‘But what is your alternative?” It’s an important question in political debates when a particular policy or action is being challenged. It can also be a way of deflecting from the flimsiness, both moral and practical, of the plan facing scrutiny.
So it is with two issues that dominated the news this past week – the government’s Rwanda scheme and Israel’s military assault on Gaza. In both cases, there is an important debate to be had about alternatives. But before we get to that debate, there are also cogent reasons for rejecting the original policy, irrespective of what the alternatives may be.
