It is the individual s moral failure. He demurred politely. It seems to me that crime is caused by social and economic forces that people respond to environmental conditions. My turn to demur politely. The moral dimension transcends social forces.
People are genuine moral agents, and they make real moral choices.
As our conversation continued, the outlines of the minister s own world view became clear, and I could see why he was having trouble understanding me. Educated in a communist school system, he had been steeped in Marxist philosophy. In Marxism, human beings are merely a complex form of matter, and their identity lies in the way they relate to other forms of matter that is, how they shape and make material things, or the means of production. Economics is the foundation, while everything else culture, art, morality, religion is mere superstructure, reflecting the dominant class s economic interests. Because of this, the minister couldn t even grasp what I meant by individuals making moral choices.