From: ibshambat@gmail.com   
      
   Some people's concept of ethics is based on the concept of loyalty, and other   
   people's concept of ethics is based on the concept of principle. Neither   
   however is adequate in itself. I combine the two to come up with a more   
   workable concept: Principled    
   Loyalty.   
      
   Loyalty, by itself, creates things such as the mafia. Mafia has strong   
   internal loyalties, but it treats everyone else like dirt. I do not want to   
   see the world being run by mafia values.   
      
   Principle, by itself, lacks realism and compassion. Principle wants to treat   
   everyone equally. I do not believe that that is a fair expectation. People   
   will have loyalties to one another. People will prefer their own over others.   
   People will prefer their    
   children over other people's children, and people will prefer their countries   
   over other countries. I consider it foolishness to expect anything else.   
      
   I combine the two to create something better than either: Principled Loyalty.   
      
   Principled loyalty seeks the well-being of people to whom one is loyal, but it   
   refuses to do wrong things for them. Specifically, it refuses to do wrong to   
   others. If my country wanted me to throw sulfuric acid into the face of a   
   child, I would not do it.   
    If someone to whom I am personally loyal wanted me to commit murder, I would   
   not do it. Instead I will look for workable ways to advance their best   
   interest without hurting others.   
      
   Principled loyalty therefore corrects the potential for error in both loyalty   
   and principle and then combines the two to create something better than either   
   side.   
      
   One thing that happens when cultures mix is people's conception of ethics   
   getting taken away from them. I used to have a strong ethical system that was   
   based in Communism. When I came to America, that got deconstructed, and I was   
   left without moral    
   guidance. I have had to use my mind and my experiences to create a more   
   informed system of ethics. Principled loyalty is what I came up with as a   
   result.   
      
   With principled loyalty, we see both human reality and values at work. People   
   will have loyalties to one another, but unconditional loyalty takes people   
   into the mafia land. Principle is very much a virtue, but by itself it fails   
   to consider human    
   reality. There is a need for both. With principled loyalty, people will   
   advance the lot of their own without hurting others in the process.   
      
   I will prefer my own over others, and I do not expect anyone else to act   
   differently. I will not however do wrong things for them. I will look at how   
   to advance their interests without hurting others. Doing that corrects the   
   potential for error in both    
   loyalty and principle. And the result is a more functional system of ethics   
   – one that considers both human reality and principle and gives people a   
   workable way to advance the interests of their own without hurting others.   
      
   Ilya Shambat    
   https://sites.google.com/site/ilyashambatthought   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)