Morgenthau's Concept Of Power And Wilson's Concept Of Morality

Hans Morgenthau and Woodrow Wilson are the key representative figures of realism and idealism on the ethical theory of world politics respectively. Morgenthau's standpoint of power and Wilson's viewpoint of morality have held an important position in the ethical theory of world politics and laid a solid foundation for US foreign policy making as well. Morgenthau valued power and believed that power-desire rooted in human nature, i.e. wherever at home or abroad, people long for pursuing power. Every country in the international community is consistently chasing power and makes strategies to fight, sustain or even expand its power in accordance with its actual strength. However, the common people can not face up to the undisguised power chasing, therefore morality is used to counterfeit it, in other words, only counterfeited with morality, can power be accepted, and thus can power-desire and national interests be realized. There is no lofty morality in the international community, but power wresting defined by the national interests. World peace is based on power balance among nations. Kissinger, adhering to Morgenthau's thoughts, forwarded the multi-polarization theory dominated by the United States of America. Wilson stressed morality and considered that the unique US history built the unique character of the America nation. He thought the United States, a model of the world morality, was chosen by God to manage the whole world, and the democratic political system was the best one, which could ensure the human rights such as democracy, freedom and religious belief, etc. He thought that human rights were superior to sovereign rights; the international community should not regard power chasing as its target, but morality. Morgenthau's power and Wilson's morality, each with its own characteristics, have been well united in US foreign policy and at the same time endowed with its dual nature, i.e. on one hand, the US foreign policy being made pursues the power politics which highlights its national interests, on the other hand, the United States has set an image of morality guardian internationally through its foreign propaganda, showing off its moralistic image of so-called American democracy, freedom and human rights. There has been no change in US target of dominating the world after the cold war. Sometimes it even applies military forces to make conditions for building its conceptual single polarization world without concerning of the UN function. Meanwhile, it keeps to counterfeit itself as morality guardian, thus resulting in the US morality and its political system adored by some countries. This paper, through the unification of documentation, comparison, induction and deduction, by the analysis of Morgenthau's power and Wilson's morality, expounds the essence and dual nature of the US foreign policy. This offers the valuable reference for the Sino-US policies and strategic layout to be made for the twenty-first century.