Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
One of the theological classics of the twentieth century, Niebuhr’s Moral Man and Immoral Society argues that using moral persuasion and shaming to affect the behavior of such collectives as corporations and nation states is fruitless, as these groups will inevitably seek to promote only their self-interest. He calls for a realistic assessment of group behavior and enumerates how individual morality can mitigate social immorality.
This edition includes a foreword by Cornel West that explores the continued interest in Niebuhr’s thought and its contemporary relevance.
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- Enumerates how individual morality can mitigate social immorality
- Includes a foreword by Cornel West exploring the continued interest in Niebuhr’s thought and its contemporary relevance
- Argues that using moral persuasion and shaming to affect the behavior of collectives as corporations and nation states is fruitless
- Man and Society: The Art of Living Together
- The Rational Resources of the Individual for Social Living
- The Religious Resources of the Individual for Social Living
- The Morality of Nations
- The Ethical Attitudes of Privileged Classes
- The Ethical Attitudes of the Proletarian Class
- Justice through Revolution
- Justice through Political Force
- The Preservation of Moral Values in Politics
- The Conflict between Individual and Social Morality
This isn’t a new book, but it’s a very important one — arguably, even more important right now. Moral Man and Immoral Society attempts to explain why individuals can be good, but once they’re clustered together into groups, societies can commit terrible actions. In my opinion, it should be required reading, if only as a reminder not to lose hope in humanity. And after the recent Supreme Court decision(s), isn’t that something we all need.
—Jason Mott, Author of Hell of a Book
- Title: Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics
- Author: Reinhold Niebuhr
- Publisher: Westminster John Knox
- Print Publication Date: 2021
- Logos Release Date: 2025
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- Subjects: Social ethics; Political ethics
- ISBNs: 9780664266356, 9781646980376, 0664266355, 1646980379
- Resource ID: LLS:MRLMNMTHCSPLTCS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-06-19T19:21:27Z
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892 - 1971) was an ethicist, theologian, and political philosopher who taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York City from 1928 to 1960. Before that, for thirteen years, he was minister of Detroit’s Bethel Evangelical Church.