Dworkin G
J Med Ethics. 1977 Jun;3(2):76-84. doi: 10.1136/jme.3.2.76.
This paper is sadly opportune. The general public is angry and bewildered if not hurt by the variety of strikes which are brought more or less forcibly to their attention. People used to understand what lay behind a strike - a demand for more pay, better conditions - but today a political element often intrudes, and it is this that worries those who ask themselves whether this or that dispute is either lawful or morally acceptable. Professor Dworkin, a lawyer, first sets out the legal issues surrounding strikes and then advances the ethical arguments, closely relating them to the legal framework. The most interesting part of the paper, however, may well be that devoted to the moral obligation of example, in particular the example to be set by members of the medical profession and by all those caring for the sick. As public attitudes to industrial disputes become dulled and quiescent' it is absolutely necessary that there should be a reappraisal of the moral standards of the past which coincide with a respect for the law. In the last century the term anomie' was used to describe a society which has shaken off its former restraints such as religion, respect for law and order and a definite moral code as to what is right and wrong'. We are living in that sort of society today, and one need not be a professional ethicist' to recognize the signs, and hopefully, to work for the return of `ethical' values.
这篇论文发表的时机很不巧。公众对各种罢工感到愤怒和困惑，即便没有受到直接影响，这些罢工也或多或少强行引起了他们的注意。过去人们理解罢工背后的原因——要求提高工资、改善工作条件——但如今政治因素常常介入，正是这一点让那些思考某场争议是否合法或在道德上可接受的人感到担忧。身为律师的德沃金教授首先阐述了围绕罢工的法律问题，接着提出了伦理观点，并将其与法律框架紧密联系起来。然而，本文最有趣的部分很可能是关于榜样的道德义务，尤其是医疗行业成员及所有照顾病人者应树立的榜样。随着公众对劳资纠纷的态度变得麻木和冷淡，重新审视过去与尊重法律相符的道德标准就变得绝对必要。在上个世纪，“失范”一词被用来描述一个“摆脱了诸如宗教、对法律和秩序的尊重以及关于是非的明确道德准则等以往约束的社会”。我们如今就生活在这样的社会中，而且无需成为专业的“伦理学家”就能认清这些迹象，并满怀希望地为“道德”价值观的回归而努力。
