by Beauregard Fox

Created on: November 07, 2009

This question rests on two very dubious claims: that there is, indeed, an "erosion of moral values," and that this subsequently results in the "erosion of the strength of society." I will argue that neither of these are the case.

To begin with, I will address this idea of an "erosion of moral values." The very notion of the "erosion of morals" implies a variety of false claims. The first is that previous generations were "more moral," that the past represented a high point from which we are moving away. This is hardly the case. In the United States, for example, the 1950's are often looked at as a prime example of good, honest moral values. It is the birth of the idea of the American Dream, the father as breadwinner, mother as homemaker, one or two children, church on Sunday, etc. It was also the era of Jim Crow laws and McCarthyism, two great stains on American society.

It becomes quickly apparent, upon further examination of history, that while in some ways society may have seemed "more moral" than today, it also had several powerfully negative elements that have since been eliminated (to an extent). Thus, there truly are no "good old days" upon which to look back and say, "We are in moral decline."

Second of all, this idea of moral decay implies that there are objective, "correct" moral values. This itself is a very dubious claim. It is extremely doubtful, for example, that a Catholic and a Mormon would agree on very many moral values, despite both being Christians. Taking in to account the various other religions, plus agnostics and atheists, and it becomes virtually impossible to determine what values are "correct," if indeed there are objective moral values.

Third, there are no ways to really measure the "moral values" of people, barring asking them, and even that can be unreliable. Many people may not have specific moral codes - they know what is moral or immoral in context, but may not have a written out, easy-reference set of moral values.

Perhaps this question looks at the rising crime rates and divorce rates in the US and sees "moral decay." I would suggest that the reasons for these are not "moral decay," per say. Crime rates rise as poverty rises, and with the continued polarization of wealth, the rich get richer, and the poor are left to fend for themselves, subjected to worsening conditions that stretch the human spirit to the limit. The rising divorce rate can be attributed a variety of factors: lessened financial dependence of spouses,

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