The Ethic of Expediency

The Ethic of Expediency

In Steven B. Katz,  1992 publication, “The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology and the Holocaust” he informs us of the dangers of ethical problems in rhetoric. The  document is written during a neo-nazism time period that gives directions on how to carry out executions by the firing squad (Shirer 1248-49). He looks at several documents with three different lenses to see the  technical communication, argumentation, and style view of the documentation.

From a technical writing standpoint the document is near perfection. It explains all the needed information. The document covers the who, what, when, where and how of getting  the executions done. There is no confusion because everything that is needed to carry out such acts is answered in the memo. The writing is clear and concise. The writer of the memo takes the human side out of the memo by writing,  "97,000 have been processed" (Katz 257), instead of writing; 97,000 people have been confirmed dead or were successfully killed. The writer finds a way to make this document procedural, so much that the intended audience follows the rules and the acts become apart of the process.  

There is another area that Katz said we need to be aware of, putting expediency over ethics. While there is much more that can be said about this publication, the just of this writing shows that even though killing women and children by gassing them in Caravans is not ethical, the right type of writing can make killing people seem more humane than other acts. The same goes for Ford not fixing gas tanks on cars, but deciding to pay out insurance claims, rather than fixing the problems that are resulting in the loss of life, or having launch dates exceed the safety standard for astronauts (Katz 272). This can help people rationalize the acts they are being told to carry out. Dependent on how it is presented, it can make people seem like they are making the world a better place, by doing something that most consider unethical. This piece of writing can be seen as an effective leadership piece for special leaders who have found a way to get people to buy into their missions no matter how unethical they may be.