Bribery is a growing concern in many countries around the world, but does that mean bribery is always bad? Denmark and New Zealand are tied as of 2016 for countries with the least corruption in the public sector, South Sudan and Somalia on the other hand are the most corrupt countries(Transparency International, n.d.). These are extremes, we all know that there will always be some form of corruption going on but few people know where their countries stand compared to the rest of the world. Living in your country you may think that your country isn’t that bad compared to others, but is it really? Cultural relativism may be at play in your thinking. Each country has their own set of rules that guide citizens in knowing what is right and wrong, …show more content…
Brusseau, cultural relativism is the suspicion that values and morality are culture specific and not the result of universal reason(Brusseau, 2012). They’re what a community believes, and that’s it. Simply put you could use the phrase “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Each country will have their own set of rules, laws, ethics, and morals which they adhere. During your travels for either work or personal reasons you may come across some rules of society that differ from your own. In the case of Mexico City bribes are a normal occurrence whereas in the United States this is out of the question. In both countries bribery is technically illegal but in Mexico City it is treated almost like an income subsidy. Cultural relativism differs from traditional ethics in a subtle way. Traditional ethics can be described as the knowledge of know right from wrong, but this way of thinking may change depending on the culture you are looking at. Traditional ethics can vary from each location becoming cultural …show more content…
Ethically the system of officer bribery can be justified if you look at the whole picture. Yes, you could say that it is unfair to pay off the officer and you are being taken advantage of. But on the other hand, you were pulled over for a reason, that reason would traditionally be a ticket and a point on your license and a fine but instead you can pay the officer directly (saving time), not get a point on your license, and possibly pay less in the end. Also, if you look at this situation economically you could argue that the occasional bribes are actually saving you money in the
Our moral beliefs indicate the kind of environment or culture we grew up in. Therefore, if we were born in Somalia, we would believe that it is morally right to go through female circumcision as a rite of passage. However, if we grew up in the western world, then we would not believe in female circumcision. We can therefore see the relativist 's argument of cultural relativism in this case, because if cultural relativism exists, then naturally, morality will also be relative. Additionally, to support his stance, the relativist will also argue that tolerance comes into play when it comes to cultural relativism.
I think if a parent wants to bake an officer a cake for saving her son from drowning then it is her way of showing appreciation in the way that she knows how to show her thankfulness. I do not think that officers should be allowed to accept bribes to turn their heads in a situation. The claim that has become more often declared against police is the false arrest. The person bringing the complaint assert that the police officers are in violation of the Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. If an officer has reason to think that the individual had committed a crime, then the arrest is within reasonable limitations, and the Fourth Amendment has not become violated.
Cultural relativism is the understanding of other cultures in their own terms. To achieve the understanding of the rituals used in the cultures of another, one must be able to look at them from an emic (insider) perspective. One must also be able to look at his own culture from an etic (outsider) perspective. The ability to look at one’s culture from the etic point of view will make it easier to explain the rituals to someone from a different culture, for example, rites of passage. Rites of passage are used to mark a life stage and are celebrated by tradition or religion, meant to separate a specific group.
For example; in America people are violating the norms when they end up telling someone about their whole day, when they’ve just asked how they were. This violation is actually a law when it comes to Haiti. When someone ask another how he or she is doing, it’s totally normal to tell this person how your day was so far. Another strange thing is that in America you got to keep your personal space. As a matter of fact, people don’t kiss, don’t touch each other.
In this prompt the argument that Morality exists is irrelevant, contrary to our thoughts and beliefs. Everyone follows a set of moral rules. Ethical relativists disagree with this belief because, they believe that morals are distinctive from each individual culture. These relativists as described are mixing up moral and cultural distinctions, or are simply not willing to completely understanding the cultures they are standing up for. There are two different types of relativism Ethical, and Cultural, that rely upon the argument of cultural differences, which have flaws that make the argument unsound.
According to Ethical Relativism, there are no universal truths, which apply to all human beings at all times, and proposes that moral principles should be viewed as "local, conventional, subjective and self-justified" (Yardley, 2012). While ethical principles should conform to social, cultural norms and moral beliefs and practices are frequently products of cultural upbringing, the basis for Ethical Relativism is fundamentally unsound because it can be used to justify and rationalize practices and behaviors that are inherently immoral, such as racism, discrimination, hate crimes and oppression. Ethical African
”(p.19) This shows that in the study of ethics, the study of moral relativism to be more specific, the idea of universal truth does not exist. That is to say what is perceived as “good” or “right” can vary form culture to culture, so there is no way to have one universal truth. Two major examples of cultural differences that are often cited in Support
They are put into place to avoid problems that are not necessarily against the law but are not behaviors people should be participating in. Ethical standards for law enforcement officials can include not taking any bribes or money from criminals who want to get out of a situation. This can include not taking money for traffic violations or drug convictions. While this behavior is illegal, it definitely also constitutes as unethical. The biggest reason lies behind the fact that if more police officers exhibit this type of behavior, then it will be more common for criminals to commit these crimes since nobody is being punished for
Culture refers to the common beliefs and behavior patterns of a group of people. In an organizational setup, it refers to the common values that the stakeholders of the organization share, and impact their decision-making process. According to Cristina De Rossi, “Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things” (De Ross, 2015). Western culture refers to the cultures that are heavily influenced by European cultures, and has its roots from the Greco-Roman cultures as well as Christianity and spread through immigration to other parts of the world. Eastern culture is the culture of the Eastern Asian countries including China, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, and India (Zimmermann, 2017).
Every society has its own unique cultures in which people will have different ideas of moral codes. The diversity of these cultures cannot be said to be correct or incorrect. Every society has independent standards of ethic within their society and these standards are culture-bound. Cultural Relativism has a perception in which rightness or wrongness of an action depends entirely within the bounds of the culture. This theory opposes the belief in the objectivity of moral truth.
TUNRADA W. 5504641993 Democracy and Corruption Does democracy produces or reduces corruption and how The question whether democracy produces or reduces corruption has been raised in the past decade observing the mixed evidences occurred across the world. Some democratic states tend to successfully overcome the problem of corruption, some in contrary faces with the more dramatic trouble than before. In the some unsuccessful, discourses were made blaming democracy as a tool for greedy agencies to take advantage from the people of the country.
In other words, “right” or “wrong” are culture specific, what is considered moral in one society may be considered immoral in another, and, since no universal standard of morality that exist, no one has the right to judge another societies custom (Ess, 2009). Cultural Relativism is closely related to ethical relativism, which views truth as variable and not absolute. What makes up right and wrong is determined solely by individual or the society (Ess, 2009). Since the truth is not object, there can be no standards which applies to all cultures.
(Luco, Week 3 Notes, p.9) Cultural Relativism is simply a combination of the following three theses: 1. The only criterion of moral truth or falsehood is the moral code of a cultural group. 2. A moral claim is true, relative to a culture’s moral code, if and only if the claim is generally accepted within that cultural
Corruption is a type of misconduct and offense in which the police break their contract and oath by abusing their power for personal gain or even for departmental gain. Examples of types of police corruption a. Bribery- police officer receives bribes so that they cannot write tickets for people who have gone against the law for example, from prostitutes and gambling, bribery does not only affect the united states but its world spread, examples of other countries with highest percentage of bribery are Pakistan and France. b. Assault on suspects- police officers use excessive force on suspects leading to injuries and at times suspects end up dying in their custody. Some police officers have been charged with murder of suspects in their custody.
A particular society will shapes a person’s basic beliefs and values. For example, Malaysia is a multi-cultural country as there are three major ethics which are Malay, Chinese and Indian in Malaysia. Different ethnics have different culture and basic beliefs and values. As a Muslim, they have to follow the code of practice of Muslim in eating and drinking (Al-Islam.org, n.d.). Muslim are having halal food which is the food that comply with Islamic Law and do not contain any pork ingredients (KFC Malaysia, n.d.).