Global Ethics
How can ethical considerations
become more routinely incorporated into global decisions? [Challenge
15]
-- Regional Views --
Treaties should be enforced to the letter as if they were part of the contract. In the same way in which there are items for ‘confidentiality’ or ‘force majeure’ clauses there should be ‘ethical considerations.’
Reform the UN so that it is capable of moving in this direction without double standards for the North and South and for the developed and developing countries. Larger participation of NGOs and informed leaders in fields of specialization is needed. Save this organization from being captured by the bug of advanced countries. With all due respect to the US, the organization is not supposed to be the "United Nations of America."
Africa remains a non-active participant in global decision-making due to weak national leadership…. The ethics of the present governments and the alternative ones are not at the level of civilized countries. Corruption is rampant. Raise Africa's voice in international negotiations and global decision-making.
The remaining problem is what is described as kleptocrats, rulers who plunder their country's treasuries. Nigeria does not actually have the foreign debt it is supposed to because the balancing entry is in the form of Swiss bank accounts and real estate in London…. Corporate boards of directors should be responsible to the community, not only to the shareholders.
Maybe we should force political leaders to retire to private business
on their 25th birthday so they are only in politics when they have new
ideas, are enthusiastic, and have had less time to become corrupt. On the
other hand, consistency can pay off. It can be lost when there are
elections every four years.
ASIA and OCEANIA
Third World countries want to catch up with the industrialized West.
However, when the West tells them not to follow its path of unsustainable
consumption and production patterns they view it as having a double standard.
There is a need to clarify global ethical considerations vis-a-vis responsibility
to conserve, protect and restore the integrity of the Earth's ecosystem.
Some do not believe there are common global ethics and the pursuit to create
them is a Western notion. The West is seen as preaching, but not leading
by example.
For democracy to develop, the problem of corruption in India must be solved. Multi-faceted societies are particularly vulnerable to corruption. It is a serious obstacle to the democratic development of the region. The plurality of religions also poses a challenge in relation to ethics. The evil of corruption has to be fought on the top level of society. Transparency International is currently advocating the enactment of several Bills to this end.
Ethics can also be addressed on another level beginning with children. If we are able to introduce education based on sound ethical principles and educate children to become responsible citizens, we will also influence adults and, thus, the entire population.
In Japan no serious attention is given to global ethics.... Ethical considerations toward non-Japanese populations are very limited. In that sense, Japan is still a closed society. Racial or ethnic bias must be softened by early education. Without such an education, Japanese are not able to win global recognition for their efforts to help other nations prosper.... A real consensus on ethics and morals should be settled. This will necessarily bring new legislation and more knowledge of laws should be taught in the educational systems.
Building a database from surveys and case studies on ethical points may provoke discussion in different fields involved in global decisionmaking.... Publicize the importance of ethical considerations for the harmony and development of society.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has begun to encourage the implementation of corporate social responsibility within companies and has recently produced a report on the subject.... Learn from the experiences of companies from around the world who are leading the way in corporate social responsibility.... We need boards of directors who are responsible to the community. Presently, boards of directors only have legal responsibility to the shareholders. However, it is important to note that ethics operates within a framework of ethical belief and it is unclear whose ethics should be followed.
"Ethical" decisions are often made for the wrong reasons such as avoiding adverse media comment and complying with regulations.
The present exploitative capitalistic system of the national and international political economy needs to be jettisoned because it is junked baggage from the colonial-imperial era. Instead there should be focus on collective self-reliance through indigenous systems, as well as patriotic humanistic, and nationalistic collective leadership.
Big powers and developed countries must be more responsible and restrictive in their exploration and exploitation of other regions.... The 'double-standard' behavior of MNCs outside the stricter jurisdiction of their home-base countries needs closer examination and monitoring.
Include ethics and philosophy in the education of economics and business
people,
particularly of the non-Hobbsian variety.
EUROPE
If we fail to create a real system of global ethics, then the “clash
of civilizations” is very real. Global ethics will become the next big
issue after environment in the next 25 years. Young people in Central Europe
are eager to change stereotypes deeply rooted in the behavior of older
generations. The Nordic countries are one of the most stable regions, and
their achievements have been recognized globally. The European integration
process will help. There is need to support research, publication, diffusion
of information, and training of decisionmakers on ethics. Also a need to
limit brutality and violence on TV, and limit advertisements offering only
selfish consumption.
LATIN AMERICA
A new ethical code has emerged: ecological ethics, human rights, democracy,
free-market ethics, and minority protection. All these sound good, but
the applications are still to be seen. Will a new religion replace the
old historical religions?
NORTH AMERICA
Global ethics should not be a list of moral precepts, but a set of
ideas, values, and attitudes that would be adequate to deal with actual
problems. For example: control undue pressures from lobbying groups;
limit spending in political campaigns and contributions; define legislative
committee chairman term limits; require political leaders to assume responsibility,
public accountability and transparency; enforce equal penalties under the
law; prevent officials from hiding their money abroad and laundering income
from corruption; and ensure freedom of the judiciary.
People in this region are very concerned about ethics in decisionmaking.... Three ethical principles are neglected and need to be introduced into public decision making in this region. These include taking the well being of future generations and the planet into serious consideration in any decision, putting the needs and values of the people in the region ahead of the needs and preferences of the politicians and government, and avoiding cronyism, which is a mild form of corruption.
Massive public involvement will make progress in more ethical consideration in decisionmaking.... Major global decisions are made in North America.
The question seems to imply that ethical considerations are somehow uniformly agreed upon globally. In fact, there are different - even competing - ethics throughout the world. The better question might be: "How can a consensus be reached on an appropriate 'global ethic' that could help guide decisions facing the world today and in the future?"
Ethical considerations require that decisionmakers are sufficiently educated to comprehend the near-, mid-, and long-term implications of their actions. This region has individuals whose voices are heard and their advice is acted upon.
If new security strategies can be created so that ethnic conflict and terrorism will be reduced, a totally new global world order would emerge. This would indeed be the dawn of a new age for humanity.
Reform campaign finance.... Clean up politics in the USA, reduce corporate welfare, subsidies, control lobbies for guns, tobacco, and media violence.
Ethics and values of the Region are highly influenced by a tradition of competition and winning for its own sake. This biases what is seen as right or wrong.
To better incorporate this into global decisions an atmosphere of public policy should be created to "level the playing field" so the US is not at a competitive disadvantage.
Continued public discourse about factors affecting global decisionmaking is needed. This could range from assistance to less fortunate regions of the world, to controlling sources of pollution, and taking active part in making their voices heard at the local, state and national level.
Use the media to show less violence, over-consumption, and addictive lifestyles. Instead the media should promote positive role models and projects.
Nepotism is a crime in government but not in private industry. As for petty bribery, consider Mississippi in the '20's when the state had a form of law enforcement known as "fee officers". In the arrangement, officers got a fee for their work. They made a lot of money by serving processes to the "right" people. Prisoners sold or leased for $10 a head to turpentine farms.
Any therapies that involve value changes will take a long time, generations… The active enunciation of a set of global human ethics by heads of government in their national political arenas is overdue.
There is a high level of activity regarding this with the NGO/Civil society, codes of conduct - CERES, and apparel industry practices. Socially responsible investment funds are being established…. The UN should be a major player that orchestrates many efforts in this domain.
International and national leaders need to speak frequently on ethics outside the context of specific problems. They should do this because it will establish a climate of expectation that they and others will act ethically. It will build a psychological box around their freedom to act unethically. When they are faced with global problems involving ethical judgment some of the thinking will already have been done and issues exposed. Most people holding power do have a strong sense of wanting to "do good" whatever that means in their society's value system, so they will more likely be open about what their values are during the problem solving itself.
According to KPMG in NY 75% of those surveyed said they had observed violations of the law or company standards in the previous 12 months and that cynicism, low morale and indifference were to blame for the unethical behaviors. Training programs did not seem to make a difference…. A values clarification exercise could be a valuable introduction to all significant negotiations and for new entrants into multinational organization jobs…. Training and continuing education can support better decisionmaking. Advances in telecommunications bring awareness of global issues into the local decisions.
Serious change will require a global movement led by activist organizations backed by reformist politicians, professional organizations, and unions. Transparency International is an example.... Colonial rule and transnational corporations have contributed to corruption in developing countries.... Some ways to reduce corruption include: full disclosure and limits on large corporate and private donations to political fund-raising; laws against nepotism within the ruling elite; laws against privileged forewarning of commercial opportunities; tendering favoritism; insider-trading; full disclosure by politicians, senior bureaucrats and executives of all personal financial interests and assets; improved foreign bank account disclosure requirements; clamp down on tax havens; international cooperation to close off transnational organized crime.
Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to establish
a nationwide (federal and state) moratorium on executions. A bill in the
Senate would abolish the federal death penalty.
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