The Agreement for an Ethical minimum the Basis of Democracy

Abstract

The paper contains three parts. The first reminds us that the best model of a state is parliamentary democracy, for it is in this socio-political regime that the common good of the whole of society is most highly valued. The democratic state is based upon constitution, which traces the borderlines of the common good. The second part of the paper proves that at the grounds of social morality there lies the dignity of man as person. No state, not even the democratic one, may function without accepting the catalogue of the basic and stable values. The liberal state promotes the theory of neutrality of outlook and ethics, which in fact reverses into axiological indifference and leads into moral nihilism. The liberal-formal democracy refers exclusively to the will of the majority of citizens, ignoring the objective values with the truth at their lead. The third part of the paper discusses the need for the basic values in publicnational life. This demands moral maturity of citizens on the basis of which it is possible to find an ethical consensus as a condition of personalistic democracy. The social doctrine of the Church obviously accepts democracy, but at the same time shows the necessity to base it on respect for man’s dignity and the common good of society.