The argument that international humanitarian law can only be established by institutions which arise as a result of breaching these laws can be assimilated to a belief in progress, if you think that we learn from the past. Something like that is inherent in the grand narrative of Christianity: Christ is descended from both King David and from Cain, neither of whom were exactly Christlike.
But we, like Augustine, live in a time when progress is peeling away like soggy wallpaper, and all that still stands are the bricks of brute power. In such a world there are no crimes, only atrocities, some of which are also mistakes. It's hard to believe that there is any justification for history.
The argument that international humanitarian law can only be established by institutions which arise as a result of breaching these laws can be assimilated to a belief in progress, if you think that we learn from the past. Something like that is inherent in the grand narrative of Christianity: Christ is descended from both King David and from Cain, neither of whom were exactly Christlike.
But we, like Augustine, live in a time when progress is peeling away like soggy wallpaper, and all that still stands are the bricks of brute power. In such a world there are no crimes, only atrocities, some of which are also mistakes. It's hard to believe that there is any justification for history.