Moralization is a form of psychological violence that often goes unnoticed, imposing values or principles, when shared, is in many cases a applauded action, so sometimes aggressive and humiliating attitudes can be admired and defended.
There is a favorite excuse for those who resort to moralization: they do so for the good of all; they want others to adapt to certain values, even if the means used are reprehensible; if the perpetrators of the attack do not obey, they often do. become the object of criticism, contempt, public denunciation and harassment.
- In general.
- The cycle of moralization begins with paternalistic attitudes.
- People who sell advice with little information and no one asks for them.
- Assess themselves as if there is a magic wand that favors their judgment.
The most disconcerting thing is that this type of attitude is quite characteristic of people who are not exactly a role model, however, they usually occupy a position or position that, for them, confirms the idea that they are better than the others.
“Anyone who doesn’t wear his morality as if it were his best outfit would be better off naked. “Khalil Gibran-
The main characteristic of moralization is that those who use it seek to impose patterns of behavior on others, the key word of the dynamic we describe is precisely this: impose. The person tries to have his axiological or values adopted by others, for a simple reason. and undisputed reason: what is it?
Those who use this kind of attitude believe that they have a kind of moral superiority, because they are a parent, or because they are a chef, psychologist, priest, or simply because they have more verbal ability than others. that holding those positions or positions gives you a patent to influence the conduct of others. And that’s not true.
Morality and ethics, when authentic, must be based on reflection and conviction, are not adopted by pressure, nor practiced out of fear or coercion, it is true that during childhood children need the advice of parents to integrate constructively into society and culture. , there is a big difference between educating and moralizing. The first concept aims to raise awareness. The second one, check it out.
Moralization itself contains a form of psychological violence. In principle, because he considers the other morally inferior. This type of hierarchy is completely artificial. Who can say that one human being is morally superior to another, is there absolute certainty that one is more ethically coherent than the other?
There are many cases of religious leaders who have two faces, when it comes to politicians it is better not to talk, the same goes for parents, teachers, etc. , even if these characters were fully consistent with what they preach, their first demonstration of moral elevation would be the ability to respect the individuality and integrity of the other.
On the other hand, it should be noted that this type of behavior is not limited to a proselytizing discourse and attitude, it is common to be accompanied by gestures of approval or disapproval, this is already in the field of manipulation, something that also attacks. the other one.
Moralization is often accompanied by other behaviors related to control and disrespect, for example, it is common for moralizers to feel empowered to question or question the other Where are you going?Why did you do this or that, what are you hiding from me?
It is also common for them to be expressed in an imperative tone. What’s the doing? They want to govern because it is a way of building and ratifying their supposed superiority. Similarly, the right to interpret the actions of others is generally self-assigned: “Did you do this simply because you found it more comfortable?Etc.
The most serious thing is that they ridicule, denigrate and try to rebuke those who do not think or behave like them, their purpose is to provoke feelings of shame and guilt, not so much because they are really concerned about the morals of others, but because they want their speech to become law and be judges, but true morality has nothing to do with it.