I have been thinking lately on whether people whose ethics I do not agree are actually bad people. I have come to the conclusion that in fact they could actually act the way they act because their ideology determines that that is moral and just. We do not have a difference in the method of evaluating what is moral, rather it is the world view of the individuals that gives the different result.
Let me analyze three examples.
A) The anarchist/communist believes that the capitalist class is using the state and the media/superstructure to support the proprietarian system of exploitation of the working class. Misery, unemployment, working accidents, wars, inequality, racism, dictatorships, faked democracies are all the result of the hegemony of that class. Given all these, it is ethical to use violence to revolt and get rid of capitalism.
B) The fascist thinks that foreigners are taking the job of the locals, that they are thieves , murderers, rapists and that they are to impose their own culture and language on us. Moreover, other nations are barbaric and since we are superior to them, we need to expand and enforce our culture and genetics. We have been unfairly excluded from resources and foreign markets. That we need to defend our national interests and take what is rightfully ours. At the same time, jews have taken control of our country and they spread communism that wants to destroy our country. Given all these, it is ethical to make war with other nations and to kill the Jews and other foreigners that do not comply/contaminate our nation.
C) The reformist thinks that the capitalist system can be regulated by the state. With rules that determine the economic behavior of businesses, the drive for profitability by the enterprises can lead to the increase of the common social good. For the economy to work, political/social conflicts should be suppressed. Workers should act reasonably and not disturb the well-functioning of Society with strikes and mobilizations. A compromise can be found to avoid them. If not , the police needs to intervene.
Now, in all three cases, all act on moral grounds for what they think is the right or ethical thing. A person with a specific method that evaluates morality would accept as moral any of the three cases if he was made to believe that the world is as it was described.
Classical contemporary examples are the hate speeches of Donald Trump and his followers. In the war of Iraq, we were told that Saddam Husein had weapons of mass destruction and that the war was to protect the Iraqi people. Another one is the war on Syria. It appears that the media are spreading news of mass murders by the Syrian Government. If it was not true and it was the opposite, wouldn't our perception of what is moral change?
In my point of view, there are both good people and bad people in all cases.
Since I am a communist, let me say that there are many communists that are self-interested and have no interest for others. That communism is a cultural thing to show off . You wear alternative clothes, listen to unknown music , and you are liberated from the bourgeois limiting way of thinking, you must be really cool.
Having said that, does that give any excuses to those that based on their perception of the world, kill and torture people, suppress the majority to subordinance and lead a great number of people to economic misery?
Certainly not, but understanding the reason for doing those atrocities is the best thing we can do to stop them.
Let me analyze three examples.
A) The anarchist/communist believes that the capitalist class is using the state and the media/superstructure to support the proprietarian system of exploitation of the working class. Misery, unemployment, working accidents, wars, inequality, racism, dictatorships, faked democracies are all the result of the hegemony of that class. Given all these, it is ethical to use violence to revolt and get rid of capitalism.
B) The fascist thinks that foreigners are taking the job of the locals, that they are thieves , murderers, rapists and that they are to impose their own culture and language on us. Moreover, other nations are barbaric and since we are superior to them, we need to expand and enforce our culture and genetics. We have been unfairly excluded from resources and foreign markets. That we need to defend our national interests and take what is rightfully ours. At the same time, jews have taken control of our country and they spread communism that wants to destroy our country. Given all these, it is ethical to make war with other nations and to kill the Jews and other foreigners that do not comply/contaminate our nation.
C) The reformist thinks that the capitalist system can be regulated by the state. With rules that determine the economic behavior of businesses, the drive for profitability by the enterprises can lead to the increase of the common social good. For the economy to work, political/social conflicts should be suppressed. Workers should act reasonably and not disturb the well-functioning of Society with strikes and mobilizations. A compromise can be found to avoid them. If not , the police needs to intervene.
Now, in all three cases, all act on moral grounds for what they think is the right or ethical thing. A person with a specific method that evaluates morality would accept as moral any of the three cases if he was made to believe that the world is as it was described.
Classical contemporary examples are the hate speeches of Donald Trump and his followers. In the war of Iraq, we were told that Saddam Husein had weapons of mass destruction and that the war was to protect the Iraqi people. Another one is the war on Syria. It appears that the media are spreading news of mass murders by the Syrian Government. If it was not true and it was the opposite, wouldn't our perception of what is moral change?
In my point of view, there are both good people and bad people in all cases.
Since I am a communist, let me say that there are many communists that are self-interested and have no interest for others. That communism is a cultural thing to show off . You wear alternative clothes, listen to unknown music , and you are liberated from the bourgeois limiting way of thinking, you must be really cool.
Having said that, does that give any excuses to those that based on their perception of the world, kill and torture people, suppress the majority to subordinance and lead a great number of people to economic misery?
Certainly not, but understanding the reason for doing those atrocities is the best thing we can do to stop them.
