The “Ethics” of Institutions

Abstract

The legitimacy of an institutional order guarantees the moral integrity of the individual’s social action. If the “ethics” of institutions are questioned and the institutions’ legitimacy decays, other norms and values come to the fore. Institutionalized social action is reassessed, and the individual’s accountability changes. The individual now has to demonstrate his or her moral integrity without being able to refer to the validity of an institutionalized context for social action. The commitment of institutions to follow universal values and maxims of behavior guarantees the moral integrity of a differentiated institutional structure. In this context, individual enforceable basic rights are of pivotal importance. These basic rights claim validity for all institutions and for the overall institutional order. Even powerful institutions, such as the state, have to adapt to these norms. The definition and chances of implementation of basic rights back the moral self-reflection and identity formation of the individual. In institutional orders that do not represent a wide range of values, where free and open public discourses are not possible, and in which political institutions are overly powerful, an ethical indifference to the community arises. Restrictions of social action are even anticipated in situations in which they do not exist or are not enforced by political authorities.

Translated from German with permission from Springer. Original publication: Lepsius MR (2013) Die “Moral“ der Institutionen. In: Lepsius MR, Institutionalisierung politischen Handelns. Wiesbaden, Springer VS, pp. 40–54. Translated and edited by Claus Wendt, University of Siegen/Germany, wendt@soziologie.uni-siegen.de.