What constitutes a moral, rational or virtuous man?

Liudmilla · Post by **Liudmilla** » Tue 22 July 2003 5:42 pm

I have been taking a course in college on political thought...covering the time from the inception of the US to roughly post-new deal.

One thread of thought through out this course has been a discussion of capitalism as based on a moral, rational, and virtuous political man. I confess that these words "moral, rational, and virtuous" give me a lot of trouble... maybe because of my religious background, maybe because of my historical background...I don't know.

I would like to hear what others in this forum have to say about these three words and in what context they view them.

Liudmilla · Post by **Liudmilla** » Thu 24 July 2003 12:12 am

I see that these words are a problem for others also....wonder what that means...hmmmmm

Justin Kissel · Post by **Justin Kissel** » Sat 26 July 2003 12:55 pm

It's hard to find a moral, rational, virtuous (a bit redundant?) political man. Extremely hard. How many have there been? Even the saints who might be said to have all these qualities (Saints/Emperors Theodosius or Justinian, for instance) were at some point rebuked for grave misdeeds, or did sinful things. Perhaps the first step (though certainly not the end-all) of being a moral, rational, virtuous political man would be going about your life with humility, with little or no self-interest. Captalism in that case would be the tool for helping the poor and helpless, feeding the hungry, etc. But perhaps this is not realistic, eh? Perhaps a better thing to say would be: someone who isn't totally full of himself, but has love for both God and neighbor, and shows it in his actions and thoughts. After all, how can you be virtuous if you do not love your brother or God? How can you be moral if you let your brother die starving and cold? And how can you be rational if you "live life to the fullest" now at the expence of your eternal life?

Justin Kissel · Post by **Justin Kissel** » Wed 30 July 2003 3:48 pm

Justin Kissel · Post by **Justin Kissel** » Tue 5 August 2003 6:14 pm

taps monitor Is this thing on?

Liudmilla · Post by **Liudmilla** » Tue 5 August 2003 11:44 pm

Part of the problem is that it's so difficult to reconcile all the elements. Yet, I find it funny that we as Americans base almost all our ethics on such a combination. Almost knowing that it's an impossibility, but demanding it anyway.