Complicity, Contributing Actions, and Moral Taint

Abstract

The topic of complicity has become part of the political conversation to a degree that is perhaps unprecedented. Frequently the claims that are made in the media are all-encompassing or extravagant. The first section of this paper will consist of a brief summary of the essential features of complicity that I have developed in a book length treatment. The second section will focus upon complicity by inaction, and I will suggest that some of the all-encompassing claims should invite skepticism. In the third section I urge that we can arrive at a deeper understanding of the issues under consideration by examining some all-inclusive claims concerning collective responsibility. In the fourth section the notion of moral taint will be examined and considered as providing an alternative to the all-encompassing claims considered in the previous sections.