Page 14 - The Ethics of ASEAN

The Ethics of ASEAN

This book is about ethics. It concerns the judgment of right and wrong that each
of us makes in our daily life, in different situations and circumstances. It could be said
that ethics are related to the dilemmas in our actions. In other words, without dilemmas,
there would not be ethical problems. It is about choices in our actions as well as the
consequences for which we are accountable, even punishable, when choosing those
actions. That is to say, ethics are the principles of right actions. They are the principles
each of us upholds or believes in, guiding us in making decisions on how to act when facing
dilemmas in a variety of situations. And this book is about ethics in the ASEAN region,
which is, in the words of Dr. Bob Aubrey, who is both the author and the editor of this
book, “ASEAN ethics is a work in progress” (Chapter 3). This presents both excitement and
problems, with one of the challenging questions being “can ASEAN be a respectable ethical
community of diversity?” (Chapter 1).
Due to its easy-to-follow style and not excessively high level of abstraction, the contents
of this book are most suitable for classroom seminars as well as for supporting real-
world research exercises or fieldwork studies, in addition to its appeal to general readers
who want to explore the complex amalgamation of value judgments from different
sources, standpoints, historical backgrounds, and different kinds of dilemmas. Without
compromising the controversies surrounding the ethical issues discussed in each
chapter, the book presents many kinds of ethics. In Part 1, we have virtue ethics, Asian
values, rules-based ethics, results-based ethics, leadership ethics, and so on, with
the expectation that many more ethics will emerge as the ASEAN region is constantly
facing new problems, new priorities, and new geopolitical situations. In Part 2, we have
a multitude of themes represented by various thought leaders and stakeholders from
different socio-economic sectors, including young people. These themes include ethics
of diversity, corporate ethics, ethical leadership, ethics of the digital world, ethics of the
future of work, ethics of freedom, ethics of sustainability and biodiversity, and ethics of
human development.
This multitude of ethical issues and various types of ethical thinking reflect what
has been mentioned earlier, that ASEAN ethics is still a work in progress within the
geographical region of diverse cultures, different politico-economic settings, and varying
paths of development. Consequently, we can also expect diverse ethical dilemmas facing
the people of ASEAN in their daily lives. As a work in progress, we can anticipate that the
dialogue and the sharing of diverse viewpoints on ethical issues will never cease. Indeed, it
can be asserted that this book may serve as the inception of a profound, inclusive, rational,
and systematic discourse on ASEAN ethics.

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