The Cardinal Virtues & Catholic Statecraft

Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance are the four cardinal virtues. They are the bedrock of any sane politics, but sadly lacking in today's world.

From One Peter Five

By Andrew Latham, PhD

The four cardinal virtues are at the heart of Catholic political thinking.

A Catholic Reflection on Statecraft

The world we live in is one that is quickly moving away from the unipolar moment of the last thirty years (where America was the dominant power after the fall of the Soviet Unition) towards a multipolar international system in which great power competition will become increasingly intense and dangerous between nations like Russia and China. America’s past is littered with examples of overextension through foolish interventions, myopic or reactive policymaking, or quixotic ideological crusades that have produced little but strategic confusion and exhaustion. In such a system, the United States will need a grand strategy based not on such tactical and ephemeral considerations of leadership in the moment, but rather on a deeper and more stable foundation. Fortunately, such a foundation exists. The four cardinal virtues – prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance – at the heart of Catholic political thinking, are just such a foundation. They provide a solid and workable basis for a grand strategy that will allow the United States to interact with other great powers on reasonable terms, to advance its vital interests while avoiding the strategic perils of overextension, and even to wield American power in a way that secures its leadership role in the world. (I’m writing from America, but what I say here can apply to readers from every nation.)

Prudence: Seeing the World as it Really is

Prudence is not a virtue for cowards. It is not the love of the status quo. Prudence is the starting point for every successful grand strategy, because it is the first of the cardinal virtues. It is the basis for wise action in a complex and rapidly changing multipolar world, particularly for a great power like the United States, where the rewards of power are so great and the temptation to intervene so strong.

Prudence is not timidity. It is a virtue, because it is about judgment—about the ability to see the world as it really is and to act based on that reality. Prudence is about knowing what is possible and what is necessary and having the courage to do the latter and to refuse the former. It is about putting aside personal ambition and calculating what will best advance the state’s interests, even if those interests do not correspond with our own desires.

Aquinas was clear on this point. Prudence is the virtue that allows us to discern right from wrong in each individual case, to choose the best course of action based on our particular situation, and to act accordingly. For Augustine, it is the ability to act with wisdom and justice, to see the world as it is and not as we might wish it to be.

Both Augustine and Aquinas saw the cardinal virtues as essential to the good life, both for individuals and for states. For Augustine, in particular, they were central to the ability to rule wisely. Without prudence, the other virtues are meaningless. Without prudence, a virtuous state would be destroyed.

The United States needs a grand strategy based on the cardinal virtues, and it starts with prudence. The past twenty years of U.S. foreign policy is a long indictment of imprudence. In Iraq, we acted too rashly and stayed too long in Afghanistan. In Libya, we recklessly deposed a dictator and then did nothing to stabilize the country, in the deluded belief that this was somehow defending the “rules-based international order.” The result is a world we do not recognize: chaos, endless conflict, and a U.S. on the wrong side of history.

Prudence is about taking a step back and asking: is this really necessary? Is this the best course of action? What is the price we are willing to pay, both in blood and treasure? A grand strategy based on prudence is not one of retreat or abdication, but of restraint. It is about making difficult choices between the essential and the peripheral and having the discipline to say “no” when we might otherwise be tempted to act. It is about understanding that not every crisis in the world requires an American response and not every conflict is in the U.S. national interest. The cardinal virtues are not for cowards. But neither are they for excessive crusaders.

Justice: the Will to Resist the Temptation to Rule the World

In the post-Cold War era, the temptation to rule the world has been irresistible. America became the world’s policeman, intervening in conflicts and crises around the globe. The result was a disaster, as U.S. forces became embroiled in endless wars and blowback. But even as we turn away from the mistakes of the past two decades, justice is not just another virtue—it is the first and most important. Justice is the cardinal virtue that requires us to give to every nation what is due to it. It is the will to resist the temptation to rule the world.

Justice is also the first virtue of a grand strategy, because it is the virtue that deals with our relationships with other states, particularly other great powers. In a world of multiple great powers, justice is the first virtue, because it requires us to respect the sovereignty of other states and to recognize their right to make their own decisions.

In American foreign policy, justice is often seen as a convenient afterthought. We have a tendency to say what we will do after the fact, to justify our actions after they have already been taken. Rather, it is about giving to each nation what is due to it. This means respecting the sovereignty of other states and not using them as mere tools to achieve our own ends.

The just war tradition, which the Catholic Church gave to the world, is based on the recognition that war is always a moral tragedy. Augustine and Aquinas both saw war as a necessary evil, something that must be waged with restraint and prudence. But they also saw that there must be limits, real limits. War is not the answer to every problem, and justice is not about the use of force.

Justice also means recognizing that the United States does not have the right or the duty to fix the world. We do not have the moral authority to intervene in the affairs of other nations, and we should not act as if we do.

Fortitude: Courage Without Addiction to Action

The modern West, and the West Wing in particular, is addicted to action. Too often, in Washington, doing nothing is equated with being indecisive, weak, or irrelevant. But in reality, doing nothing is sometimes the most courageous and responsible choice a great power can make. Real fortitude, the kind that a great power needs to wield its influence responsibly, is about endurance, not bravado. It is the ability to say “no” in the face of constant pressure to “do something.”

Fortitude is the cardinal virtue that deals with our ability to act with courage in the face of fear. It is the ability to endure suffering for the sake of the good. For Augustine, fortitude was the key to resisting the temptation to act rashly in war. It is also the virtue that allows us to endure the suffering that comes with acting with restraint.

Fortitude is also necessary for a grand strategy, because it requires us to have the courage to act with restraint, even in the face of constant pressure to do otherwise. The United States needs a grand strategy based on fortitude, one that will allow it to exercise its power responsibly and not overextend itself in a rapidly changing multipolar world. The temptation to act is always strong, particularly in Washington, where inaction is seen as a sign of weakness. But the fact is that sometimes the most responsible thing a great power can do is to do nothing.

Temperance: the Discipline to Say ‘Enough’

Temperance is the cardinal virtue that deals with our ability to control our appetites and desires. It is the ability to say “no” when we might otherwise be tempted to act rashly or indulgently. Temperance is critical for a grand strategy, because it is the virtue that allows a great power like the United States to resist the temptation to overreach in a rapidly changing multipolar world.

Temperance is also the cardinal virtue that deals with our relationship with power. It is the virtue that allows us to use power responsibly, to say “enough” when we might otherwise be tempted to overextend ourselves.

An American Strategy Fit for a Christian Statesman

As the United States faces a new world of competitive great powers, American grand strategy needs to adapt to this new reality. The new, multipolar order challenges the position and status of the United States with the rise of China and Russia. The four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance are the foundation of an American grand strategy to pursue the interest of the United States with discipline. Prudence will help America discern its vital interests from secondary ones and focus on those. Fortitude will help America in standing up for its vital interests when other powers infringe upon them. Justice will also help America in avoiding war with other great powers and pursue policies that are neither excessive nor deficient. Temperance will aid the United States in avoiding an overextension of its power as it rises to the great power competition. This grand strategy is not only moral but also practical for the new world of great power competition as it will discipline American actions abroad.