Lesser of Two Evils Principle

The lesser of two evils principle (or lesser evil principle) is the idea in politics and political science that of two bad choices, one is not as bad as the other and should therefore be chosen over the one that is the greater threat.

Originally, "lesser evil" was a Cold War-era pragmatic foreign policy principle used by the United States and, to a lesser extent, several other countries. The principle dealt with the United States of America's attitude regarding how dictators of third-world nations ought to be handled, and was closely related to the Kirkpatrick Doctrine of Jeane Kirkpatrick. By contrast, the lesser of two evils principle is today most commonly used in reference to electoral politics, particularly in Western nations, and perhaps in the United States more than anywhere else. When popular opinion in the United States is confronted with what is often seen as two main candidates—normally Democratic and Republican in the modern era—that are substantially similar ideologically, politically, and/or in their economic programmes, a voter is often advised to choose the "lesser of two evils" to avoid having the supposedly "greater evil" get into office and wreak havoc on society.