Towards Moral Communication and Consensus

Abstract

Abstract This article outlines three broad responses to the lack of moral consensus which is apparent today. ‘Progressives’ are relativists who hold that there is no justification for morality beyond convention. ‘Regressives’ try to reinstate ethical principles which have had their day. ‘Hard‐liners’ advocate aggressive moral leadership to put the ethical clock back to a ‘golden era’. It is argued that a way forward from the impasse created by the inadequacies of all three positions is illuminated by Habermas’ notion of ‘communicative action’.