The author focuses on the figure of the bystander, from the destruction of Jews in Europe, as well as to more recent atrocities, to consider the moral consequences of looking on without active response at persecution and great suffering.
Geras focuses on the figure of the bystander to consider the moral consequences of looking on without active response at persecution and great suffering.
“Geras’s is a remarkable book written with passion, compassion, and a genuine belief in the possibility of a better future. He is right to prompt us into proper consideration of what has previously been ignored.”—
Imprints“In his passionate and lucid argument about political theory after the holocaust, Geras explains his baleful titular concept: if you are unwilling to help others in their need, you cannot expect others to do the same for you. Therefore any political philosophy which neglects the primacy of human duty to bring aid is short-sighted and shameful.”—
Guardian“Some devote considerable time and money to combating moral catastrophes, but most of us hardly do more than lift a finger. Our behavior is the subject of Norman Geras’s thought-provoking new book ... Geras identifies a major gap in contemporary political philosophy.”—
Times Literary Supplement“The skill of Geras’s approach is to point to the wider implications of the Holocaust, while refusing to offer easy answers to the intractable questions it raises.”—
New Statesman
