Links Site Map Federalization of the Canadian Tobacco Industry Guidelines for intelligent debate Every moral argument has to have a starting point, some first principles from which its conclusions follow. First principles are a matter of individual preference.
Different people hold different values.
Because of this there can never be unanimous agreement on moral issues. Moral debate is difficult for without any agreement on first principles there can be no grounds for rational debate. A society's laws are a reflection of its values and morality. In a dictatorship a small elite imposes its laws on the rest of society. Its values may be nothing more than self-interest and often its laws may not reflect the will of the people.