Enforcement of Morality

The Idealist believes that the purpose of the law is to enforce the moral standards of society.  By moral standards of society they mean the standards to the majority of people in society adhere.  The Idealist connects morality and the law in such a way that the validity of the law is dependent upon morality.  The morality that the Idealists adheres to is the Public Morality referred to in the Foundation of Law.

This will affect the Idealist's view of Discretion Within the Law, because to deviate from the moral basis upon the law is founded would invalidate the law.  Therefore, discretion is discouraged.

Policing and the Enforcement of Morals

            Rarely does one hear that the purpose of law enforcement is to remove all immorality from society.  There are those who believe that all moral standards accepted by a society should be enforced by the rule of law.  Conservative Islamic nations have attempted this very thing.  Democratic societies cringe at the very thought that individual freedom may be repressed under such regimes.  Yet, some democrats are more upset with the not with the goal of law enforcing morality, but at what is being considered moral by alien governments. 

            Consider a police officer witnessing a crime.  Failing to enforce that law would be harmful to society, not for merely letting a criminal act go unpunished, but for allowing the moral criteria for an orderly society to begin to decline.  Without moral continuity a society is not able survive.  That men and women in a society must agree upon what is good in a society and their failure to agree will result in the deterioration and finally in the dissolution of that society.  Therefore, whether the police are willing to enforce morality of a society or not is a moot point, failure to enforce morality will result in society failing.