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I would just argue that sometimes the ends justify the means. Had Patton been given more authority and given less reprimands (eg: for slapping lower soldiers: h

I would just argue that sometimes the ends justify the means. Had Patton been given more authority and given less reprimands (eg: for slapping lower soldiers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Patton_slapping_incidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Patton_slapping_inci... ), the war could very well have ended a year earlier. Everyone else was fine with fighting a war of attrition, whereas Patton recognized that aerial support had the potential to dramatically change the calculus of war. The Nazi camps could have been cleared months (if not years) earlier. You're speaking about tens, hundreds, thousands, but in this case we're talking about hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of lives could have been saved. It's nice to imagine a world where someone would have that sort of insight and also would be a nice person, but I think history teaches us that the two are inextricably tied together. Bill Gates built Microsoft while being ruthlessly cruel to people. Patton slapped soldiers. I don't think we can will these people out of existence. I think if we could, it would have already happened.

throwaway210222 5y ago
> Had Patton been given more authority and given less reprimands … the war could very well have ended a year earlier. The war started because another arsehole was given more authority and less reprimands. The Enabling Act of 1933 was pitched as a temporary measure to "to Remedy the Distress of People and the Reich"" So no: its never worth giving a chop too much power. [1] https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictatorship/a-16689839 https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictators...
- nfw2 5y ago
  Here are the data points: - giving Hitler authority caused WWII and Holocaust, killing millions of innocent people (bad) - giving Patton authority could have ended WWII early, saving millions of innocent people (good, hypothetically) The first data point alone only proves that giving authority is SOMETIMES bad, which no one would argue with. If the second data point is a true statement, then it clearly counters the assertion that giving authority is ALWAYS bad Maybe granting authority is never worth the risk, but I think it required a more nuanced analysis than just bringing up Hitler.

throwaway210222 5y ago

> Had Patton been given more authority and given less reprimands … the war could very well have ended a year earlier. The war started because another arsehole was given more authority and less reprimands. The Enabling Act of 1933 was pitched as a temporary measure to "to Remedy the Distress of People and the Reich"" So no: its never worth giving a chop too much power. [1] https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictatorship/a-16689839 https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictators...

nfw2 5y ago
Here are the data points: - giving Hitler authority caused WWII and Holocaust, killing millions of innocent people (bad) - giving Patton authority could have ended WWII early, saving millions of innocent people (good, hypothetically) The first data point alone only proves that giving authority is SOMETIMES bad, which no one would argue with. If the second data point is a true statement, then it clearly counters the assertion that giving authority is ALWAYS bad Maybe granting authority is never worth the risk, but I think it required a more nuanced analysis than just bringing up Hitler.