cussed social ethics in terms of fitting into one’s place
in the REPUBLIC, exercising the VIRTUEs appropriate to
one’s innate talents, and contributing to the harmo-
nious ordering of the whole society (or JUSTICE). ARIS-
TOTLEviewed ethics in terms of the golden mean of
moderation: A personal character always chooses the
virtue between two vices (excess and deficiency);
courage resides between cowardliness and reckless-
ness. CICEROpresented social ethics in terms of PAT-
RIOTISMand obedience to ROMAN LAW. CHRISTIANsocial
ethics (St. AUGUSTINE, St. Thomas AQUINAS, John
CALVIN, etc.) enjoin obedience to God and Christ-
likeness (the values of love, humility, forgiveness,
patience, etc.). MODERN RENAISSANCE and ENLIGHTEN-
MENTsocial ethics focus more on respecting rights of
others (John LOCKE, Thomas HOBBES). COMMUNISTthe-
ory (Karl MARX, V.I. LENIN, Friedrich ENGELS) dismisses
absolute ethics, claiming that morality is historically
conditioned and relative; each economic system has
its own ethics, and the only “true” good is violent rev-
olution that overthrows CAPITALISM and establishes
SOCIALISM. FASCIST theory (NAZI; Giovanni GENTILE)
advocates obedience to the STATEand the leader as the
highest social ethic.
In general, social ethical systems can be broken
down into two schools of thought: positive and nega-
tive. Negative social ethics (as in the British LIBERALISM
of John Locke) commend a standard of goodness by
what one does not do (does not kill, steal, enslave,
etc.). The Old Testament Ten COMMANDMENTSare pri-
marily negative ethical statements. A good society in
this view is one in which people respect others’ indi-
vidual rights, and otherwise leave others alone. Posi-
tive social ethics (as in CLASSICAL and Christian
philosophy) emphasize doing positive good to others
(training, love, charity, etc.); the good society is one
full of concerned, caring people, not separate
autonomous individuals. For example, on the issue of
ABORTIONor HOMOSEXUALITY, the negative social ethics
would say those individuals involved have private
RIGHTSthat should be absolutely respected (pro-choice,
pro-gay). The positive ethical system would say that
the good society would seek what is best for the peo-
ple involved, applying a transcendent standard (NATU-
RAL LAW).
Social ethics are a part of every political system,
though they are often assumed rather than explicitly
understood. With the rise of CONSERVATIVEreligious and
moral character issues in the United States, examina-
tion of standards of social ethics increases. James Davi-
son HUNTER’s book Culture Warspresents the major eth-
ical approaches in the contemporary United States.Social Gospel Movement
A PROGRESSIVEsocial movement primarily of Protestant
CHRISTIANSin late 19th- and early 20th-century United
States. In response to the urban poverty, alcoholism,
and social conflict of early INDUSTRIALISMin the United
States, the Social Gospel Movement applied Christian
ETHICSof love, charity, peace, and justice to U.S. poli-
tics. Endorsement of Liberal social legislation (favor-
ing labor unions, social welfare to the poor,
PROHIBITIONof liquor, and civil rights for AFRICAN AMER-
ICANS) characterized this LEFTIST church movement.
Leaders included Walter RAUSCHENBUSCH(whose book
Christianity and the Social Crisis encapsulated its
thought), Charles M. SHELDON (whose novel In His
Stepsexpressed its ideal), and CATHOLICcardinal James
Gibbons (who supported the KNIGHTS OF LABOR). Orga-
nizations such as the Salvation Army and the Volun-
teers of America embodied Social Gospel ideals. In its
most extreme form, the Social Gospel Movement
endorsed a Christian SOCIALISMand the hope that the
kingdom of God could be realized on earth through
economic and political reform.
After World War I, the optimism of the Social
Gospel Movement waned, but many of its programs
were revived by the Liberal DEMOCRATIC PARTY of
Franklin D. ROOSEVELT’s NEW DEAL. Critics of the Social
Gospel Movement arose from CONSERVATIVEchurches
and the Christian REALISMof Reinhold NIEBUHR’s neo-
ORTHODOXY. Nevertheless, the social conscience of the
Liberal Protestant churches continued in the
Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and United
Church of Christ churches throughout the 20th cen-
tury. LIBERATION THEOLOGYbecame the most RADICAL,
MARXIST COMMUNISTform of this movement.socialism/socialist
An economic and social system and IDEOLOGY that
denies the absolute individual RIGHTto private PROP-
ERTYownership and insists that society as a whole (or
its state) should control production and distribution of
wealth. Often contrasted with CAPITALISMor a free-mar-
ket economy, socialist theory developed in Europe
during the 18th and 19th centuries in response to
INDUSTRIALISM. Ranging from full-scale TOTALITARIAN-socialism/socialist 279