POLITICS AND ETHICS

Ethics may be broadly understood as the moral dimension of human existence. In simple terms, it is the branch of knowledge concerned with evaluating human actions in terms of right and wrong, good and bad, acceptable and unacceptable. It deals with value judgments that guide conduct within both private and public life. Chandler and Plano (1988) capture this idea succinctly when they describe ethics as the body of rules and standards that regulate the moral behavior of members within an organization.

Politics, on the other hand, operates within the realm of power and authority. David Easton (1963) famously defines politics as the authoritative allocation of values within a society. Here, “values” refer not merely to moral ideals but to all that people desire and compete for such as wealth, status, influence, recognition and power. Politics therefore determines who gets what, when, and how, often under conditions of scarcity and competition.

Be that as it may, ethics and politics are frequently seen as uneasy companions. In practice, ethics often appears to have little or no place in political life. Actions that are morally reprehensible may be considered politically expedient. Political corruption, for instance, is widely condemned from a moral standpoint, yet many politicians rationalise it as a necessary evil. They argue that since society itself is morally compromised, corruption becomes a survival strategy rather than a crime. This line of reasoning resonates strongly with Niccolò Machiavelli’s famous assertion that the end justifies the means, a principle that has shaped political behavior for centuries.

If ethics truly occupied a central position in politics, one might reasonably ask why political systems are plagued by assassination, embezzlement, electoral fraud and abuse of power. These realities lend weight to the argument advanced by some scholars that politics is inherently a dirty game, an arena where power is pursued at all costs and used to dominate, suppress and exploit fellow human beings.

The Nigerian political experience is often cited as evidence of this ethical vacuum. Incidents such as the assassinations of Bola Ige, Funsho Williams, and Ayodeji Daramola, as well as the intense political rivalry between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar during Obasanjo’s second term, appear to underscore the absence of moral restraint in political practice. Such events reinforce the belief that ethics is largely alien to Nigerian politics.

From this perspective, one might hastily conclude that ethics is nothing more than a myth within the Nigerian political landscape. However, this conclusion is not without contestation. Aristotle (384–322 BC) offers a powerful counterpoint when he argues that the state exists not merely for survival but for the promotion of the good life. Government, in his view, is a moral institution designed to help citizens achieve moral, intellectual and physical fulfillment. This suggests that ethics is not external to politics but foundational to it.

Indeed, many thinkers maintain that politics cannot be meaningfully separated from ethics. Human beings constantly judge political actions in terms of rightness and wrongness, justice and injustice. Political ethics thus becomes the moral engine that drives political systems and legitimizes authority. Political philosophers, from antiquity to the modern era, have been deeply concerned with how societies can be governed in ways that promote peace, justice and harmonious coexistence. Aristotle’s assertion that human beings can only attain their full moral and intellectual potential within an organized political community further strengthens the argument that ethics is intrinsic to politics.

Chandler and Plano deepened this discussion by identifying four major ethical approaches that shape moral reasoning:

1. Empirical Theory – This approach evaluates right and wrong based on experience and observable consequences. Actions are judged by their outcomes, such as the catastrophic implications of using nuclear weapons.

2. Rational Theory – Here, moral judgment is guided by reason and logical reflection. Actions are considered right or wrong based on rational justification.

3. Intuitive Theory – This perspective relies on natural moral instincts or moral law. Certain actions are deemed wrong instinctively, such as attempting to walk with one’s head instead of one’s feet.

4. Revelation Theory – Moral standards are derived from divine authority, as revealed through sacred books such as the Bible and the Quran.

These ethical frameworks are crucial for understanding political behavior because individuals and societies react strongly to actions that threaten peace, security and collective well-being. For example, the use of weapons of mass destruction is widely regarded as unethical due to the scale of devastation they cause and the difficulty of controlling their consequences. 

The development of nuclear weapons, such as the fusion and fission bombs by the USSR in the 1940s, eventually gave rise to the doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). This dangerous balance of terror prompted global efforts like the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in 1963, 1972, aimed at curbing nuclear proliferation. These initiatives vividly illustrate how ethical concerns can influence political decisions and international relations.

In conclusion, while ethics often appears absent in political practice, particularly within the Nigerian context, it cannot be entirely dismissed. Government functions as a regulatory mechanism, enforcing rules against social vices such as kidnapping, excessive alcohol consumption and sexual harassment. Moreover, moral standards are frequently grounded in divine authority, with religious texts serving as ultimate guides for human conduct. In this sense, political authority often aligns itself with moral prescriptions believed to originate from God, thereby promoting order, stability and social cohesion.

Thus, although politics may sometimes operate in defiance of ethical ideals, ethics remains an indispensable reference point, whether acknowledged openly or applied implicitly - in the quest for a stable and just society.