Positive Social Identity

Despite considerable work the answer to basic questions such as ‘what are our ethics and our moral norms now?’ ‘Have they changed since last year?’, ‘If so why?’ remain surprisingly illusive. This book argues that progress towards answering these questions is possible through a grounded analytical account of the cultivation of ethics and moral norms in social groups, in particular places and times. Departing from the evolutionary theory of why we gain value from pro-social behaviour, we argue that a coherent thread exists for how we do so through evolved social capacities that are united in the pursuit of a Positive Social Identity. Drawing on a unique quantitative dataset from Sierra Leone this book offers a theoretical framework and a preliminary guide to the systematic quantitative analysis of ethics and moral norms and how these may relate to the long term success of organisations. The results directly challenge a ‘one-size-fits-all’, universal understanding of both ethics and moral norms both within and between organisations. The costs and challenges influencing the development of ethics and moral norms and their ultimate conception of pro-sociality vary dramatically according to situation. Nowhere is this more starkly illustrated than between economically developed and developing countries. In analysing the relationship between agency and situation, the role of diversity, conflict, inefficiency and failure to cooperate prove to be essential components of the solution of social dilemmas on which Positive Social Identity depends.