Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Pluralism

The principles of pluralism and tolerance as practiced today make moral judgments impossible. Yet moral judgment is fundamental to social reform - judging some practices wrong and other good. Here's a clever anecdote that illustrates the point well.

The British general Charles James Napier assigned to British-run India was informed that he just didn't understand Indian customs. He couldn't ban the practice of wife-burning, he was told, because it was an ancient and valued tradition in India. He said he understood and appreciated that. It was just that "my country also has a custom." he explained. "We hang people who burn women." His custom won out.

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