Should morality and moral codes affect decisions? The honest answer is that is up to you. If you feel morality is important enough to base a decision off of then morality is important to you and should affect your decisions. If you are amoral then the morality of your decisions does not matter one way or the other. Is it wrong to be self interested? That depends to what extent you define the rights of the individual over the rights of the collective. That also depends on whether or not you define inactivity in regards to morality as inherently immoral.
So what is the role of morality today? Minimal. It can affect the decisions of some alliances but ultimately has no power on the global level. If we presume tech raids immoral the presence of morality has not ended tech raids. If we presume reparations immoral the presence of morality has not ended those. Morality has not stopped wars and has not brought cohesion to the many spheres.
This is because the current form of morality is a theoretical construct not followed. Morality has no power beyond debate, and even in debate lacks strength. The 'morality' of the great alliances is utterly meaningless because it changes nothing. Morality exists as a feel good notion but morality necessitates action. People TALK of morality. They do not ACT upon it. They wear the cloak of morality without themselves being moral people.
The current state of affairs is an inherently amoral one. Morality may rule propaganda and rhetoric but it so rarely rules action. Do you believe tech raiding immoral? Fine. What have you done to end tech raiding? Not tech raided? Wonderful but what have you done to END tech raiding? It is not enough to abstain from immorality one must actively negate or remove it to be moral.
Can the world become moral? Yes. Through the application of policies built to actively encourage a moral stance in the world. Either via positive reinforcement, giving aid to nations acting morally or under assault from immoral nations, or via negative reinforcements, sanctioning immoral nations or actively combating them. There are doctrines that proclaim to do such yet are not actively enforced. The only recent example I can personally think of is the response to Gramlins. They were seen as immoral and have been actively denied technology. Not enough has really been done, but some has been done and it makes for a good start. Better than nice words and good feelings.
However even if you are actively moral you must consider the necessities of pragmatism. It is not enough to create a doctrine of morality, it must be tenable and it must be enforceable. Four nations decide they will defend other nations against tech raiders? Feels nice but it is meaningless. Unless they draw in support from much more powerful entities it is an empty statement and on par with being inactive. The creation of a moral society necessitates greater cohesion.
So what's the point? Stop pretending to be moral nations and moral alliances if the extent of your morality is in your rhetoric. Do not beat your chest when your alliance claims superior morality. Without actions it is but smoke and mirrors. As long as your morality is inactive or unenforceable it is effectively nonexistent.
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