Нормы сообщества меняются вместе с изменением участников

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There is a grave error in this fear that the study of society must reveal a moral form of Gresham’s law, that the bad drives out the good. The error is to suppose that the norms of conduct in a society might remain fixed while the conduct of its members changes. This is not so. A society cannot remain lawful when many members break the laws. In an orderly society an impostor now and again gains an advantage; but he gains it only so long as imposture remains occasional – so long, that is, as his own practice does not destroy the social order. The counterfeiter can exploit the confidence of society in the value of money only so long as he himself does not sap this confidence by swamping the market with counterfeits: only so long, that is, as good money remains the norm. Destroy this, and Gresham’s law really takes its revenge; the society falls apart to suspicion and barter.

Link:: Science and Human Values


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