This book investigates whether utilitarian moral frameworks can provide a coherent and defensible basis for evaluating the ethics of war. William H. Shaw, a philosopher specializing in ethics and social theory, utilizes the principles of utilitarianism to challenge both moral realism and extreme relativism. He argues that by focusing on the consequences of actions, one can develop a rigorous structure for determining the morality of entering and conducting armed conflict.

Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the intersection of consequentialist ethics and military philosophy. Readers frequently note the clarity of the prose, which makes complex ethical dilemmas accessible to both students and practitioners of political theory.