4.1.1 Effects of Moral Influence
The effects of moral influence can be potent, although informal; it can encourage the acceptable behaviour needed for peaceful coexistence.
The word ‘moral’ is used to describe standards of right and wrong, or ‘good’ and ‘bad’ behaviour. Moral influence is a form of governance in which people let it be known what sort of behaviour they expect from others. Influencers might merely be seeking power for themselves, but most people want the behaviour of others to be conducive to peaceful coexistence. As Amitai Etzioni pointed out, in his article Strength in numbers:[1]
“Communities provide informal social controls that reinforce the moral commitments of their members and, in turn, help make for a largely voluntary social order.”
The term ‘communities’ means groups of people who feel that they have strong links with each other, whether through social connection, neighbourhood, work, race or religion. ‘Moral commitments’ are taken to refer to a person’s values, their sense of right and wrong, which drive their behaviour even when they are not in the presence of those who have influenced them
People belong to more than one community and, in the terminology of this book, society includes many overlapping communities. People partly define their sense of identity in terms of the communities they belong to – each of which exerts influence. Kwame Anthony Appiah’s article, ‘Mrs May, we are all citizens of the world,’ noted that all of us “experience narrower identities embedded in more encompassing ones”.
Despite being influenced by others, in both their moral values and their behaviour, individuals are autonomous moral agents. Their personal behaviour affects the lives of other people: they exert influence. And their participation in politics (which is the subject of chapter 6) is informed by their moral values – as illustrated
The effects of moral influence can be very powerful. Alexis de Tocqueville observed the power of public opinion in 19th-century America, for example, in his book Democracy in America:
“The multitude require no laws to coerce those who think not like themselves: public disapprobation is enough; a sense of their loneliness and impotence overtakes them and drives them to despair.” [Part II, Book 3, section 48]
“The multitude” in this sense may mean a particular community or a wider society. The language used by de Tocqueville indicates that, far from being weak, moral pressure can be so strong that it can be oppressive.
Moral influence sets the patterns of interpersonal behaviour which support peaceful coexistence on a day-to-day basis. Legal powers can enforce some moral codes, but the law cannot be present in every social interaction – so moral influence has more impact in practice on how people behave.
In common with the other dimensions of power, moral influence is facing change. Increased migration is changing the cultural mix of many societies. Most modern societies include people with different beliefs: religious communities and those who do not have a religion. Any modern governance structure must take account of these differences but, for peaceful coexistence, it is only necessary to reach agreement on how people should behave – whilst allowing them freedom of belief.
This page is intended to form part of Edition 4 of the Patterns of Power series of books. An archived copy of it is held at https://www.patternsofpower.org/edition04/411e.htm
[1] Amitai Etzioni’s article, Strength in numbers, was published in the RSA Journal, Autumn 2009, (pp. 24-27). It has been taken off the Internet, but a copy is stored in the British Library. It is a succinct description of communitarianism, which is the philosophy that he was promoting. Other material on the subject is available online.