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April 26, 2011

My interview on the dilemma of dirty hands

This isn't the greatest interview I ever gave, but it is on an interesting and challenging question: is it ever OK for an academic to work with and give advice to an authoritarian regime? My answer, despite the outcry against Harvard academics' relationship with Libya, is "yes" – although there are some hurdles one must clear. You must convince yourself (and others) that your help is sought not to legitimize the regime but to further ordinary citizens' interests, that there is transparency with regard to the financial relationship (if any), and that you constantly re-evaluate your entanglement to prevent "mission creep."

The interview was based on my Project Syndicate article here.

The exchange took place with one of radio's best interviewers, Robin Young, although Young herself would probably grant this wasn't one of her best days either.

Posted at 02:38 PM |

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So you go with the Milton Friedman advice to Pinochet idea then?

That however horrible Pinochet was (which he was) that making things better for the people of Chile makes giving such advice OK.

Good, I go with that idea too.

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