Cultural Relativism Essay

Pope Benedict once said, “We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.” When discussing the idea of Moral Relativism there are conflicting arguments as to if it is true in society or not. As much as Americans wish to ignore it, and although it has negative as well as positive effects, moral relativism is apparent all over the world. Moral Relativism is true and relevant today through individuals and cultures.

This case portrays the widely propagated and accepted phenomena of bribes and corruption in developing countries. Specifically how it affects every sector of the Ukrainian society, therefore making it difficult for the American investors to establish companies there and to prosper solely on doing good business. The case describes the types of obstacles and ethical dilemmas being created for the investors as a result of bribery and extortion.

OECD published Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and Related Documents to prevent bribery and corruption. The aim of this convention was making the bribery of a foreign public official a crime under their laws (International Monetary Fund, OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, 2001). This document recommends to member countries that:

Bribery weakens competition and diminishes free trade which can affect companies, shareholders, and stakeholders. Jacob Franklin knowingly extended bribes to governments and contractors while knowing it was against company policy. Jacob engaged in bribery even though he knew it was wrong because he was advised that it was common practice at Richard Drilling. “In 1977, President Carter signed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The law made it illegal to bribe foreign officials. The maximum punishments for violators were set at $100,000 and 5 years in jail. Companies can be fined millions” (Bredeson, 2012, p.301). Not only was extending the bribe against company policy, it was against law and could cost Jacob and Richardson Drilling money and freedom.

Cultural relativism, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. “Is the thesis that a person’s culture strongly influences her modes of perception and thought” Most cultural relativists add to this definition saying that there is no standard of morality. This means that morality is relative to the particular society that one lives in. Prominent ethicist James Rachels has written against this view in his work titled The Challenge of Cultural Relativism. This paper will be focused on evaluating Rachels’ critique of cultural relativism, and whether it was right for him to endorse

Cultural Relativism is an important ethical theory and James Rachels’ argument is significant to provide evidence to prove and disprove the idea. It is important to call attention to and understand differences between cultures. Tolerance is also an valid concept when arguing Cultural Relativism. Regardless of the outcome or viewpoint of the argument it is significant in the fact that it raises awareness for tolerance and differences between cultures and that no culture is more superior or more correct in relation to another. The theory of Cultural Relativism is the idea that each and every culture has it’s own moral code, and if this is true, there is no universal, ethical truth that every culture must abide by. A universal truth being one that is true in all situations, at all times, and in all places. It proposes that a person’s actions should be understood and judged only by those within the terms of their culture. It is an idea of tolerance and open mindedness to cultures who are not our own. In the article, The Challenge of Cultural Relativism, James Rachels discusses important themes and arguments in concurrence with his own argument against Cultural Relativism. I will argue that Cultural Relativism is challenged by James Rachels argument but not disproved.

In my opinion every country is corrupt and has pliantly of bribery in their governments, businesses, and even households. Bribery in its most basic form is the practice of giving gifts of monetary value to a client or potential customer to persuade their decision. According to Black Law’s Dictionary, bribery is “The offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or other person in charge of a public or legal duty.” This practice constitutes a crime in most developed countries and is highly controversial. As with any controversy, bribery has its advantages as well as problems. Common advantages of bribery include gaining business without needing to have superior quality or services, building

The concept of ethical relativism theory raises important issues. Thus, there has been numerous debates on whether ethical relativism is valid or is not valid. Ethical relativism is the view that correct moral standards are relative to individual or cultural commitments. Ethical relativism can take two forms: cultural relativism or ethical subjectivism. Cultural relativism is the view that an act is morally right just because it is allowed by guiding ideals of the society in which it is performed, and immoral just because it is forbidden by those ideals.

The presenting team used the Walmart case as basis for the debate as it is relevant to the issue in question. In April 2012, the NYT reported that the Walmart management in Mexico paid bribes of $24 million and $16 million in “”donation” to Mexico local government to help expand the business there. In their debate that team chose to explore the possibility of expansion to China while debating the pros and cons of bribery/ “pay for play” in China in order to succeed there.

Abuse of power and discrimination are bound to happen when people are given the position of authority over others. This happens in businesses, households, and in the police force. The corruption and abuse of policing is a serious problem facing many people living in the world today. But in countries that are less developed there is an abundance of power abuse and corruption especially over the poor and marginalized who fall within the lowest quintile of income (Agbiboa). The corruption is easier to see in the underdeveloped country, but the fact that it happens in other places means that it is just as possible to happen here in the United States.

What comes to mind when one considers the act of bribery? Like many people, a plethora of negative actions and ideas probably come to mind. Possibilities that may come to mind are things like, corruption, deceit, fraud, schemes, and other illicit activity or transactions. This is where an important question arises. What, then, is the difference between bribery and corporate political campaign funding? It is plain to see that the answer ranges somewhere between nothing and very little. In today’s political world democracy is for sale.

One of the largest issues that democracy in Latin America faces is bribery. This however is not entirely the fault of the corrupt politician trying to stay in power. Voters are also to blame for accepting these bribes. By accepting the

Cultural relativism is the way society separates right from wrong within a culture. What we describe as “good” and “bad” is based off of our cultural beliefs. No culture is better than any other and all their beliefs are equally valid. The way that modern society is has made it possible for almost everything to be justified.

Bribery can be defined as when one is offered money or some other incentive with the intention to corrupt a person’s actions.¬ Bribery is the main component, if not the basis, of government corruption.

In Mexico religion and culture interact in a daily basis to create the complexity of the Mexican lifestyle. Traditions like “Dia de muertos” interact with Catholicism in a way where the tradition is respected without offending the catholic beliefs. Since Catholicism take really negative any interaction with magic, superstition or other religions, the tradition grew and adapted to be about honoring and remembering our death relatives who die and went to heaven. (Pages 1-2)