Virtue Isn’t Necessarily About God

August 21, 2008 by Stephen Palmer

How to Promote Virtue Without Appealing to Religion

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” -George Washington

It’s incontrovertible that no society can secure or maintain freedom in the absence of virtue and that enduring political philosophy must include the aspect of morality. The problem with persuading others of these facts is that the concept of virtue can be divisive since it’s so often associated with religion. However, virtue can and should a source of unity in America, rather than a source of enmity.

One powerful way to make virtue universally embraced is to make the case for it from a pragmatic — rather than a specifically religious — perspective.

Understand that the purpose is not to reduce or constrain virtue, but rather to create an expanded usage of the concept that allows you to reach more people in the struggle for liberty. Virtue is, by nature, mainly the purview of religion and spirituality, rather than reason alone. To quote George Washington again, “Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure…reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

But this doesn’t mean that we can’t effectively use reason to unite others behind the importance of virtue; reason can be a powerful ally to reach a broader audience than those who accept virtue as a given on religious grounds. Stripping down the robed, metaphysical nature of virtue to the naked flesh of practicality can be an effective way to understand its importance in political philosophy.

The Natural Results of the Lack of Virtue

Forget your religious and spiritual attachments to virtue — or your aversions to virtue –for a moment and consider what happens to a society populated by untrustworthy, deceitful, selfish, and rapacious individuals. Suppose you’re a farmer in such a society. You take precious time and painstaking care to grow your crops, only to have them forcefully stolen by marauders. You try again and again but are continually met with the same fate. At what point do you give up (assuming you haven’t been killed by the thieves first)? When do you stop providing value to society by growing food?

You build a house, only to have it stolen by a conniving landlord. Will you be anxious to continue putting your time and effort into rebuilding, or will you eventually become discouraged and resign yourself to living in a shack that no one will steal?

As a freelance writer, much of my business is done over the Internet with people that I have never met in person and likely never will. What happens to my mindset and productivity if I continually complete jobs for clients — before getting paid — and then they take my work and run without paying?

In all of the cases mentioned, people resort to one of three things, if not all: 1) they will stop producing because they lose faith that they will benefit by doing so, 2) they severely limit their economic exchanges with others out of fear of being cheated, or 3) they will be forced to institute barriers of protection which cost time, money, and lost productivity; in other words, they stop the free flow of exchange and wealth creation.

The Main Supports of Prosperity

Economic prosperity is a function of two basic principles: production and exchange. Production means to consciously create value for others in such a way that they value what you offer more than what they have to give. In essence it represents service. It means to figure out what others want and provide it for them effectively and efficiently. Production can come in the form of tangible products, such as clothes, tangible services such as housecleaning, or intangibles such as information or the appearance of status.

Exchange occurs when two people value what the other has more than what they have themselves. You have pigs and want wheat, I have wheat and want pigs, so we have a natural and voluntary basis for exchange. Currency, of course, enables exchange to be much more efficient than the barter system, since it is a universally accepted symbol of value. The more exchange that occurs in society, the wealthier everyone becomes.

In the absence of virtue, productivity and exchange are dramatically restricted at best. Why should I produce if my production will only amount to wasted time, money, and effort when it gets forcefully or deceitfully taken from me? Why should I exchange when I continually get cheated? On the other hand, virtuous societies, wherein honest people can trust each other, always prosper because their production and exchange are optimized.

The natural result of deceit and coercion — in other words, a lack of virtue — is an impoverished, mistrustful, and corrupt society. There is a direct and intimate relationship between widespread poverty and a lack of virtue; the societies that are the most impoverished are those that are the most corrupt. The Dark Ages are a perfect example.

Time spent worrying about how others are going to harm you or take the fruits of your production is time that could have been spent producing and exchanging. The time spent building a moat and a castle is time that could have been spent growing crops and making bread. Castles and all other forms of defense are not human achievements to praise, but rather unfortunate monuments to the lack of virtue. Aesthetic beauty is one thing; labor compelled by danger from attack is another.

Beyond Economics

Does this apply to relationships beyond economic exchanges? What about marriage? A marriage comprised of two unfaithful and deceitful individuals is full of bitterness, resentment, and suspicion. They cannot work together for the common good, and so the household suffers, monetarily, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The children are affected and perpetuate the baggage into their own relationships. In other words, forget about whether the lack of virtue within a marriage is right or wrong — it simply doesn’t work. It’s unsustainable. It creates conflict and limits cooperation.

The decline in virtue in society is accompanied by and directly correlates with an increase in litigation, violence, security-oriented industries and businesses, and, as a result, a decrease in productivity and exchange, ultimately leading to a decrease in cooperation, peace, and prosperity. It’s not necessary to appeal to a religion, a spiritual master, or an ecclesiastical leader to realize the factual, empirical, and pragmatic nature of and necessity for virtue.

“Statesmen…may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue; and if this cannot be inspired into our people in a greater measure than they have it now, they may change their rulers and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty. They will only exchange tyrants and tyrannies…” — John Adams

Legal Plunder

There’s yet another angle to consider with virtue, and that is what happens when the government is authorized to take, by force, the fruits of men’s labors. Frederic Bastiat has already articulated this important point well in his classic The Law, so I won’t belabor it here. Suffice it to say that whether corruption occurs through private or legal means, the result is the same: mistrust, poverty, and violence. Whether my property is stolen against my will by the government or petty thieves, I will be less likely and able to engage in production and exchange.

Conclusion

Virtue can be an intensely personal, spiritual, and religious principle that you hold dear, as well you should. You may associate it with saints and spiritual masters, as do I. As we engage in the battle for liberty, we may try to convince and persuade others of the value of virtue by appealing to the concepts of “right” and “wrong.” This can be problematic, however, as it inevitably creates strife over differing opinions of right and wrong.

Lay hold upon virtuous principles for your own personal reasons, yet also learn to articulate the case for virtue based on pragmatics — or what works. While it may not be as ennobling and inspiring as we would like, it’s at least universally appealing and doesn’t require faith or belief to prove its necessity. Virtue is not only a religious or spiritual principle; it is also a practical necessity to maintain a free and prosperous society.