On the Place of Virtues in a Pluralistic Democracy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4886804 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amitai Etzioni (0000-0002-2324-5890, George Washington University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1992 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 4-5 |
| Pages | 530-540 |
| Publication date | 1992-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/000276429203500410 |
| OpenAlex | W1991486223 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 10 |
If a community recognizes a set of moral values and commitments as compelling, as virtues, these become the foundations of moral discourse in that community. Other statements, new moral claims, and so on-as long as they are not absorbed into the set of shared virtues-have no or little standing. And, while there are frequently differences in interpreting the exact meanings and implications of prevailing virtues-for instance, how much is due to charity?-virtues do provide sound and shared foundations for consensus formation, community endeavors, public policies and moral standing. For example, in the traditional European Jewish shtetl, studying the scriptures was accorded high virtue. It left little doubt as to which activities were to be extolled and merited the seat nearest the preferred Eastern (oriented to Jerusalem) wall of the synagogue. It was not a question of the rights of one subgroup versus those of others but a communitywide recognition of the virtue of commitments to the scriptures. Also, in canmunities that sub~ribe to shared virtues (orcommunitarian values), contentiousness and litigiousness are curbed as relatively clear and shared criteria are available to resolve differences. Finally, the cynicism of "anythinggoes as long as it satisfies a deal among the interpreted parties " is avoided. THE FEAR OF CONSENSUAL MORAliTY Despite all these apparent meri~, the concept of virtues troubles manywho are committed to democratic values. While some of their misgi vings are
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| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,13 |
| Citation span | 1995 - 2003 (9) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |