Make a moral choice

The subject of ethics or moral science has been studied since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. It has been influenced and shaped by the ideas of religious teachers and philosophers. Thus the subject of ethics has evolved over time. Although it has been refined by generations of thinkers and put into shape, we seem to pay scant respect to it. For instance, ethics is no longer a subject for the local General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) examination. No wonder, we see a lot of unethical practices in the business world and in society as well.

In a society driven by crass consumerism, ethics is no longer a popular subject. Kohlberg who has done an in-depth study of the situation gives us a six-stage model of moral development. In his highly acclaimed study, he suggests a hierarchy of ethics. A brief look at the model will throw some light on the current situation which might be changed with some effort. He believes that people can be taught to use this model to help them develop their sense of ethics or morality.

In the six-stage model of moral development, the first two elements are termed 'pre-conceived morality'. For instance, people obey orders simply to avoid punishment. If there is no system of punishing offenders by law enforcement authorities, there will be many crimes in society leading to anarchy. Secondly, in a consumerist society people are driven by a kind of marketplace morality. If you put it very simply, everybody wants to maximize their pleasures and minimize their pains.

Sir William Berkeley

The next two elements in the six-stage model, 'Conventional morality' plays a major role. Kohlberg sees groups of people follow group norms.

When people find themselves in a group, they try to behave well. For instance, they will help an injured man lying on the road or protect innocent children or women from unruly elements. But these group norms are forgotten when each member is left alone. If he sees an injured man lying on the road, he might look the other way and proceed on his journey. If he is driven by desire, he will even pick somebody's pocket. On the other hand, people generally focus their attention on preserving the law and order in society. As a group they know that if there is a breakdown in law and order, nobody will be safe.

Kohlberg names his third category as 'Post-conventional morality'.

Under this category he sees people who practise a kind of principled morality. They pay their electricity and water bills on time. They never hesitate to support the government by paying their income tax.

In fact, they are law-abiding citizens. Unfortunately, most people progress up to this stage and do not proceed to the next phase known as 'Universal morality'. Some people, of course, go back to their early stages without making any progress. Universal morality demands that you should not torture your enemies or condemn them to death without giving them a fair hearing. However, with terrorism raising its ugly head in several countries, the question arises whether it is possible to practise these lofty ideas. When a small group of people is hell-bent on destroying the social fabric, law-abiding citizens and their elected representatives have no time to waste listening to the explanations of terrorists. As a result, universal morality is something difficult to achieve in the modern context.

It seems that the market has no sense of ethics when it comes to business dealings. If business people have some sense of ethics, we will not hear of Sakvithi and Golden Key scams. However much you preach morals, unscrupulous businessmen will resort to malpractices every now and then. To arrest this trend, we need to have stringent laws and law enforcement authorities who can be trusted to deliver the goods. Insufficient regulations have seen the collapse of many business organizations in the recent past. Therefore, an ethical framework should evolve in society to prevent further unpleasant situations taking place in the future.

As a general rule, moral reasoning improves with age. But this seems to operate at individual level because even some elderly people are involved in fraudulent activities in the financial sector. An individual can, if he so desires, follow lectures, read books and become a moral person. However, when it comes to groups of people, this does not happen. They have to develop through their dynamic relationship with the environment and other people. Another factor is that their ethics will be influenced by the organization in which they work. For instance, if the head of an organization is up to corruption, his employees will not follow ethical rules. This acts like a virus which cannot be destroyed easily.

Greed, fraud and corruption are regrettably very much alive in our midst, more so in the corporate sector. Just like people, even business organizations can be at different stages of ethical development.

The renowned Irish philosopher Sir William Berkeley once said, "At heart ethics consists in striking the right balance between two basic human feelings: Concern for one's self and concern for others." We must not forget that even in business, sincerity, honesty, truthfulness and keeping your promises are still valid. That means ethics is good for individuals and business organizations as well.

In Plato's Republic there is a debate about the function of rules within society. If everyone acts from selfish motives, then all will end up suffering in some way, exploited by others. Therefore, conventional rules imposed by society are a way of protecting everyone from the basic selfish desires of everyone else.

According to Plato, all elements in society need to work together for the general health of the whole. He says that justice offers the happiest life, because it is the expression of health. On the other hand, injustice is a sickness.

Whether it is your personal or corporate life, you have to make a moral choice. Are you going to accumulate wealth through unjust enrichment, or are you ready to listen to your conscience and make ethical decisions? As the renowned German philosopher Immanuel Kant said, if you are in a dilemma, follow your conscience.