In Malta, discourse on ethics has been making inroads into every sphere of our life. The road to ethics is neither simple nor clear cut, especially since it can be approached differently and comprises different ethical theories.

Together with other complimentary terms such as morals, values and even the law, ethics focuses on what is good, not only for the individual but even for society. Through a set of moral principles ethics are meant to impinge on how you and I make decisions and lead our lives.

The subject is imbued with debates and dilemmas. Some schools of thought disagree even in their distinction between ethics and morals. On March 2, 2012 The Economist remarked that “the debate over morality more closely resembles two distinct monologues”.

Ethics transcend legal requirements and contractual obligations

This shows that the way forward is a ‘long and winding road’, certainly not bereft of practical implications, especially since even cultural differences play a role. But can we afford to stay put? And don't we already have enough laws to steer us?

Although the law may include ethical principles, laws are not always ethically exhaustive. Even slavery was once legal.

Although law and ethics can be directly interrelated, there are those who believe that “if it’s legal, it’s ethical” or “as long as it’s not illegal, even if it’s unethical, then it’s OK”.

Nazi Germany depicts how an entire society can become ethically and morally corrupt. Doing whatever a society may come to accept will not render any such action ethical.

Ethics and law, however, can converge naturally when society is obliged to refrain, for example, from fraud, assault, rape, murder, stealing and slander.

But ethics transcend legal requirements and contractual obligations.

A 2007 Gallup opinion poll quoted by James Fieser of Tennessee University, confirmed that “on the whole, people think that society’s moral values are getting worse. And among those vocations that we are most suspicious of, people in business and government receive the lowest marks”.

This was in the advent of the great financial meltdown, which many consider as a global crisis caused by lack of ethics, mostly, albeit not solely, within the circles of the so-called ‘fat-cat bankers’.

As ardent disciples of the fictitious character of Gordon Gekko, these bankers epitomised Gekko's credo that “Greed is Good”. By their actions, they almost wrecked the whole edifice of Wall Street and more. The New York Times of April 30 reported that only one top banker went to jail for the financial crisis.

But it seems that, very soon, no-one will be too big to jail. And, in the EU, even bonus clampdown is being widened.

Once more, the law is eliciting and trailing ethics. The financial crisis managed to bring under the spotlight the importance and the role of ethics.

Bruce Weinstein of Bloomberg Business Week remarked that “our society would quickly devolve into anarchy without the rule of law as a binding, motivating force for all of us”.

But he continues that “the ethical principles of do no harm, make things better, respect others, be fair and be loving are the true basis of our society and it is to those principles we ought to return every day”.

To many, this might sound like Matt Monro singing his impeccable ballad The Impossible Dream. But can anyone disagree with Weinstein? Yes, of course. Some argue that, after all, “it's my life... and I do what I want”. Sounds nice, eh! The 1965 vintage vinyl record certainly does.

But what about the consequences when values become thoroughly subjective and relative?

Although ethics, values and morality should not be confined to religion nor are they identical to religion but Toby Young, an atheist, writing in The Telegraph of February 12, 2013 on the perils of moral relativism, admitted that “the problem for atheists that has never been satisfactorily addressed is that it’s very, very hard to find a solid foundation for any moral values in the absence of a belief in God. Reason and science alone simply won’t cut it.”

Without values or ethics or morals, it’s like driving in comfort on a highway to chaos.

Tony Micallef is a former banker

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