In my Business Ethics class, we were having a discussion about what type of people will make better citizens: Ethical people or Law-abiding people. The Discussion was very interesting and I was wonder what your view is on the matter.
We also looked are the possibility of ethical citizens not always being law-abiding...
Respected Olutayo Kadmiel Osunsan. It seems that these discussions are universal, in my classes we also discuss these problems very frequently. I will express no opinion on this topic, very controversial and with which many people do not agree. A citizen who acts from well-defined moral values is the one who would most respect the law. This type of citizen will assume the law as a natural process of a social nature. The law is mandatory, violating it means committing a crime that can mean being imprisoned. This type of action is preceded by a fact that ends in the repression in case of breaking the law. Nevertheless; acting by values, by convictions, by motivational levers is a significantly social way of assuming life in society, which includes respect for the law. It cannot be forgotten that man is a cultural being, eminently social and the law is a reflection of social relations and expression of the interests of the classes that are in power. That is why ethical action in the face of life is the type of citizen with real potential to develop any society. In my opinion, we can continue to discuss this issue in future exchanges. Thank you.
Thank you Juan Manuel Montero Peña for thought stimulating contribution. It is very enriching.
It has been argued that in human history some peoples sense of morality can be at odds with the law they perceive as being immoral. Thus they result in civil disobedience.
An interesting case I have discussed in my book is that of companies who evade tax legally, in some cases bringing it down to 0. In the long term societies progress if people are ethical rather than law abiding.
Here is a terrific YouTube video that I use in my Business Ethics course when looking into the possibility of ethical citizens not always being law-abiding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r25rWb_mZQQ
FYI, the textbook related to this video is available in open access, so it can be downloaded (for free) here:
https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/the-business-ethics-workshop
Hope that helps!
As some have said, I would hope for both. However, law-abiding does not equal ethical. As I have told my kids...the right to do something does not make it the right thing to do.
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