Politics and Morality

INTRODUCTION

The morality of politics is an inescapable issue for philosophers, politicians, and common citizens. It is

particularly pressing in times like ours, when dramatic developments put under severe strain moral constraints on political action, while our trust in politicians is sorely tried by their words and actions. This book is a timely contribution from prominent philosophers to the public debate, exploring the fundamental problem of the relationship of politics and morality and a string of specific issues: Both morality and politics serve to regulate or direct human behavior. They differ, however, in the strength of their regulation and  demand different, though related, personal qualities. Groups, classes and separate persons are interrelated morally. Depending on the concrete historical

political peculiarities of this interrelation, some moral qualities of a politician can be easily developed, while others, which concretely and

historically conflict with his policy and political goals, could cease to develop and become rudimentary and opposite qualities.

As a regulator, morality is directed towards the other: it concerns interpersonal relations and interrelations between the person and group. In contrast to morality, politics regulates mainly relations between the groups and the state and between the different socio-political organizations; directly or indirectly these are connected with the function of state power. Therefore, the boundaries between the spheres of morality and politics are very flexible. In some periods particular relations can be regulated by moral mechanisms, which in other periods are ruled by political ones. The interaction between those mechanisms depends on the particular social contradictions and the objective possibilities of achieving class, national and state goals by acting in accordance with, or neglecting,

respective moral values and norms.