Putting Morality back into Politics

This book argues that the time has come to set aside the legacy of Machiavelli and to implement public policies based on moral objectives. This has to begin with a respect for facts and a moral theory. Ryder thinks that the Iraq war of 2003 proved to be a turning point in Britain, since the public perception of government policy was that it lacked both a respect for facts and any serious moral justification. His particular moral theory is called painism, which maintains that pain and suffering are the only evil, and that causing pain to others is wrong. On this basis, politicians would have to consider the effect of a policy on each person affected by it. This would mean basing policies on compassion and the sufferings of all individuals, a practice that would revolutionise our political decision-making process.