--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The crux of the matter is whether total…" description: "\"The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it not have material and spiri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/john-hersey-18533_answers_the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total_245026.jpg" --- # The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present… ![“The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it not have material and spiritual evil as its consequences which far exceed whatever good might result? When will our moralists give us an answer to this question?” quote by John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/john-hersey-18533_answers_the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total_245026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/john-hersey-18533_answers_the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total_245026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/john-hersey-18533_answers_the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total_245026.jpg) > “The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it not have material and spiritual evil as its consequences which far exceed whatever good might result? When will our moralists give us an answer to this question?” [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions if total war can be morally justified, noting its vast material and spiritual harms that outweigh any possible good, and urges moralists to answer. **In simple terms:** Total war may cause more harm than good, raising moral doubts. Key Takeaway Consider the true cost of war before accepting it. Themes ethics war morality consequences Mood serious reflective critical Type philosophical ethical political When to use this quote - policy debates - military planning - humanitarian aid - peace negotiations - education curricula Key Concepts just war theory utilitarianism spiritual harm material destruction Questions to Reflect On - Can any war be truly just? - How do we measure spiritual damage? A Different Perspective The argument may overlook scenarios where war prevents greater atrocities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Moralist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moralist/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Total war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/total-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“The evil consequences that may lie folded in a single act of selfish indulgence is a thought so awful that it ought surely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-evil-consequences-that-may-lie-folded-in-a-single-act-of-selfish/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Alexander was and is the absolute embodiment of pure human ambition with all its good and evil consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-freeman/alexander-was-and-is-the-absolute-embodiment-of-pure-human-ambition/) [Philip Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-freeman/) > [It is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-far-better-to-endure-patiently-a-smart-which-nobody-feels-but/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The transition of world agriculture from food grain to feed grains represents an...evil whose consequences may be far greater and longer lasting than any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/the-transition-of-world-agriculture-from-food-grain-to-feed-grains/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [What's great about well-written material is, if you can shock with justifiable actions, that's the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/what-s-great-about-well-written-material-is-if-you-can-shock-with/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [“How his hatred seethed in search of a justifiable excuse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/how-his-hatred-seethed-in-search-of-a-justifiable-excuse/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“The end did not justify the means, but justifiable means that brought about a fair and necessary conclusion were not to be dismissed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ludlum/the-end-did-not-justify-the-means-but-justifiable-means-that-brought/) [Robert Ludlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ludlum/) > [Some of the justifiable critiques has been by - been so successful in telling this story, you know, there's a danger of saying, oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-devlin/some-of-the-justifiable-critiques-has-been-by-been-so-successful-in/) [Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-devlin/) > [“Exactly. Since it is morally justifiable, I have only to consider the question of personal risk. Surely a gentleman should not lay much stress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/exactly-since-it-is-morally-justifiable-i-have-only-to-consider-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [No code of ethics and no effort are justifiable a priori in the face of the cruel mathematics that command our condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/no-code-of-ethics-and-no-effort-are-justifiable-a-priori-in-the-face/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [While there are cases where even the law recognizes an abortion as justifiable if recommended by a physician, I assert that the hundreds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/while-there-are-cases-where-even-the-law-recognizes-an-abortion-as/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [Therefore coercion of the non-invasive, when justifiable at all, is to be justified on the ground that it secures, not a minimum of '…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/therefore-coercion-of-the-non-invasive-when-justifiable-at-all-is-to/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [If someone is killing, on a regular basis, thousands of animals, and if that person can only be stopped in one way by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/if-someone-is-killing-on-a-regular-basis-thousands-of-animals-and-if/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [“You do know I’m the one person who can shoot you and make it look like justifiable homicide?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-laurenston/you-do-know-i-m-the-one-person-who-can-shoot-you-and-make-it-look/) [Shelly Laurenston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-laurenston/) > [The Liberty of the press consists in the right to publish with impunity truth with good motives for justifiable ends, though reflecting on government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-liberty-of-the-press-consists-in-the-right-to-publish-with/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) ## More by John Hersey > [When the writing is really working, I think there is something like dreaming going on. I don't know how to draw the line between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/when-the-writing-is-really-working-i-think-there-is-something-like/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [Learning starts with failure; the first failure is the beginning of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/learning-starts-with-failure-the-first-failure-is-the-beginning-of/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [“Mankind must destroy anti-humanity before it becomes extinct itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/mankind-must-destroy-anti-humanity-before-it-becomes-extinct-itself/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [“This private estate was far enough away from the explosion so that its bamboos, pines, laurel, and maples were still alive, and the green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/this-private-estate-was-far-enough-away-from-the-explosion-so-that/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [And, as if nature were protecting man against his own ingenuity, the reproductive processes were affected for a time; men became sterile, women had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/and-as-if-nature-were-protecting-man-against-his-own-ingenuity-the/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [To my great surprise, I never heard anyone cry out in the disorder, even though they suffered in great agony. They died in silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/to-my-great-surprise-i-never-heard-anyone-cry-out-in-the-disorder/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [“…she looked like Vivien, the Lady of the Lake, only she was fat and her lake was dust, sand and dust, bones and dust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/she-looked-like-vivien-the-lady-of-the-lake-only-she-was-fat-and-her/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [The writer must not invent. The legend on the license must read: NONE OF THIS WAS MADE UP.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/the-writer-must-not-invent-the-legend-on-the-license-must-read-none/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [Journalism allows its readers to witness history; fiction gives its readers an opportunity to live it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/journalism-allows-its-readers-to-witness-history-fiction-gives-its/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [The third stage was the reaction that came when the body struggled to compensate for its ills - when, for instance, the white count…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/the-third-stage-was-the-reaction-that-came-when-the-body-struggled-to/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [The first stage had been all over before the doctors even knew they were dealing with a new sickness; it was the direct reaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/the-first-stage-had-been-all-over-before-the-doctors-even-knew-they/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [Do not work primarily for money; do your duty to patients first and let the money follow; our life is short, we don't live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/do-not-work-primarily-for-money-do-your-duty-to-patients-first-and/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [At exactly fifteen minutes past eight in the morning, on August 6, 1945, Japanese time, at the moment when the atomic bomb flashed above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/at-exactly-fifteen-minutes-past-eight-in-the-morning-on-august-6-1945/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [Many people who did not die right away came down with nausea, headache, diarrhea, malaise, and fever, which lasted several days. Doctors could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/many-people-who-did-not-die-right-away-came-down-with-nausea-headache/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [Events are less important than our responses to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/events-are-less-important-than-our-responses-to-them/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) [Explore all 34 John Hersey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it not have material and spiritual evil as its consequences which far exceed whatever good might result? When will our moralists give us an answer to this question?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Hersey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total-war-in-its-present-form-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total-war-in-its-present-form-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/john-hersey-18533_answers_the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total_245026.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/john-hersey-18533_answers_the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total_245026.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/john-hersey-18533_answers_the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total_245026.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just…” — John Hersey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Hersey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The crux of the matter is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total-war-in-its-present-form-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/the-crux-of-the-matter-is-whether-total-war-in-its-present-form-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```