Democracy

In

the ideal democracy, persons govern themselves, collectively, according to certain ethical principles agreed upon among them, principles which are defined in terms of individual rights. Theoretically, democracy rejects moral codes as a means of government, and seeks instead for universal social principles, truths, and qualities which can be placed at the foundation of a political structure -principles, truths and qualities which every responsible person in society can be said to embody and express with equal force. The most famous sentence in our Declaration of Independence clearly illustrates this:-"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

The ability of the human mind to reach into and define the basic principles of its own welfare is the cause which has led to the emergence of democracy as a social ideal during comparatively modern times. We have reached for a universal ethic to guide and regulate our behavior; and in the midst of this process, and also because of it, we have sensed that moral codes, in themselves, are too much confined to temporary or restricted conditions to furnish us with such a guide. The distinction between ethics and morals is of great importance to the future evolution of our society,

R. H. Crowther

but it cannot be drawn satisfactorily within the limits of this article. For the immediate purpose, let it suffice to observe that moral codes rest upon certain limited relationships, such as "the family" or "the tribe," or upon certain limited necessities, such as those relating to physical subsistence, or to sexuality. Then, from a utilitarian and objective point of view-"the greatest good for the greatest number"--they describe certain permitted or prohibited acts pertaining to these limited relationships or necessities, and they do this in an arbitrary way, without reference to any of the subjective necessities or inclinations which are actually responsible for individual behavior. Thus, obviously, no moral code, as such, can reflect justice except imperfectly, taking "justice" to mean both an orderly and harmonious adjustment within the individual's total self, and, in the social context, our collective solicitude for all of the subjective as well as the physiological phases of individual growth and well-being. Distinguished from morality, ethics neither prescribes nor proscribes actions, per se, but defines, as rights, certain subjective conditions of individual well-being-conditions in which every human being shares identically. Then, it categorically supports any and all actions which further this well-being and, incidentally, condemns any and all actions which do

not.

Becau

ecause democracy is centrally concerned with describing the subjective requirements rather than the mere external conditions of individual welfare, and because it recognizes every individual as a living personification of these subjective requirements, it has elevated the individual more and more to a position of supreme importance in the social structure. Therefore we expect to find in democracy that social relationships are sustained and developed for the purpose of enhancing the liberty and the opportunity of the individual, and for

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