Solidarity

When we talk about freedom in opposition to ethics. Let me give you a good example, or rather a good explanation. As Kant says, if you are a bird and you fly freely, you need something to move your wings. You need air to counter the thrust of your beating with your wings.

The air is moral. If you are free, you are free from somethings. Without the moral, you would not have anything to be free from.

So there is a natural relationship between moral and freedom.

Then if you think about moral, you can basically have two versions. One is a patriotic, swearing, excluding moral. That is; we have the values, and you are not included in them. Then you can have a open attitude to moral. See moral as something including. See moral as helping others, being solidaric, showing compassion and grace.

These are all positive values, and ethics.

As Alinsky says; when he was brought up by some workers leaders, he had this good advice, it was; organise!, organise!, organise! That is show solidarity to each other, and serve the community. Ethics.

Finding the right points of opposition is often what is difficult. Because what is the opposite of free trade? Adam Smith gave us, thank you, that answer.

But what is ethics in general seen from a liberal point of view? To me that is pretty obvious; it is about openness and trust.

This should be the aim a liberal political process. To be able to open and trust each other. To be friends across the lines, and that rests on us being good people, trustworthy, not lie, and show solidarity.

G-d bless the will to be honest and straightforward.

Categories: Politics Tags:
  1. No comments yet.
  1. No trackbacks yet.