In this paper, 20th-century ethicist Philip Hallie’s research on cruelty is outlined and explained in order to determine and discuss categories of thought that make cruelty attributable to social forms of agency. The semantic ambiguity of “cruelty” and its cognate “cruel” are acknowledged and also discussed, but Hallie’s understanding is upheld nonetheless as technically articulate and, above all, as reasonable. As such, his understanding can be utilised to interpret and assess in ethical terms the recent austerity policies pursued in many countries of the world after the 2008 economic crash, which was induced by unsustainable deregulated trade of financial assets, particularly of toxic assets. The case of Greece is examined as exemplary, referring especially to the Loan Agreements of May 2010 between the representatives of the Greek State and those of the Euro-area Member States under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund.
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