What is morally (un)acceptable?

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Pew Research has been busy. They just released an interesting study on worldwide opinion among 40 countries regarding multiple moral issues:

Study: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/20 ... -you-live/
Interactive (cool): http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/04/15/global-morality/

Worldwide vs. US views:



It should be noted that the study includes countries with very different profiles; from Western countries like Germany and France to Islamic countries like Egypt and Pakistan.

When it comes to considering these issues "Not a moral issue", Canada and France compete for the top spot.

When it comes to considering these issues "Acceptable", the Czech Republic gets the most top positions.

When it comes to considering these issues "Unacceptable", Pakistan gets the most top positions.

France is particularly interesting. It is the only country of the 40 included where there isn't a majority finding the activity unacceptable in any of the 8 categories. The highest score for France is 47 percent concerning extramarital affairs.

Furthermore (based on the interactive link), citizens in the US appear to be somewhat less accepting than citizens in other Western countries on issues of:

- Abortion
- Homosexuality
- Extramarital Affairs
- Premarital Sex
- Divorce
- Contraction

But not on:

- Alcohol use
- Gambling

Please discuss.

Here in France extramarital affairs are the national sport. Over 50% of married French men admit to having one or more affairs. The French presidents also have a reputation for bed hopping and while such things make the news they aren't generally considered big deals, whereas in America an extramarital affair could bring down a president or make him highly unpopular (who could forget Clinton's "I did not have sex with that woman" ). French presidents tend to be unpopular irrespective of their love life.

^^It is interesting that here in the US, the Democratic Party seems more vulnerable to charges of "immorality" than the Republicans in terms of extra-marital affairs. An incident (or series of incidents) that might cause a Democratic Senator to resign will barely elicit an apology from a Republican who finds themselves in a similar predicament.

Except when it's a same sex situation, which had derailed Republican elected leaders like Idaho's Larry Craig, or former Spokane, WA. Mayor Jim West. Then it's an unforgivable offense.

Whenever Gambling faces stricter regulation, out comes the libertarian rhetoric from the Casino lobby. The problem with this is that brain scans reveal that certain kinds of gambling produce many of the hallmarks of drug addiction. I mean, you could replace slot machines with heroin dispensing machines, and ethically you wouldn't be much worse off. I would like to see casino's go extinct, and gambling restricted to the less psychologically manipulative methods and milieu's.

Last edited by Stannis on 16 Apr 2014, 4:06 am, edited 2 times in total.

Of course libertarians are generally opposed to drug prohibition too. I don't think gambling or using herion is unethical (stupid maybe, but not unethical).

I'm definitely not keen on fixed odds betting terminals, those things bleed money away from the poor. I definitely think we need legal card gambling, roulette, etc., as they'll just go underground if banned.

42% of the world thinks alcohol use is "unacceptable". Dafuq? These people need to cheer up and have a drink. 46% against premarital sex? I'm guessing they believe that somehow the blessing of a priest (= voodoo man) makes fornication ok. 59% of people are butthurt just by the existance of gay people? I find it hard to accept that a large percentage of the world consists of ignorant bigots.

Oh, make no mistake, the world IS full of ignorant bigots. Just look at the horrendous anti-gay laws in Africa and Islamic countries. Hell, just look at the comments following any story concerning homosexuality on Yahoo news, and you'll see how it's packed with irrational hatred, justified by religion.

Games like Blackjack and Roulette are technically also "fixed odds" betting systems, as the odds are stacked in favour of the house... (except in the case of Martingale betting, which any sensible modern casino is protected against due to maximum limits on bets).

Poker is different because the game relies just as much (or even more) on skill as luck.

Another big difference with poker is that you play against other players instead of against the house. Any game against the house has an edge in favour of the house. I think the Martingale system also has negative expected value for the player, it's just that it is risky for both player and house because of the escalating bets.

I find it fascinating that people in Japan don't have many moral issues with homosexuality, but feel perfectly fine making jokes about gays in their popular culture that make lots of westerners cringe.

I wish that they'd also asked about things like murder, threats of violence, and beating family members into submission.

Wow, people really don't have their priorities straight.

I find it hilarious and sad that 59% think being gay is immoral.

I get that some countries are "behind" on this issue, but sometimes people are just wrong. Cultures can't explain away everything.

If you want to be moral, sit on the floor, cross your legs, and stare at the wall. Try not to move. Someone could get hurt.

Update:

Pew just released a regional comparison of the same data. Much better than my cursory overview above regarding the difference between US and Europe.



Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/20 ... al-issues/

What I find amusing is that only 7% of Americans find contraception immoral, and despite this fact it tends to be a central political issue for the Republican party.

I also find it amusing that only 1/3 of Americans find homosexuality unacceptable. Based on some of the political rhetoric flying around, you would almost believe that passing anti-gay laws would be a vital part of keeping America happy and strong.

I would be curious to see similar stats for Russia alone.

That's why the Republicans seem content to shoot themselves in the foot these days.