YesBut can society thrive without a moral code?

From the time of the Industrial Revolution, the great entrepreneurs of the age recognized their responsibility to society. They donated vast sums to build schools, hospitals, bridges and roads. They started charities to look after the poor, destitute, the widowed and the orphaned. These were not entirely altruistic acts; they recognised the benefits to their own family of having a stable society and workforce. The growth of trade unionism brought a new moral force in society. As well as seeking equitable treatment at the work place, they also established educational establishments.

Preceding the rise of Trade Unions and later in parallel with them, the 18th & 19th centuries saw the birth and growth of the non conformist movement. In Wales alone, between the middle of 18th & 19th centuries there were 15 major religious revivals. Methodist and Baptist Chapels established themselves at the heart of their communities and society. Their activities were not conducted merely behind chapel doors. Members practiced what they preached; the most high profile activity being the formation of the temperance movement

By the end of the second decade of the twentieth century, the World witnessed the beginning of a political philosophy which deprecated religion, its founder Karl Marx said “Religion is the opium of the people (masses)”. Following the Russian Revolution in 1917 a state was established that at best sidelined religion at worst persecuted religious organisations and individual believers. In communist countries “The State” became supreme. Individuals became the servants/slaves of the state. States formulated moral codes which enhanced the power of the ruling Communist Party. Spying on: your neighbours, your family, your wife/husband and children was morally correct.

The above is a very brief and cursory review, provided only to illustrate the existence of moral codes in contrasting societies. It ignores key events of the twentieth century which had significant influences on moral standards and codes, i.e. two World Wars and the 1960s’ - which despite being the hedonistic decade, it was a time when people took a moral stand and protested against racism in South Africa and the USA, and the Vietnam War.

Whether a religious or secular society, they have always established moral codes. Yet now, there is a generally acceptance not that there has been a breakdown of moral standards, but an absence of a moral code. When did this begin?

In an interview published in Woman’s Own magazine in October 1987 the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher infamously said “There is no such thing as society.” This one sentence typified the attitude prevailing in the 80’s. It was the “I’m all right Jack to hell with society” decade. Investment Bankers in the City of London indulged in Champaign lunches while record unemployment figures were reached due to the decline of the manufacturing and heavy engineering sector. And the final death nail was hammered into the coal mining industry’s coffin. While under communism the State/Society was supreme, under Thatcher the individual became not only supreme but the sole consideration.

It seems now, not only is there no one to provide moral authority, but the organizations who formally would have provided moral guidance are either in crisis, ineffectual or uncaring. Christianity and the Christian church are seen as outmoded irrelevances. Trade Unions were neuter by Thatcher. While political parties, particularly New Labour live in a world of “spin”. Facts and truth have become an irrelevance, only image matters.

The absence of a moral code has not provided a sense of freedom of action or thought, but an underlying feeling of emptiness.

Is the desire for a moral code merely the result of previous indoctrination, or do humans truly have an inherent need for generally accepted moral standards?