Causes Vs. Principles
Nearly a year ago I found myself at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Salt Lake City. I was staffing a meeting with several business leaders assembled to discuss public policy and business issues important to Utah.
Among the speakers that day was Keith McMullin, president and CEO of Deseret Management, Inc. He shared an idea that has caused me to reflect several times: Are we a society that sees causes as more important than principles?
In thinking about this question, it’s helpful to define these two terms. Here are the definitions, drawing on dictionary.com:
Principle: A guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct.
Cause: The reason or motive for some human action.
Why Does it Matter?
2016 was a difficult year for public discourse – especially for politics. While civility wasn’t non-existent, it certainly wasn’t easy to find – especially on social media, replaced widely by negativity manifesting itself in angry hashtags, videos of violent riots, and angry conversations.
Many people – not all certainly, but many – seem happy to treat those that don’t agree with them badly. Their cause seemingly gives permission to violate the principle of treating others “as they would want to be treated.” (Apparently I missed the elementary school lesson where we were taught that violating the “golden rule” is allowable if you don’t agree with another person’s cause.)
Everyone’s Problem
Put simply, I worry that we live in a society that is more concerned about causes than principles. We’re more concerned with getting our way than we are with making the world better for everyone – including those who disagree with us.
This isn’t an issue that is painted exclusively red or blue. It’s a complex societal problem.
Causes Will be More Successful if They Adopt Majoritarian Principles
Principles should trump causes. In fact, history tells us that causes should incorporate principles and – if causes are to be successful – they should align with majoritarian values and unite people behind an agenda that benefits others.
Arthur Brooks (I’ve written about him in previous posts) shares this idea by discussing the Civil Rights Movement. He says that Civil Rights leaders were able to convince people that racism widely violated the majoritarian principles of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” People like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared this message in a principled, respectful and non-violent way – something that contrasts the dangerous, harmful, clickbait tactics utilized by both conservative and liberal causes.
Unity
As a country, we widely share principles. We don’t, however, always share causes. If we break principles, what unites us?
Putting principles above causes, however, will unite us. It won’t be easy to do, but it is possible. Leaders – government, business, academic – mustn’t tolerate the violation of principles. We should teach, live, and promote “a guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct.”