timatelyinto the cultural ethic. As a rule of thumb, an action that contributes to thedisorganization of society is often considered "wrong" and that whichcontributes to the organization of society "right." Behaviors that corrupt thepeace, prosperity, and productivity of a society are generally discouraged as"wrong," in favor of behaviors which contribute to the well-being of the societyand are generally considered "right." In any event, the evolution of rules incomplex societies addresses the fundamental impulse of the human species tosurvive in a world of competing biological systems.Ethical systems and formal laws together serve to bring order to a world thattends to become disorganized and sometimes violent if ethical views and rules ofconduct are not established. Ethical systems that emerge for any given period ofhistorical development may not represent the finest of rules ever conceived, butthey are sufficient to hold the growth of humanity in the balance.Along with the emergence of good rules have evolved many others that were bad.These bad rules evolved from errors, delusions, and self-interest. But over timethe good rules that incorporated a keen insight into human relationships havelikely endured and have slowly grown into a reasonably consistent set of rules.These rules today are expressed formally and informally in systems of laws,morals, manners, and customs.Rules spontaneously evolve in every social system, whether it is a group ofsmall-time criminals or highly educated people in a multinational corporation.Rule systems evolve along the lines of an efficiency algorithm that effectivelyorganizes the prevailing state of affairs in small increments of change overlong periods of social time. In the beginning of the formation of socialsystems, rules may not have been as refined as they are today. But rulesnecessarily existed from the beginning simply to keep volatile passions,immaturity, ignorance, and misunderstanding from ins...
