Ethics in the Life of Nations: National Conscience Versus National Consensus
| Published date | 01 July 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556120130303 |
| Date | 01 July 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
ETHICS IN
THE
LIFE
OF
NATIONS: NATIONAL
CONSCIENCE VERSUS NATIONAL CONSENSUS
YOGENDRA
NARAIN
Any action which helps
in
giving freedom to evolve-whether
it is the individual, communities or nation, is
in
accordance
with conscience. On the other hand actions that purport to
restrict such development
or
evolution, are against the
principles
of
conscience and ethically wrong. Evolution here
connotes the development
of
the human mind, the freedom to
express oneself, the space to let a thousand flowers bloom
simultaneously.
If
a country has to develop, first it must slowly
move from the stage
of
'national consensus' to the stage
of
'national conscience'. National consensus always implies a
compromise between what should be and what is practicable
at
present
for
the larger majority
of
people. This article probes
as to what happens when national conscience gives way to
expediency
and
becomes national consensus. Is ethical
governance in consonance with the ethical and conscientious
society?
THE
LIFE
of
nations, as
of
individuals, in the past, used to be nasty, brutish
and short. Hobbes and Darwin both talked
of
the survival
of
the fittest and
this was as true
of
the political societies with national boundaries as
of
communities consisting
of
individuals drawn together because
of
religion
or
castes.
The advent
of
the United Nations, reconstituted and refined after the
unsuccessful experiment
of
the League
of
Nations, has remained the biggest
bulwark against aggressional tendencies
of
powerful nations. Through its
ancillary organisations it has also led the fight for freedom
of
the individuals
of
different regions and mobilised public opinion in the fight for human
rights, dignity
of
the individual, liberty and removal
of
poverty. The United
Nations has acted as the conscience
of
the world and motivated all nations
to act according to their conscience and not necessarily on consensus.
On a slightly smaller scale but more relevant level are the nation states
which unlike the United Nations have defined boundaries and where laws
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