ABSTRACT
Societies have developed various kinds of social rules, such as legal rules, or even the rules of etiquette, which act as a framework or guide to behaviour. Moral rules and legal requirements have a very close relationship, but they are not necessarily synonymous. The ‘race laws’ in the US, or the ‘apartheid laws’ in South Africa, were eventually perceived to be so immoral that the only moral course was to disobey them. Clearly, in all societies, a majority of people accept that they should adhere to certain fundamental moral rules. Breaking these rules will meet with sanctions of various kinds, from disapproval and ostracism to, in certain cases, legal penalties. Moral rules help to structure social relations and many of the decisions that individuals and businesses make must take account of them.
