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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK
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To: jbe who wrote (8756)10/10/1998 12:11:00 PM
From: Zoltan!  Read Replies (1) of 67261
 
>>Quite a few "professional" historians have linked moral and economic decline. I would add, however, that normally they would not see a one-way causal relationship; the pros look for many causes operating simultaneously.

I agree. And some even site economic decline for a revival in morals, though few cite affluence for the same.

>> More than popular: it became part and parcel of ultra-nationalist and/or fascist propaganda.

Including that of Soviet communism. And the Old Testament. And so what.

My undergrad Northwestern degree is in history and I am well-acquainted with the arguments. It cannot be denied that history is replete with examples of societies where relative affluence provided the conditions for moral decline and moral decline preceded and arguably precipitated economic decline. Simply because some unsavory types have used history for their own devices does not per se invalidate the argument.

But the debate is not just the province of that discipline. I remember Milton Friedman stating that capitalism cannot exist in an immoral or even amoral environment. Private morality aggregates into public consequence, as can been seen by the huge number of women and children living on government largesse.

Friedman also stated that capitalism cannot exist in a environment where the truth is not paramount and cited France as a society were lying is not regarded with particular disdain and where capitalism has never really thrived, implying a cause-effect relationship.

Truth, i.e., morality, is also the foundation of our system of justice, which brings us back to Clinton and the reasons why he will be impeached.
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