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wrong. There is an obligation to uphold laws and rules.
Most members of society remain at stage 4 development
where morality is still dictated from outside forces. Youth
at this stage know about rules and laws and they have a
more elaborate awareness about why social order is
necessary.
Level 3: POSTCONVENTIONAL MORALITY
The postconventional level is also known as the principled
level of moral development. At this level, there is a growing
awareness that an individual's perspective and principles
may take precedence over societies views and rules. Laws
are not seen as rigid, rather they are like social contracts
that can be changed when it is necessary to meet the
greatest good for the greatest number of people. In the
postconventional level, individuals live by their own ethical
principles related to life, liberty and justice.
Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights
At this stage, an individual sees others as holding different
opinions, rights and values and there is an view that
perspectives should be mutually respected as unique
People at this stage of development still believe in rules, but
are more interested in majority decision-making. Rules that
don't serve the greatest good for the greatest number of
people need to be changed. Post-conventional moralists
live by their own ethical principles including basic human
rights as life, liberty, and justice. Ideally rules can maintain
the general social order and protect human rights and when
they do not, the rules are questioned. Theoretically,
democratic government follows stage 5 reasoning. Some
theorists theorize that many people never reach the
postconventional level of abstract moral reasoning.