Why is the lack of ethics so prevalent in American life at all levels? The recent financial crisis and the Deep Horizon oil spill have revealed once again an all-too-familiar pattern in American business and government. Corporations take actions, even risky ones, without regard for the potential negative impact on the public, and government regulators who are supposed to police such activity choose instead to give business a free pass to do pretty much as they choose. Even individuals have little concern with how their actions impact others, even family members. And when called to task, lying – a refusal to take responsibility – is endemic.
These habitual behaviors pose grave risks to the common good on a daily basis. Normally, the reaction of most is that this is "business as usual." Only when a disaster occurs is there talk about cleaning house in government agencies and promulgating new regulations. Of individuals needing to take responsibility.
But it seems to me that all this talk misses an important point … the proverbial elephant in the room … these problems at their core reflect a lack of ethics in American business and government and in individual lives. Which raises the question, what role does ethics play in the American ethos?
What is the American ethos? It has been defined in various ways. It is said to have capitalism and democracy at its core; it is said to be competitive; it is said to be a land of opportunity for all. These are all interrelated and none mplies or even necessarily encourages ethical behavior.
Let's look at our history. Regarding American politics, from the very beginning, politics has been rife with dirty tricks. Even founding stalwarts Jefferson and Adams resorted to underhanded tactics in their battles against each other.
Then there are the ethical questions raised by a country founded on the proposition that all men are created equal, and yet slavery was accepted and women did not have the right to vote. Yes, these conditions were prevalent everywhere at the time, but nowhere else was a country founded on the principles of the Declaration of Independence. The ethical conflict cannot be denied. The Founding Fathers, however, were ultimately pragmatic souls who did what was necessary to achieve the birth of the new country.
During the country's expansion and the early stages of the industrial revolution, the government’s embrace of the capitalist system left business enterprise more or less free of any government oversight. And as they became larger, corporations lost community contact and with that loss, any sense of responsibility; they became impersonal anonymous enterprises that were concerned only about acquiring wealth and power. The result was a rapacious system in which the powerful exploited the weak … owners exploited workers, powerful companies devoured weaker ones ... and the impact on the common good was of no concern. The concept of ethical behavior was absent.
But by the dawn of the 20th Century, progressive ideas founded on the words of the Declaration of Independence began to take hold in government. As a result, a series of laws were passed that both limited the power of business and provided a structure that gave workers the power to negotiate with employers. Thus ethical behavior was imposed on the capitalist system by government. During the Depression, more laws were passed that both regulated business and provided a safety net for the poor and the elderly.
America may have been looking more and more like an ethical society, but that was mostly an illusion. Where government or the courts did not impose ethics, the people, business, and government, especially at the local level, continued to exhibit a lack of ethical standards. The business world was all about competition and getting away with what one could. Local government corruption was commonplace. In the larger society, prejudice and discrimination was prevalent, not just against blacks and women, but against Jews as well. And in general, people were only concerned with what was best for them.
From this historical perspective, ethics was never part of the American ethos. To the extent it broadly existed, it was because it was imposed from above, not because it was part of the very fiber of the people. Yes, there was a façade of ethics, but that's all it was.
The Vietnam War and Watergate laid bare just how lacking in ethics our leaders were. And while the Watergate hearings may have been a great display of American ethics and showed the potential of government and people, it was a mere burp in the otherwise constant display of a lack of ethics.
It was our then President, Richard Nixon, who opened the window for an unethical operative like Lee Atwater to begin his rise in Republican politics. Almost single-handedly Atwater brought about the nasty, unethical, political culture we have today … at least on the part of Republican.
And so today, American politics has reached its nadir in its display of a lack of civility, let alone ethics. Business, freed of much regulation, whether through deregulation or through malfeasance of the regulators, once again has acted as one would expect, having little concern for the public impact of their actions and only concerned with increasing profits to keep investors happy. And the famous “me” generation of Ronald Reagan, as well as those following, has lost any feeling of responsibility for their fellow man. A cynicism about government and authority arose among the people. America thus seen has merely reverted to its underlying ethos, free of the constraints of a progressive mindset that had brought order to the unruly world of capitalist democracy.
If we truly wish to be a great nation, we must be true to our Declaration of Independence and Constitution and do justice to all of the people – as President Lincoln stated, we must restore "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." The progressive moment in our history must be restored among Republicans and Democrats, corporations, and the people.
