The problem of moral choice in political ethics

Abstract

In this paper, we identify and describe the particular characteristics of moral choice in political ethics. For that purpose, the main features of political ethics as applied ethics, as well as its difference from other areas of applied ethics, are revealed. We describe the method and the limits of interpretation of political ethics as professional ethics. We come to the conclusion that in some cases of political choice we cannot appeal to norms and principles of public morality. The reasons are the ineradicable properties and goals of political activity—that is, its significant impact on the welfare and lives of citizens of the state, a high degree of risk and uncertainty, and the continuous presence of open ethical questions. On that ground, we argue that in the case of moral choice political ethics should analyze each situation separately, since any attempt to create universal prescriptions and recommendations would inevitably fail as inappropriate. Hereafter, we propose the typology of ethical conflicts typical for political practice. The first type is the moral conflict caused by the necessity of political compromise that presupposes breaking previous promises. The second type is proper moral dilemmas that include the choice between life and death of other people. The third type presents the choice between some historically significant goals and the personal political career of a politician. In the discussion, we will provide real-life examples for each type of political moral conflict. The main research methods of the paper are categorical analysis of ethical concepts, comparative analysis, cultural-historical method, analysis of moral dilemmas, event analysis, politicalpsychological method, method of political-cultural comparative studies, and content analysis.