“I believe, when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties... they lead their country by a short route to chaos.” These are the words that Robert Bolt, in A Man for All Seasons, puts in St Thomas More’s mouth in reply to the devious Cardinal Wolsey. The route to chaos is much shorter if conscience is forsaken not for public duties but for personal interest.
Edward Banfield argued that the basis of Sicilian poverty was the result of a widespread “amoral familism” present in Sicilian culture. One can consider this as a post hoc fallacy. However, if one takes a Marxian perspective, it produces morality/immorality; if one takes a Weberian stance, it is morality/ immorality that produces poverty or wealth.
Amoral familism has long been present in Malta. In addition, we have a culture of amoral individualism because “għal kull għadma hawn mitt kelb” (for every bone there are a hundred dogs). With the exponential growth of unbridled capitalism, the post-modern ethic where “anything goes” (Lyotard, 1992:8) has become a way of thinking and living. Derision is the punishment for those who behave otherwise!
Corruption among politicians, entrepreneurs and high-profile individuals is no longer news. Their sycophants defend this morality by the generalisation that “everyone is corrupt”. If it is true that a fish rots from the head, then corruption, like a cancer, has spread throughout Maltese social fabric; it is ingrained in a long history of patronage that had stemmed from widespread poverty and political dependency.
Yet, despite our bluff about our sociolegal bureaucratic social structure, our mindset and culture are still basically feudal. Patrons and clients feed on one another. Money has no nationality, neither party, race and social class.
Our nation still stinks with the conventional ‘wisdom’ expressed in two proverbs that attest to our feudal mindset: “iddardarx l-għajn li tixrob minnha” (do not sully the spring from which you drink”, and the more servile one, “tbus l-id li tixtieq maqtuha” (to kiss the hand which you wish to see amputated). Where does God feature in this philosophy? As for Machiavelli, for many of our fellow citizens, the end always justifies the means. Hence, the moral bedrock of our society has cracked. There might be those who will call his is sterile moralism: in my view it is a culture of egotistic normlessness.
The moral bedrock of our society has cracked. It is a culture of egotistic normlessness
This situation calls us Christians to make a serious examination of conscience. The “I’m alright Jack” pragmatism is, to say the least, amoral. The cracks are now open for all to see. But, of course, no one can read a book – much less the signs of the times – with blindfolded eyes!
Maltese hierarchy and laity must face reality. Discipleship and prophecy come at a cost! In More’s words, “we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all... why then perhaps we must stand fast a little – even at the risk of being heroes”. Are we prepared to pay it?
More’s parting shot is pertinent: “It profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for Wales!”
Fr Joe Inguanez is a sociologist and national chaplain of Żgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara