in itself is remarkable, and offers a source of hope for the future of mankind.

Or to be more precise, this offers a source of hope that the spiritual values of man, found broadly across many cultures and epochs, will gain ascendance within a sufficient number of men and women to secure their general adoption by mankind as a whole. That is, that the good men and women will gain ascendance over the evil and unenlightened men and women.

That is man’s hope.

The lessons of history are cruel, and often involve the crushing of the spirits and bodies of millions of men, or hundreds of millions of men.

Still, we have made some progress in the last 2,500 years.

Religious tolerance exists in many countries, even as it is threatened by a few from cultures and societies where it does not exist.

Slavery has generally been abolished.

The ability of hundreds of millions of men to act in concert has grown, following earlier attempts such as the Roman Empire or dynasties in China which, despite great successes for centuries, ultimately failed.

Since World War II and the founding of the United Nations in 1945, enormous progress in mankind’s capacity for collective action has been made.

Humanity now has among its achievements established governing processes with a record of effective collective action on behalf of mankind, including striking examples such as the eradication of diseases, or reversing the hole in the ozone layer.

Man has developed neural networks and communication processes that facilitate rapid communication among 800 billion people and their governments regarding news and information, facilitating the formation of shared understandings.

And yet all of these achievements, all of the potential of man, all of man’s good works and spiritual values are continually threatened by evil and tyranny.

It seems that no matter how far man advances on a higher spiritual path, his enjoyment and hopes of freedom are forever threatened by the evil or potential for evil that lies buried in the human heart.

To protect liberty and his highest spiritual values, man has sought through the ages to erect institutions that would offer some protection against the brutal impulses of mobs and extreme political or religious movements. Among these institutions are law and mechanisms for its formulation and application.

In modern times, beginning in the 20th century these efforts have also assumed an international form, first with the League of Nations in 1919 and later with the United Nations in 1945. Among the greatest achievements have been the development of international law in many realms and the adoption and development of the United Nations and its Charter, including subsidiary and ancillary organizations in almost every field of human endeavor.

Yet the whole edifice of these collaborative and restraining institutions depends on one thing: the maintenance of international peace and security.

In the vision of the founders of the United Nations, who after six years of war were of a practical bent, this meant the prohibition of the use of force across international frontiers. That prohibition, aimed at preventing war, lay at the very heart of the international organization they were founding.

Have we now come to a point in 2023 where we believe these institutions are no longer worth defending, and that rule by militarily powerful states or international anarchy would be preferable?

Or have we come to a point where we no longer believe in the triumph of good over evil, in the possibility of order and international peace and security under the United Nations Charter and international law?

Or have we simply been overwhelmed by the apparent hopelessness of our current situation?

For mankind with its eight billion members to move to achieve anything, leaders and leadership are required, both by individuals and by nations.

We need thought leaders who can persuasively articulate the imperatives for collective action, and who can explain to everyone why we should care about a war in a far-off land.

We need political leaders and leadership, and the contributions of citizens who can create and nurture that leadership from the ground up in their own societies.

There is nothing inevitable about the triumph of good over evil, of freedom and liberty over tyranny.

Nonetheless, we should bear in mind that mankind has been advancing toward such a triumph for a very long time. Perhaps the time has come, during our own brief sojourn on the planet, to do our part.

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See also “Why I care about the war in Ukraine,” Trenchant Observations, June 26, 2023,