ABSTRACT
The utilitarian must also consider the negative consequences of using violence in the cause of peace. If violence is used and innocent people are harmed or killed, the peace movement could be easily criticized as hypocritical, believing in peace yet resorting to violence. Terrorism can be counter-productive and the goal of peace could be harder to achieve. What have the terrorist campaigns of the IRA in Ireland, the PLO in the Middle East, or the FLQin Canada achieved? The Kantian would also reject the distinction which some urban terrorists draw between violence directed against property and violence directed against people. If acts of terrorism are directed against property, this cannot be a breach of the principle of sanctity of life, even if innocent people are accidentally harmed or killed. The Kantians, like the utilitarians, believe we have a duty to obey the law only when it enforces morally right conduct.
