To be fair to diplomatic policymakers everywhere, it is often the case that hard choices between competing moral values – for example, justice and peace – simply have to be made. And positions that are claimed to embody double standards are often nothing of the kind.
平心而论，各国外交决策者经常必须在相互矛盾的道德价值之间——比如公正和和平——做出艰难抉择。被认为采纳双重标准的立场通常不是此类。一个很好的例子是指责“保护责任”原则具有天然缺陷，因为大国永远对干涉免疫，不仅是因为五常拥有安理会否决权，也是因为它们所具有的的军事优势。