Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and PoliticsMoral Man and Immoral Societyis Reinhold Niebuhr's important early study in ethics and politics. Forthright and realistic, it discusses the inevitability of social conflict, the brutal behavior of human collectives of every sort, the inability of rationalists and social scientists to even imagine the realities of collective power, and, ultimately, how individual morality can overcome social immorality. The Library of Theological Ethics series focuses on what it means to think theologically and ethically. It presents a selection of important and otherwise unavailable texts in easily accessible form. Volumes in this series will enable sustained dialogue with predecessors though reflection on classic works in the field. |
Contents
Man and Society The Art of Living Together | 11 |
The Rational Resources of the Individual for Social Living | 23 |
The Religious Resources of the Individual for Social Living | 51 |
The Morality of Nations | 83 |
The Ethical Attitudes of Privileged Classes | 113 |
The Ethical Attitudes of the Proletarian Class | 142 |
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Common terms and phrases
absolute achieve action altruism American analysis asceticism attitudes become British Christian cial ciety civilisation claim coercion coercive communist completely conscience created culture cynicism declared degree destroy disinherited dominant economic power Eduard Bernstein egoism eliminate equal equalitarian ethical evolutionary socialism expresses fact fascism force G. M. Trevelyan goal harmony hope human hypocrisy illusion imagination Immoral Society imperialism impulses increase individual inequality inevitable intelligence interests justice justify labor League of Nations less loyalty Marxian means ment middle-class modern moral ideal moralists motives nation nature necessity Negro never Niebuhr nomic non-violent organisation parliamentary peace peril perspective political power possible privileged classes problem proletarian prompt purely Ramsay MacDonald realise reason recognise regarded Reinhold Niebuhr relations religion religious revolution revolutionary Richard Niebuhr Russian selfish sentiment social conflict social group social injustice socialist spirit theological tion tional transcendent ultimate violence virtue Waldo Frank
Popular passages
Page 5 - But all these achievements are more difficult, if not impossible, for human societies and social groups. In every human group there is less reason to guide and to check impulse, less capacity for self-transcendence, less ability to comprehend the needs of others...
Page 5 - The thesis to be elaborated in these pages is that a sharp distinction must be drawn between the moral and social behavior of individuals and of social groups, national, racial, and economic; and that this distinction justifies and necessitates political policies which a purely individualistic ethic must always find embarrassing.