Morality, the economy and me

In his book “The Righteous Mind,” social psychologist Jonathon Haidt reveals that morals are developed not simply through rational processes.

Emotion, believe it or not, plays a significant role in the construction of one’s morality.

So, it seems that my sense of justice was influenced by my middle school experience as a nerdy teen.

I was picked on, very rarely in any physical capacity, but nonetheless to such an extent that I knew my place.

To others I was the smart kid, a nerd, a geek or the benchwarmer, and for this I received little praise, admiration or attention.

I withstood middle school not merely as one endures growing pains.

I was pressed socially and academically to conform, to achieve by arbitrary standards set by external authorities.

One day after school, I burst under the weight of these injustices.

Through a pathetic fit of sobs, I tried to articulate to my mother how it felt to watch those who disregarded the authority of the teachers and received poor grades garner the favor of my friends and peers while I did what I was told, gaining nothing but single letters on returned papers.

This experience marks my advancement into what psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg called the “post-conventional” stage of moral development in which authority is questioned in pursuit of, to quote Haidt, “higher goods, particularly justice.”

The breaking point I described, however, shouldn’t be said to encapsulate my moral transformation during middle school. I could list a number of memories that all exemplify the strong emotions I felt during that period.

I felt these emotions daily through subtle interactions with my environment. At that age, every glance contributes to one’s emotional stability.

I will never claim to be fully developed, morally or otherwise, until I’m dead. Our moral growth never ends, it only plateaus or stagnates.

So, if we are concerned with morality within our culture, we must look at our created environments to see how those things which stimulate our emotions also influence (and reflect) morality.

Haidt and his colleagues have identified what they call “the five foundations of morality,” which are harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect and purity/sanctity.

Our created environments do not reflect these foundations equally. For example, stadiums encourage ingroup/loyalty, lecture halls authority/respect, and so on.

These environments reflect economic structure, and the global economy operates without morality in mind.

Today our economy is based on growth above morality, which is reflected in its disregard for harm and fairness.

As consumers, we don’t see the harm we cause. We usually have no idea where our products come from or where they go when we are done. How, then, can we feel and learn from the harm we create?

Capitalism also subverts development of fairness/reciprocity by glorifying competition and greed instead of cooperation.

The global economy has stunted our culture’s moral development by encouraging capitalization of some morals and de-emphasizing the rest.

­— poren@indiana.edu