Ethics and Politics Politics is the process of making and implementing decisions binding upon society Politics is about accumulating and using power Ethics is a set of beliefs and customs shared by members of society with regard to: what is right and what is wrong
THE CONFLICT IS OBVIOUS:
REALIST” OBJECTION no.2:
There is nothing inherently immoral about power as such.
Why then the conflict between ethics and politics?
1. Society can be divided on basic moral norms (what some view as ethical, others may view as unethical)
2. Society can be divided on the meaning of the basic moral norms and their application in politics
3. Society may lack the tools to compel the rulers to behave ethically – can the rulers be compelled at all?
4. So, at issue is the organization of social power – at all levels
5. Social evolution is driven by the pursuit of justice
6. Democracy as a way of resolving the conflict
7. But democracy cannot eliminate this conflict: what it can do is channel its energy in the direction of social progress