4 ms·
'Conscientiousness'[1] (there's some science to this one) Basically shared values, behaviours, rough sense of justice, morality and humanity, and a sense that
by jariel 6y ago
'Conscientiousness'[1] (there's some science to this one)
Basically shared values, behaviours, rough sense of justice, morality and humanity, and a sense that individuals ought to aspire to those on some level.
It's funny because in the West we talk a lot about 'freedom' and 'classical liberalism' - I really think that's partly:
a) A response to historically authoritarian systems either political or cultural which were possibly 'too much'
b) An appeal to the ego: none of us really want to 'follow rules', I mean, we all just want to 'do whatever' - it takes 'second order thinking' to act 'morally' and 'responsibly' in whatever context those are defined ... and we're always going to define them a little bit differently.
I think we all understand this on some level, even if our ideologies are wrapped up in something else.
We tend to build ideals around nitpicking, and when a certain 'orthodox morality' clashes with some other form of 'expression' (say, no common acceptance of trans people), then we get into an existential fight with said 'orthodoxy', The 'sides' become polarized, revolutionary, we look at everything through that narrow lense and end up missing all of the other 'very important things' many of us take for granted ... when probably what needs to happen is just some tweaking.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientiousness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientiousness
- groby_b 6y agoI think you're overgeneralizing. There are several cultures "in the west" that do very much want to follow rules. Both Germany and Japan come immediately to mind. Neither is a strict rule following culture, but both place a fairly high value on rules that regulate the commons.
- SideburnsOfDoom 6y ago> Germany ... Neither is a strict rule following culture If you put your recycling in the incorrect bin, in Germany, your neighbors might correct the notion that the rule following is not strict.
- watwut 6y agoThen again, age restrictions in amusement parks are completely ignored. Also, there are fines (or you pay more) for recycling wrong, it is not about neighbors only.
- jariel 6y agoThe 'Basic Law' does not refer to the responsibility of Germans towards their community at all. The first several articles, much like other modern constitutions, refer only to German's right to self expression. German Constitution makes the point more obvious: written just after WW2, obviously, vern concerned with making sure people have 'their rights' = this is fundamentally a liberal concept, and my point about 'historical issues with authoritarianism'. Almost all of our liberal documents are like this. But they are not communitarian documents, and our legal system and governments do not generally codify the 'social fabric' that makes our civilizations work well. Many NGO's exist to promote those legal concepts, particularly freedoms, but very few (except maybe the Church, and possibly indirectly some kind of social justice ones) to promote specifically the kinds of values and behaviours we need to work well a society. Germany and Japan it seems, have those things very strongly enmeshed into cultural foundations, thankfully, but in 2020 with globalization and the erosion of all culture etc. it might be worth having a look at.
- gherkinnn 6y agoWe must live in different “Wests”, you and I.
- jariel 6y agoIn the Western world we call our systems of government very generally 'Liberal Democracy' ie something established by classical liberal movement. Our constitutions are 'rights first' and generally don't speak to any kind of social obligations that individuals may have to others. Our intellectual framework for society is not communitarian, it's liberal. It's our parents, communities etc. that teach is about 'responsibility to others, duty, moral obligation' - our legal system is just a scheme to protect us from government and one anohter.