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IDEOLOGY AND ETHICS SURVEY SAMPLE ARGUMENTS

3.

 As people rise in power how are they entitled to change the character of the morality that they practice?


(- 5) An ethical issues-related viewpoint:
In the long run, there is no "disconnect" between the consequences of morality practiced by top leaders in society and the morality practiced by every day people. National leaders who engage in vicious, deceitful, and violently destructive behavior will eventually arouse internal adversaries and external coalitions of enemies no different than the way such behavior creates enemies within ones own local neighborhood or work place. Leaders must always be held accountable to their followers. In the course of normal civilian peacetime pursuits, they should be prepared to fully disclose the nature of their operations. Leaders who refuse to do this are dangerously irresponsible and must be investigated. If found guilty of crimes, they must be impeached and punished. Such individuals are usurping decision-making power from the people who in fact "employ" their bosses in a democratic or republican system. Leaders have no authority to violate normal social standards or customary laws unless they have explicitly made their case before the people and received a mandate.
. . .

(+5) An opposing ethical issue-related view:
In order to fend off rivals and remain at the top, leaders must always be at least feared and respected if not loved. High-stakes diplomacy and negotiation require leaders to skillfully manipulate information and present many faces. Therefore, it is justifiable and desirable for leaders to be mean and duplicitous for the gain of society as well as for themselves. Leaders with a distaste for realpolitik are generally weak, ineffectual people. Leaders can justify taking it upon themselves to secretly gamble their organizations for the long term good of all, since we live in a rough and tumble world where taking chances is a necessary part of life. Therefore, we must realize that Machiavellian horseplay is to be expected, and we must simply accept this. If we object, we risk angering our leaders and rocking the boat. This also gives propaganda ammunition to our enemies. Even more nasty things could then happen than what our own leaders visit upon us, thereby compounding a bad situation even more. Furthermore, our leaders got where they are by being smarter and tougher than us, so who are we to criticize them?



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