Morality of Rules and Punishments in Society

In order to discuss the morality of punishments such as the chopping off of a hand for stealing, it is important to discuss why society has established punishments for unwanted behavior. It is also important to recognize that each society and culture has a different viewpoint of how the rules of society are to be applied. These “rules to live by” can be quite different from one culture to the next. The problem arises when one culture tries to judge the morality of another culture. The theory of ethical relativism tries to eliminate this problem by stating that one culture is not capable of judging another because it does not understand all the aspects of said culture and therefore cannot make a knowledgeable and valid judgment of their morality. I think that if we examine some of the reasons for all society’s rules we can arrive at a conclusion, at least individually whether to agree or disagree with another cultures morality.
As societies have grown from small tribes in the ...