Codes of Conduct
Codes of conduct have defined civilization for thousands of years.The early civilizations of the Mesopotamia established rough guidelines forhow people were to live their lives-they included prohibitions,regulations, and even penalties for violations. The Babyloniansestablished written law. The Code of Hammurabi set parameters based uponethic and moral sentiments of the people. Hundreds of years later, theEnglish social philosopher John Locke espoused the idea of the "socialcontract." Members of a state relinquished some of their rights for theprotection of the "whole." In turn, they were subjecting themselves to thewritten laws (including the punishments) of the state. If there has been one common trend regarding codes of laws throughoutthe centuries of civilization, it has been the similarity between moral andethical sentiments of society, and the written law (Fort, 2001).Traditionally, what people have found to be unethical actions have beenprohibited (directly or indirectly) by the codes of conduct (Fort, 2001).Also worth noting is the fact that much of what was deemed unethical byearly civilizations is similarly viewed today. Thus, codes of conduct have
Tullock goes on toemphasize the prevalence of robbery (and its many forms), and efforts bycivilizations to deter it (Tullock, 1987). Here in the United States, wehave various laws (varying by state) addressing robbery. Almost every code of conduct has included a law againstrobbery. The essential evil was defiance of anofficial moral code"(Friedman, 1985). Murder codes are also applicable to everybody. These laws arebased around punishment, and serve to compel people into following them. They are not socialconventions like the previously addressed codes, but rather serve to governgroups of people, and the economic interests between them. Sodomylaws are more closely linked to ethics and morals. same throughout the history of the world. Theaddition of taxes on imported or exported goods is relatively modernphenomenon. Another criminal activity commonly addressed by codes is that ofmurder. Hewrites, "The offense (sodomy) was redefined as a crime against publicsentiment, against public morality. Sodomy laws, like ones pertaining torobbery and murder, fit under the general criminal code (Friedman, 1985). For example, anybody can pickpocket another person on the street andviolate general robbery laws, but only a specific group can perform moreselective robberies (white collar crime, identity theft, etc).
Common topics in this essay:
Gordon Tullock,
Lawrence Friedman,
John Locke,
,
Code Hammurabi,
codes conduct,
Hundreds English,
criminal activity,
friedman 1985,
sodomy laws,
written law,
robbery laws,
tullock 1987,
addressed codes,
fort 2001,
codes serve,
|
Acceptance Essays
