Problem
Collapse of common values
Other Names:
Irrelevant social valuesLack of common ethic
Retreat from universal moral standards
Proliferation of value systems
Ethical decline
Rejection of accepted values
Nature:
The lack of a common ethical system means the behaviour is dependent on the individual's perception of what is appropriate or inappropriate and on the structural sanctions society can effectively apply. This tends to force the legal system to assume the role of guarding the morality of the social system. Immorality is equated with illegality. Those who choose a moral life are relieved of the burden of freedom of choice by following the letter of the law. Those choosing an immoral life are left with avoiding being caught.
Incidence:
In Hinduism and Buddhism, there is a distinct understanding of moral decline as a process of forgetting one's true identity and purpose as a result of distraction by the material world.
Broader Problems:
Value erosionLack of standardsJeopardization of universalityMisuse of international forumsCollapse in providing ethical value screens Narrower Problems:
Indifference to spiritual valuesStatic and superficial adult valuesReinforced parochialism of internal values and images Related Problems:
ProliferationEthnic discriminationIrrelevant institutions Aggravates:
LyingCrimeAnomieImmoralitySocial breakdownAmenity destructionVacuous public valuesAbuse of cultural valuesResurgence of a new dark ageOver-simplification of social conceptsIncompatibility of rural values in urban cultures Reduces:
Group mindValue-biased judgementInappropriate application of traditional valuesInappropriate projection of values onto other cultures Reduced By:
Disruptive religious fundamentalismStrategies:
Overcoming indifferenceExhausting moral resourcesProviding social principles for behaviourRecreating value systemsReducing number of value systemsPreserving common valuesExposing irrelevant social valuesAbstaining from common ethic References:
Second Vatican Council: Gaudium et Spes: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Subject(s):
Society → SocialSocietal Problems → Scarcity
Societal Problems → Proliferation
Research, Standards → Standards
Religious Practice → Religion
Innovative change → Change
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST