A failure to distinguish between right and wrong, otherwise known as amorality.
England, in recent days, has experienced wanton looting and vandalism from significant proportions of its youth. Rebels without a cause, they revel in the opportunity to disrupt the lives of others and to acquire ill-gotten gains. But that's the point. They do not see these gains as "ill-gotten", for they do not see right or wrong, only opportunity.
In this regard, they are no different from the recklessness of the bankers who generated the global financial crisis that continues to this day; nor from the transgressions of the UK press who gained illegal access to private phone calls in order to sell newspapers and make a profit. That is because much of the Anglo-Saxon world is dealing with a systemic cultural crisis of values i.e. two to three generations who have grown up with no moral compass. A human tsunami, overwhelming all that lies in its path.
Why does this matter? Well, evidence suggests that it matters greatly for the long run economic competitive advantage of countries. Simply put, pervasive amorality means that the average businessman or woman is (relative to his counterpart in a society with business-friendly moral codes) less certain about whether his business partner will fulfil his side of the deal. The relative risk of doing business grows with this increasing uncertainty, which - if untreated - can spin, exponentially, out of control. Ernst Fehr and Jean-Robert Tyran showed, in 2005, how a few irrational crazies can damage the economy for us all.
All other things being constant, the volume of business being done in the amoral society drops, relative to that being done in the country with business-friendly morals. A vicious cycle of falling confidence, lower economic activity, increasingly desperate opportunism, greater falls in confidence etc etc can be set in motion. The late Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) complained endlessly about the false distance between sociology and economics, effectively noting that "social exchange" and "economic exchange" were Siamese twins sharing a single heart. The Anglo-Saxon world gave him short shrift.
The fact that there is less real wealth being produced in the amoral society can be hidden for a while, as we learnt during the heady days of the technology sector boom - when obvious flaws were swept aside by insane talk of a "new economics"; and when even the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve was blithely ignored when he warned of "irrational exhuberance" in the financial sector. In those days, people ignored the implications of the much talked about distinction between the "real economy" and stock market valuations.
In the end, as all well trained accountants know, substance must prevail over form. That future is well and truly here and now.
In recent decades, Sierra Leone has experienced what must be close to a worst case scenario of the ill-effects of pervasive amorality on the economy and society. As our society begins the hard task of pulling ourselves out of the mess, world events since 2008 have clearly shown that no country - no matter how powerful today - can afford to be complacent about their socio-economic distance from Sierra Leone.
The tough message, from recent research carried out in Sierra Leone by this writer, is that correcting cultural lapses is a long haul project for which there is no quick fix. Thankfully, there are tools, techniques and experiences available for a road map. Ironically, one of the best reviews of such tools and experiences was compiled by the British Prime Ministers' Strategy Unit in early 2008! It was an answer looking for a question. It need look no longer.
Culture is a powerful driver of long term economic competitiveness and relative national prosperity. Poorly managed, it can act like a neutron bomb, leaving familiar structures intact, whilst wiping out the vital life forces of a sound economy. Discipline and morality - the eternally double-edged sword - are not just issues for the pulpit. Their effects are ultimately felt in the boardrooms, on the editors' desks and, as England has painfully discovered, on the burning streets.
