It's hard to measure, isn't it? Nonetheless, in normal life, we count such things, even if we can't measure them precisely.
I quit smoking cigarettes for health reasons, even though I really enjoyed smoking cigarettes, even though the health benefit of quitting smoking is largely statistical - I'm avoiding a much higher risk of lung cancer in the future, etc. But I don't know for sure that I would have gotten lung cancer if I didn't quit smoking, and I don't know for sure that I won't get lung cancer now, and the benefit depends significantly on events beyond my control - I could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and my sacrifice would be wasted. Was it a mistake for me to quit smoking? Should I not have done so? If it's worthwhile to quit smoking to avoid a much greater risk of lung cancer, is it not worthwhile to vigorously support diplomacy to avoid a greater risk of more war? Back International Talks to End Syrian Civil War http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/back-international-talks?source=c.em&r_by=1135580 Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] (202) 448-2898 x1 On Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 11:26 AM, Carrol Cox <[email protected]> wrote: > Robert N writes: "What if, in the next four years, we can't stop all wars, > but we could stop some wars. Would that be worth caring about?" > > If a war doesn't happen, how do you know that it was going to happen? How > does one judge the importance of non-events? > > Carrol > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >
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