Enemy of humanity

An Enemy of humanity is a person, entity or group of persons who, in the opinion of the speaker or author, has a widespread and extremely negative effect on the rest of the human race.
Examples of such designations include:
* "the Jew" who according to Adolf Hitler was "the real enemy who menaces the world today". Hitler wrote that "we must devote ourselves to arousing general indignation against the maleficent enemy of humanity"
* Pope Benedict XVI who according to Richard Dawkins is "is an enemy of humanity", in particular "an enemy of children...gay people...women...truth...the poorest people on the planet...science...the Queen's own church.. of education"
* Rep. Trent Franks described President Obama as "an enemy of humanity"
* Fidel Castro called the United States an "Enemy of Humanity"
* Ayatollah Khomeini described President Carter as an "enemy of humanity"
The analogous legal term is Hostis humani generis which historically was applied to pirates and has been applied to torturers.
Books and Academic Discussion
The concept of "Enemy of humanity" has been extensively discussed in books and academic papers. For example:
* Enemies of humanity: the nineteenth-century war on terrorism Palgrave Macmillan, 2008 Is a collection of essays about "the definition and origins of terrorism, broadening the field to include slave revolts and urban tensions, and considering how the " war on terrorism" had already matured by 1870 as a way to justify often bloody campaigns against labor unions, nationalist freedom fighters, and reformers."
* Nick Bostrom describes ageing as the "enemy of humanity" which is cited as a "clever portrayal"
* Jacques Derrida argued that "there is no enemy of humanity"
Notes & References

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See Also

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