Moral Choice Wizardry Law And Liberty Summary

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In the article Moral Choice, Wizardry, Law, and Liberty, Andrew Morris argues that in government, the state crowds out moral choices and the governmental actions taken do not dictate whether a citizen is a good person. The Ministry of Magic does not qualify as an effective legal system and its actions are immoral. While the government should not determine how citizens act, in Harry Potter we hardly see any Ministry actors that are morally upstanding, which is incredibly alarming. There are Arthur Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt, but they are essentially spies for the Order of the Phoenix. J.K Rowling purposefully presented characters like Umbridge and Percy because they embody the Ministry what is wrong with it. Umbridge is so devoted to doing right by Fudge, dictating order, and personally degrading students that she somehow becomes worse than Voldemort. Percy is a redeemable character, but his quest for power at the Ministry causes a rift between him and his family because he is so enthralled with the Ministry’s agenda. Bureaucracy in Harry Potter, an institution in almost every democratic government, is …show more content…

Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Order, the Marauders, and the DA, are all rule and lawbreakers. Even at Hogwarts, doing what is necessary to protect breaks the rules. The trio gets rewarded and helps their house multiple times when they break the rules, and they are still seen as heroes. Every good character that is associated with doing the right thing and fighting for justice, goes against the Ministry in some way. That is not coincidental and it seems so natural. Natural that a government would be against the protection of its citizens because of, the people in charge, is afraid of losing power, prestige, wealth, and