Organisation of societyA society should be organized in such a way that the science of survival, called ethics, is in harmony with the generally accepted views of society.Can everyone concern themselves with every asepct of every ethical question? No, it would take up far too much time, no time would be left for producing things. This was the subject of the section on "A society based on a division of labour". Society has to delegate the task of thoroughly dealing with ethical issues to certain individuals. These individuals, who organise society, then deliver ideas, ideals, concepts, guidelines, and laws. In the best case, this works smoothly. The broad mass of the population agrees with the recommendations of the elite. Elite here refers to everyone, whose output in culture, philosophy, religion, journalism and politics significantly shapes the world view of the population.
If this elite acts unethically, then this does not just endanger optimal survival, or even the basic survival of a whole society, it also means that many more people have to preoccupy themselves with ethical questions. It is a violation of a work-sharing society. Since a part of society, an elite whose task it is to organise society, fails, others have to try to deal with their tasks. As the influence of an individual grows, the effort he or she makes to respect the three central concepts of ethics must grow too, and they must investigate their influence on society by means of ethics diagrams. |