Fundamental and Operational Ethics

• Wealth without work.
• Pleasure without conscience.
• Science without humanity.
• Knowledge without character.
• Politics without principle.
• Commerce without morality.
• Worship without sacrifice.

The fundamentals are also represented by the three proverbial monkeys – ‘see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil’.

Coming to the operational ethics, one can say that this continues to evolve by society and change. Some behaviours and actions which were not accepted say a century back or even a few decades back have become the norm and the new norm is accepted without batting an eye. Some of the vivid examples are: divorce, same sex marriages, live-in relationship and women as part of work force. There was a time when the concept of ‘doli’ and ‘arthi’ prevailed – divorce was unthinkable, unaccepted and castigated. Today it is not only accepted but even approbated. According to some statistics the number of women seeking divorce exceeds the number of men seeking divorce.

The English attitude over the years has changed towards Prince Charles and his second wife – a divorcee – Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. English are today willing to accept her as queen.

Silvio Berlusconi (77) former prime minister of Italy has won election in 2013 after having been convicted for tax evasion and liaison with a minor and having divorced for the second time his wife after 22 years of marriage and three children and still continues to head Forza Italia party. Incidentally Berlusconi is also embroiled in court cases for allegedly trying to bribe a senator. – TOI 20.2.2014 –

Two instances of society’s change towards marriage and corruption.

A working woman from a middle class family was unacceptable and was even considered by some as not being ethical a few decades back – today it is the norm because of economic necessity and / or because the woman is not only educated but is professionally qualified. Today women contribute to not only to economic and political activity but also take part in intellectual pursuits. The list of women business leaders today is large. Recently General Motors have appointed a Mary Barra as CEO. Let us not forget that both Google (Sherye Sandberg) and Yahoo (Marissa Mayer) have women CEO’s – These ladies have successfully changed their company’s business models. Janet Yellen (2014) heads the Federal Reserve Bank, USA and Indra Nooyi heads Pepsi. In India to name a few would be Kiran Majumdar, Swati Piramal, Chanda Kocher, Shikha Sharma and Aisha De Sequeira. Today women stand tall and head financial, manufacturing, media and marketing behemoths. In the political arena we have had both national and international figures like Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Hillary Clinton to name a few. Time issue of 28th Oct. 2013 carries an article on how 20 lady senators are collaborating and impacting decision making in USA. Let us remember, they are smart – they are good listeners and have always instinctively known and practised the art of using whip. There is no area of operation today where women are not excelling.

Same sex relationship which was castigated by society is today accepted. The Supreme Court is being criticised for its recent verdict holding the relationship illegal and section 377 of the Indian Penal code is likely to be amended. The verdict is considered as discriminatory and in violation human rights. Amartya Sen says ‘These people are like ‘life style minority’ – and the Supreme Court judgement is in violation of protection rights of minorities’. U.K., and many countries and many states in USA have legalised same sex marriages. Ireland, a catholic country through a referendum has approved same sex marriage.

Talking on sexuality, Dalai Lama said in Mumbai Mirror 8.3.2014 that: ‘There is difference between public policy and individual morality – people should follow their own religion’s rules on sexuality. But for nonbeliever’s that is up to them’.

Times of India of 12 Dec. 2013 reports that the 3rd place for the Time’s ‘man of the year’ (2013) is U.S – gay activist Edith Windsor in honour of her victory in June 2013 when the U.S. Supreme Court granted same sex marriages the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples.

Pope Francis when questioned on same sex liaisons responded by saying ‘if a person is gay and he seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?’ Times of India of 17.12..2013 reported that because of his view Pope Francis has been named ‘person of the year’ of the oldest gay magazine in the United States.

Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni said in Time 10.3.2014:

‘There’s now an attempt at social imperialism – to impose social values’.

Few years back when a President of France (Sarkozy) was visiting India it was diplomatically conveyed that his live-in lady (Carla Bruni) would not be extended customary courtesies. However in 2013 when the President Francois Hollande visited with his live-in lady of years Valerie Trierweiler no such action was taken. Further President Hollande’s breakup with Valerie Trierweiler caused by his affair with an actress has been accepted by society. This is an instance of evolution of ‘operational ethics’.

Marriage though not yet out of fashion is co-existing with ‘live-in’ relationships. The best part is that ‘live-in’ relationship is being legally recognised and in some countries even accepted under Succession Laws. The Supreme Court since 2010 has consistently ruled in favour of couples living together as husband and wife, giving woman the rights of a wife. The Victorian concept of manwoman relationship has undergone an unrecognisable change in the way society views this relationship.

According to a survey report by Outlook dt: 24 Feb. 2014 premarital relationship is becoming the order of day even in India. India Today’s survey of 2015 on habits of Indians is an eye opener as it points out to a fact that parents are more concerned about the marks their children get in the exams than their moral habits. According to the TOI of 27th March 2014 contraceptive devices in UK will be freely available to girls below 25 at schools to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Prenuptial agreements are entered into not only for sharing assets but also pets. The issue is: It may be legal but is it ethical to plan for divorce even before marriage.

These represent change in the attitude of society towards marriage.

Girl child is still not preferred in countries like India, China, Middle East etc. Hence, there has been an increase in girl child abortions despite law prohibiting sex testing and abortions. However, now ‘Family balancing services’ are now available in, USA, Mexico, Cyprus, etc. for determining the sex of a child at prenatal and preconception stage – IVF services. The issue still remains:

Is it ethical to avoid the birth of a female – is this not sex discrimination.

Use of marijuana – as a recreational article was illegal and looked down upon is being legalised and accepted by society is another instance of ever changing operational ethics. President Barrack Obama is said to have remarked: ‘I smoked pot as a kid —- I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol’. According to Time of 30 Jan. 2014, $ 1 million – estimated sales on Colorado’s first day of legalising marijuana sales.

Global commission on Drug Policy’s 2014 report recommends legalisation of drugs – marijuana, heroin and cocaine as the cost of prohibition is greater than the alternative.  This  is   probably   because   the   number of people who  have  died  in  drug  wars  is  greater  than the people who have died of use. Time – 29th September 2014.

Ethics in food business over the years has undergone change – for example – obesity and GM foods have become an issue of importance. Companies have started – foreseeing legislation and change in consumer requirement have started disclosing GM content in their food products. Time 20 Jan. 2014.

Corruption both in economic and political arena though visible and accepted is still castigated. The tragedy is it is not shunned and shamed. This is the change in our behaviour. We in India and world over have scams. The scamster when and if caught is punished but still gives reasons justifying his action. Operations of investigating agencies are interfered with by those in power. In one case the Supreme Court called the CBI a ‘caged parrot’.

In the past a politician or a minister even if suspected of corruption was not accepted by the public. Let us not forget that Mr. T.T. Krishnamachari, the finance minister and Mr. H. K. Patel, the finance secretary had to resign because of LIC’s investments in mundra companies as a result   of the report of Chagla Commission. Today according to Mumbai Mirror of 20th April 2014, 321 candidates with criminal record are fighting parliamentary elections. TOI of 22 April 2014 reports 70% voters are willing to ignore candidate’s criminal record. It is rightly said,

‘Honesty in little things is not a little thing’.

Operational ethics is always impacted by the environment, for example, lobbying is the norm in USA and is suspect in India – Nadira tapes case and India looking into Walmart lobbying for business in India. Some politicians have suggested that lobbying should be legalised in India. However, the fundamental concept of that corruption though prevalent is not accepted – which is again exemplified by the Foreign Corruption Practices Act in USA, the UK Bribery law and the relevant Indian law is under amendment.

Shankar Sharma in his article ‘corruption is a non-issue for the voter’ – Business Standard 23 April 2014 cryptically observes:

•    Was middleclass India so innocent as to be unaware that bribes are an integral part of doing business to run any regulated business such as infrastructure, power or mining (anywhere in the world, actually)? That contracts in these businesses are almost never won honestly, or that bids won honestly have little if any profits embedded in them?

•   Truth be told: Indians were happy to make money off corruption and happily turned a blind eye to what lay beneath the boom.

•     We start clambering on to the high moral ground only when we start to feel that somehow the gravy train is eluding us.

•   We as a nation, are ready for a Faustian bargain. Give us a fistful of economic promissory notes and we will barter all the lofty ideals we once held dear.

•   More realistically, let us assume that no Indian is that naive. So what does that tell you about our mindset? Not pretty: that as long as the fruits of corruption are trickling down to us, it is a non-issue.

The issue is: what does this represent – change in Society’s attitude towards corruption!

It is because of prevalent corruption we are going through a transparency revolution, for example, the Right to Information Act, The Right to Services Act, Citizen’s Charter etc. Even the corporate laws are continuously changing to bring in better reporting.

Let us not forget that President Clinton was impeached not for what happened in Oval Office (operational ethics) but for telling a lie and denying what happened in Oval Office fundamental ethics – Truth.

Gandhi, Martin and Mandela, despite their perceived weaknesses practiced ethics and fought injustice ethically and succeeded.

Speaking on Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages is characterised by impiety, violence and decay, the Vishnu Purana says, “Social status depends not upon your accomplishments, but in the ownership of property; wealth is now the source of virtue; passion and luxury are the sole bonds between spouses; falsity and lying are the conditions of success in life; sexuality is the sole source of human enjoyment;; religion, a superficial and empty ritual, is confused with spirituality. E.T. 28 January 2015.

Mahabharat is what we are living. In Mahabharat we have good people having vices and the wicked practicing ethics. But the real answer lies in Gita in which Krishna preaches the practice of eternal ethics – values. In times of conflict let us remember what Pearl S. Buck said:

‘You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel,
but you can make yourself do right inspite of your feelings’.

I would conclude by restating what I said earlier that there is a difference between operational and fundamental ethics. Despite the fact that we are in Kali Yug. I still believe that society inherently believes in the fundamental of truth, honesty and compassion and that is the reason that there is revival in the practice of spirituality.