Reply #5: "the loss of fear and lack of moral leadership leading to

[patrice]

criminal acts" is something that also happens under the principle that each person must create the value (for good or bad) of his/her own life, without (or with as little) support (as possible). The need for support creates fear (of the possibility of loosing support). If you don't need the support, you don't fear losing it, hence you also lose the need to conform. With no need to conform, "moral leadership" is no longer - necessarily - relevant (nor ir-relevant!) and crime becomes an option. We're supposed to choose and the consequences of our OWN choices must be on our own souls (this is, BTW, what the Catholic Church ***USED*** to teach. They told us it is what makes us human and not "animals").

I think "the loss of fear and lack of moral leadership leading to criminal acts" also happens under a more authoritarian ethical model too, but for opposite reasons that have to do with extremity of need (rather than a loss of, or losing, need) extremity of need that does, in this situation, make moral leadership necessarily ir-relevant, i.e. because of factors such as confusion and economics, the need is sooooo high, and because of a history of dependence, individual resources to respond to that need are soooo low, that moral leadership simply doesn't matter, any form of conformity, any leader will do as long as needs are met, in fact moral leaders are less desirable, because their morality may get in the way of satisfying the group needs. With heightened conformity, heightened leadership, and heightened "need" satisfaction, "we" (whoever the collective is) think we fear nothing, because "we" "fear" nothing, we'll do just about anything, especially to demonstrate group membership. People "feel proud, safe, and free" unless and until they start growing.

I'm not sure what growth is. Maybe it's grace, or luck; I don't know. I know it isn't necessarily intelligence, though intelligence does have smething to do with it. Anyway some people have more of a capacity for growth than others, not that they necessarily will grow, just that it is more possible that they will. If they start by making the little choices that make growth possible, they may notice the difference between real loss of fear and conformity. I don't think real moral decisions are made out of fear. I think a genuine loss of fear is necessary for growth. Whether choices are constructive or destructive has to do with unique configurations of factors I can't describe, but I believe the big factors are if you're free enough of need and free of ignorance, your choices, on the average, are creative and constructive. And if more people are like this, leadership is un-necessary most of the time.