If you are arguing that most cultures have at least paid lip service to the virtues you delineate, I would agree; it is part of the age-old struggle of human societies to persuade or force their members to eschew behaviour which is of sole benefit to the individual and embrace a group-oriented code of ethics. But the notion that societies survive and prosper in proportion to the degree to which they actually practice these virtues seems absurd to me. Look at the expansion of America, or the establishment of the British Empire. To what extent were these success stories based on displays of kindness, honesty, trustworthiness, etc.?
The notion that cultures fail exclusively or primarily because of a decline in moral fiber is not logically supportable. Cultures fail because they encounter stronger and more aggressive cultures, because they extend their empires beyond their administrative capacity, because they become economically dependent on conquered territories, for a host of intertwining reasons. In cases where a change in moral standards - called a decline by puritans - occurs, it is usually a parallel symptom of more fundamental causes, rather than a cause in its own right.
I think the notion, for example, that the US is in danger of a decline inspired by moral laxity is laughable. Between the PC loonies and the religious fanatics, we probably have more people trying to ram their notions of morality down our collective throat than ever before. We are in more danger of being strangled by the impositions of the self-appointed morality police than of collapsing for want of moral guidance. |
