Treating as a Mere Enemy

I argue that Kant's Formula of Humanity should incorporate the category of treating as a mere enemy in the form of a strict prohibition against this form of mistreatment. My proposed expansion will allow Kantian ethics to account for persons being mistreated due to their instrumental disvalue or perceived danger. Treating persons as mere enemies can take the form of murder and genocide, but also of exclusion and marginalization. I explain why we need this category on top of the prohibition against treating as mere means and the broader command to treat others as ends. Moreover, I analyse the different types of mere enemies (devils and vermin) that we find in ideology and discourse leading up to some of the most disturbing moral violations. Finally, I look at the complex interplays between mere enemies and mere means.