From Power to Morality: The Long And Winding Road

From Seki Hirono, On Learning from History, Mado-sha, 1997, pp. 21-22
(Original Japanese 関 曠野『歴史の学び方について』窓社 1997年、pp.21-22）

Whether in the Tokyo Trials or the Gulf War, the only conceivable logic is this: Those who hinder the progress of society through free and fair debate must not be exempt from sanctions by force. And only the exercise of force under such circumstances can be deemed legitimate. This, indeed, is nothing other than the logic of law.

The famous statement, "Law is the minimum of morality," was made by the 19th-century German legal scholar Georg Jellinek. However, the history of human legislation, including international law, demonstrates the inadequacy of this assertion.

Law is established through the constant struggle between power and morality. The history of law bears witness to an unceasing and patient journey from the maximum application of force and the minimum application of morality toward the minimum application of force and the maximum application of morality. The history of law is nothing less than humanity’s educational process of transitioning from power to morality.

Without the backing of force, law has no efficacy. Yet what makes law truly law is the hope that one day, humanity will maintain social order not through force, but through morality. Law is, in other words, another name for this very hope.

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