The Supreme Court decided on June 15 that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. Discrimination ‘because of sex’ is unlawful. But what is it that makes discrimination morally wrong? It is useful to examine this from a Kantian standpoint because Immanuel Kant lays the foundation for recognizing the inherent dignity of every individual – and discrimination is indeed an affront to human dignity.
Kant’s moral philosophy – or deontology (‘deon’ referring to duty) – maintains that what makes an act right is that it is done for the sake of the moral law. Consequences, intended or otherwise, are irrelevant in determining the moral worth of an action. What matters is whether the action is motivated by duty, which is to say, respect for the moral law.
Kant offered several formulations of the moral law which he described as a categorical imperative, as opposed to a hypothetical imperative. A hypothetical imperative says “If you want to accomplish x… then you must do y.” A categorical imperative on the other hand says, “Do x!” Your ends, aims or desires are irrelevant. That is what makes it categorical: it is not conditional upon anything. It commands us all the same irrespective of empirical or psychological contingencies.
Two formulations of the categorical imperative are particularly important. The first is the principle of human dignity and it says, never treat another rational being merely as a means but always as an end-in-themselves. In other words, treat every human being as possessing intrinsic value and never simply as a means to your own ends. From this standpoint, slavery is wrong precisely because it reduces the human being to a mere object, a thing, an instrument for satisfying another’s interests and fails to recognize their infinite and intrinsic worth as an end-in-themselves.
The second formulation of the categorical imperative is the principle of universalizability. It tells us to act only on those maxims that we can universalize. In other words, ask yourself if the action I am about to take can be rationally universalized – could I rationally, self-consistently will that everyone act in the same way as I am about to? Suppose I want to break a contract and renege on my promise: could I rationally will that everyone act on the maxim, renege on your promise when it suits you? The answer is no. I cannot rationally universalize the maxim, break your contract whenever it suits you, because in that case, the entire institution of making contracts would collapse. No one would enter into a contract if there was not a reasonable expectation that it would be honored. When I renege on an agreement what I am actually doing is making an exception of myself – I am saying that everyone else should abide by their agreements but the same rule does not apply to me.
In fact, it is fair to say that the capital sin from a Kantian standpoint is precisely making an exception of myself, failing to recognize that the same rules apply to me as they do to anyone else. Discrimination, therefore, violates the very core of the Kantian moral theory. When I discriminate against another person or group, I am saying that they do not count as much as I do. Discrimination is always morally wrong from a Kantian standpoint because it means that I allow myself to count more than the other does: the same rules do not apply to us equally. But morality requires that no one, and no group, counts more than any other. The rules apply to us all equally and no one is permitted to make an exception of themselves or the group to which they happen to belong.
There is another aspect to the deontological critique of discrimination. Kant famously writes in the Conclusion to his Critique of Practical Reason (1788): “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence… The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” What is so wonderful about the moral law? There is something about it that gives humanity a touch of the divine and the reason has to do with autonomy.
To say that we are capable of acting on the basis of the moral law is to say that we are capable of autonomy – that is, literally, self-lawgiving. If we are able to give the law to ourselves then we are truly free. There is no freedom without autonomy. Freedom is not being able to do whatever you want. It is being able to act on a law that you legislate to yourself.
The alternative to autonomy is heteronomy. I may be physically free but if I live my life satisfying every base inclination then I am not really free at all. In that case, I am heteronomous – ruled by another. I am still being ruled by another, even if that other is my own inclinations and desires. As Martin Luther King observed, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” Freedom is being able to govern yourself through a kind of self-legislation.
Kant admits that we may never know whether anyone ever truly acted solely out of respect for the moral law: “One need not be an enemy of virtue but only a cool observer… to become doubtful at certain moments… whether any true virtue is to be found in the world.” We can say of any act that it was partially motivated by self-interest or inclination. But if it is impossible to act on the basis of the moral law then freedom is also impossible. When we act on the basis of self-interest or inclination we are not acting with true freedom. Although we cannot know that any act consistent with duty was motivated solely by moral law, neither can we know that it was not. And not only are we permitted to think that moral freedom is indeed possible, in fact, but we also have to assume it is possible for morality to make any sense at all.
We cannot arrive at any theoretical knowledge pertaining to freedom, according to Kant, because our knowledge is limited to the world of phenomena, or appearances. To the extent that our knowledge is bound by phenomena, nothing in the world including ourselves is free – as Kant observed: “[If] I were only a part of the world of sense [all my actions] would be assumed to conform wholly to the natural law of desires and inclinations, i.e., to the heteronomy of nature.” But it is also because our knowledge is limited that we are allowed to think of ourselves as free; and indeed, for the sake of morality, we have to. We do not know what we are in ourselves, so to speak: “Even as to himself, the human being cannot claim to cognize what he is in himself…” – for we cannot know things in themselves or the world as noumena. And since we cannot know, it is possible that we are free as noumenal beings.
What then is morally wrong with discrimination from a Kantian standpoint? When we discriminate against persons what we are effectively doing is saying this person or group of people lack moral worth. We have moral worth because we have the capacity for autonomy or freedom. That is why one is to be treated always as an end-in-itself because we are rational agents capable of acting on the basis of a law that reason itself legislates. When I am prejudiced against someone I am, consciously or not, denying their capacity for moral freedom.
But we have also seen that Kant denies that we can have any such knowledge about others or even ourselves. Therefore, when I deny another’s capacity for autonomy I am assuming a knowledge I do not possess. I have to assume that all rational beings are capable of freedom, and as such, they possess infinite worth. Discrimination is morally wrong then because it is based on a false premise – namely, that I can truly know the other.
Kant teaches that we have to acknowledge the limits of human knowledge. When I recognize that the other as a noumenal being eludes me I have to admit that I can no more deny their freedom then I can deny my own. And if they are free then they possess infinite self-worth and must be treated as end-in-themselves and never simply as a means.
From Kantian standpoint discrimination based on race – or religion, or gender – is fundamentally wrong. It is wrong, first of all, because it is dehumanizing, a denial of human dignity. When I racially discriminate, I am denying the person’s intrinsic self-worth, I am, in fact, denying their very right to exist, whether I know it or not. The moral law demands that I treat every individual as a free person equal to everyone else. If the moral law grants each of us a kind of infinite worth, it does not grant someone greater worth than anyone else.
As Patrick Linden, a professor of philosophy at New York University, said to me in an email, it is “more consonant with Kant’s ethics to disregard group membership – black, white, sex, tribe, etc. – and focus on the person as a source of freedom and value. To treat a person on the basis of their essential humanity rather than according to other categories they may be members of. That is what we want to be the universal law. This is why Kant is usually seen as morally opposed to affirmative action whatever its expedience may be. It also contradicts traditionalist understandings of workplace gender segregation.”
Discrimination is morally egregious when we use it to justify treating another human being as anything less than a human being, as anything less than a person possessed with inherent dignity, and immeasurable intrinsic value. Each one of us is an end-in-itself, a citizen within a “kingdom of ends,” as Kant put it. When I discriminate, I do not treat that person any longer as an end-in-themselves – I identify them with some group of which they are a member and allow that to define who and what they are. What I have invariably overlooked is their humanity: when I respect their humanity, I treat them with dignity, because I know they have the capacity for moral freedom and therefore infinite worth.
Sam Ben-Meir is a professor of philosophy and world religions at Mercy College in New York City and a regular contributor.
source https://taarifa.rw/what-is-morally-wrong-with-discrimination-a-kantian-analysis/
Nevertheless, and despite the massive approved foreign investment related to natural gas rivaling its GDP, Mozambique will face strong challenges in order to secure a better future.
FurtherAfrica, Taarifa’s media partner, spoke to H.E. Adriano Maleiane, Mozambique’s Minister of Economy and Finance to better understand how the country intends to tackle these challenges using long-term strategies to ensure economic sustainability and a better future for its people.
Mr. Maleiane is no stranger to challenges, having served as Governor of Mozambique’s central bank for some 15 years and later overlooking the founding of the country’s national investment and development bank, an institution he served for nearly five years as chairman before he was appointed Minister of Economy and Finances in 2015.
Fabio Scala:
Mr. Maleiane, it is always a great pleasure to talk to you. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your insights with us. I want to begin our conversation asking for an assessment of your time in office to date. You inherited quite an unexpected sovereign debt situation in 2015, followed by a global commodity crisis in 2016 and presided over the country’s finances through a number of severe natural disasters. When it comes to challenges, this is quite a handful to cope with. What can you tell us in retrospect?
Mr. Maleiane:
First of all, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate you and FurtherAfrica for the pivotal role you have undertaken over the past few years, which is to bring to light the huge transformations that Africa has been going through and that, in many cases, simply go unnoticed by the international financial market.
And yes, indeed the last governing cycle has been very demanding as you have referred, since it required – out of all of us in the Government – a great deal of strategic communication and flawless coordination, in efforts to mobilise the Mozambican society into a better understanding about the issues the country was facing. This approach enabled us to find more appropriate, sustainable solutions which would then mitigate the impact of the crisis we were up against at that time while guaranteeing that all the State institutions would be able to function perfectly and unimpeded.
The natural disasters, the commodities crisis particularly affecting the current accounts and trade balance of African nations and – more specifically in Mozambique – we faced a severe exchange rate depreciation, which consequently compromised the sustainability of our external public debt, which represents 80% of the public debt total. These were the initial predicaments that were not only jeopardizing the fulfillment of our Government’s 5-year plan but also undermining the confidence of investors.
It became crucial that we took measures to achieve fiscal consolidation, namely an increase in the effectiveness of tax collection, a more austere and efficient execution of public expenditure, better management of all State companies, stricter rules regarding the allocation and assignment of the public debt, as well as a prudent fiscal risks management.
It is my opinion that all this effort is now the main factor contributing to the current reestablishment of Mozambique’s macroeconomic stability, as demonstrated by the 2.8% average annual inflation rate in 2019, versus 26% in 2016, as well as a 2.2% GDP growth in 2019, followed by a confidence boost perceived in both investors and cooperation partners alike. One good example of that was the conclusion of the restructuring of Eurobond 2023.
It has been a long journey, and it is important to value and appreciate the patience and collaboration the investors displayed so that today we are able to ascertain that we have a Government security bond listed in the international financial market, fully insured and provided with all the legal guarantees. The recent financing success of the Mozambique LNG project in Area 1, totaling US$14.9B serves to confirm this renewed confidence that investors have in the social and economic future of Mozambique.
Naturally, the geographical position of Mozambique carries additional and permanent challenges, as we provide services that are strategic to landlocked countries, particularly roads infrastructure and here I can draw attention to the development corridors in the North, Centre, and South, and the National Highway linking the country from North to South. The generation and transportation of electricity for massive projects and the export of energy to neighboring countries constitute yet another major challenge, as it will gradually require additional efforts in the mobilization of resources for the financing of regional and national projects.
Fabio Scala:
Thank you for your assessment, certainly not an easy ride. Picking up on your comment about the current state with foreign direct investments, a number of specialists see hydrocarbons as a long-term proposition for the country, which is often quite a different view from the public perception. Could you tell us how you see the 2035 national strategy of economic development and the gas-related investments transforming and shaping the future of the country’s economy?
Mr. Maleiane:
The National Development Strategy 2015-2035 (ENDE) is a long-term vision, made feasible through the Government’s 5-year program. It proposes, essentially, that we utilise the available resources in a rational manner so that we can transform Mozambique into a competitive, middle-income country, economic and socially inclusive, by implementing integrated policies geared towards the generation of income for families and corporates, thus bringing about an organic improvement both in the welfare of the entire population and also an equitable distribution of income.
The strategy also aims for the structural transformation of the economy and the expansion and diversification of our society’s productive base, among which it is possible to highlight a few select sectors such as agriculture, energy, tourism, economic and social infrastructure. In this new light, we are treating the extractive industry as a crucial agent of transformation, from where we can source the necessary funding for the innovation and diversification of the economic and social infrastructures in our country.
Fabio Scala:
I see, along those lines and given the importance of the proceeds from the extractive industry, I wanted to ask you about ideas and experiences from other natural resource-rich nations, such as the creation of a sovereign wealth fund and additional development roles for institutions such as the BNI bank. In other words, how do you “dream” of Mozambique and how do we get there?
Mr. Maleiane:
Well, as I said before, our development plan relies on a structural transformation of the economy, and as such we expect that agricultural activity will be a fundamental contributor to Mozambique’s industrialisation plans, as well as the creation of employment for the majority of the Mozambican population. Commercial banks, in principle, are not structured to finance the entire agricultural and industrial value chains. Given that, the Government, in 2012, decided to aggregate the developmental role to the Banco Nacional de Investimento (BNI), making it an effective official Development Bank of the State and important financial instrument for the implementation of the aforementioned structural transformation of agriculture and industrialisation, consequently bridging the existing gap in financing the economy.
In line with our conviction that the extractive industry must be seen as an important finance source to foment the structural changes that ENDE advocates for, the Government intends to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund, having assigned the Central Bank to such a role, by which it organised, in March 2019, a workshop titled “Preparing Mozambique for the age of natural gas”, with a clear focus on learning from other countries’ experiences, essentially to determine what, how and how much to finance, the annual budget and how much to save for the future. I believe that between the Sovereign Fund, BNI now empowered with its developmental role and other national financial institutions, we will meet the requirements necessary to fund the structural transformation of our economy.
Fabio Scala:
That’s an interesting perspective we can look forward to, thank you for sharing. I could not wrap up our conversation without asking for your message to prospective and current foreign investors looking into investing in Mozambique.
Mr. Maleiane:
Allow me to finish just as I started: thanking for this opportunity to share my thoughts and reaffirm that the perspectives for development in Mozambique are good because we have been creating the necessary conditions to turn the country into a preferred investment destination. The recent financing of Mozambique LNG attests to that fact.
It is important to stress that the production of natural gas predicted to start in 2022 in Area 4 and 2024 in Area 1, will catapult the country to the top of the global LNG market, and this will positively influence our economic growth, and on the fiscal side, the gas industry will become a strategic contributor. The use of gas in the industry and other sectors, combined with other alternative energy resources already existing in the country, will reduce, in the long-term, Mozambique’s dependence on all imported petroleum derivatives. One of the main benefits of utilising gas is that this natural resource has a “transversal value chain”, underlining its role in the development and productivity of many different industrial sectors. The Government is working alongside the private sector and civil organisations to come up with a legal instrument proposal that will regulate the national participation of local content in large projects, so as to stimulate the industrialisation and serve as an incentive to the growth of national entrepreneurs.
source https://taarifa.rw/interview-adriano-maleiane-securing-the-future-of-mozambique-finances/
Ni mu gihe muri iki gihe ubuzima bwose busa n’ubushingiye ku ikoranabuhanga rya rezo ya telefone no kuri interinete kuko muri iyi minsi biragoye kumenya ko kanaka yabyaye,yarwaye, yashyingiwe bitanyuze mu buryo bw’ikoranabuhanga riri gusimbura uburyo bwo gushyikirana binyuze mu gusurana.
Leta z’ibihugu nazo ziri gushyira imbaraga mu gutanga serivise hifashishijwe ikoranabuhanga kuko byihutisha serivise kandi bikaniga amayira n’ibyuho bya ruswa.
Mu minsi ishize ubwo umunyamakuru wa UKWEZI yari mu karere ka Kamonyi mu murenge wa Gacurabwenge yahamagawe n’abantu bagera kuri batanu ntiyabasha kumvikana nabo kubera ikibazo cya rezo ya telefone icikagurika.
Abatuye muri aka gace bavuga ko iki kibazo cya rezo nke bagisangiye n’abo mu murenge wa Runda, bakavuga ko bibagiraho ingaruka.
Umwe muri bo yagize ati “Nibyo hano rezo ya telefone ni nkeya kandi iracikagurika, kugira uvugane n’umuntu mubashe kumvikana ni tombora. Hano tubayeho mu bwigunge”.
Umuyobozi wungirije w’Akarere ka Kamonyi ushinzwe ubukungu n’iterambere akaba n’Umuyobozi w’Akarere w’agateganyo Tuyizere Thaddee avuga ko iki kibazo gihari usa ngo bakigejeje ku nzego bireba bizeye ko kiri gukurikiranwa.
Agira ati “Network ni ikibazo, uretse n’aho wavuze no mu karere (ku biro) nimuhagera muzasanga ari nke ariko ni ikibazo twavuganye n’aya makampani y’itumanaho batubwira ko bazabikemura twizera neza rero ko babirimo kandi duhora twibutsa”.
Ikinyamakuru UKWEZI twagerageje kuvugana na MTN kugira ngo tumenye ingamba bafite zo gukemura iki kibazo cya rezo ya telefone icikagurika hamwe na hamwe mu gihugu ariko iminsi ibaye itatu ntacyo baradutangariza.
Ku ruhande rwa Airtel Tigo, umuvugizi w’iyi kampani John Magara yavuze ko agiye gukurikirana iki kibazo.
Bernard Russell w’imyaka 67 idubu yamwatakiye hafi y’urugo rwe, abaturage bamubona yatakaje ibice bimwe by’umubiri birimo n’imbavu ariko agitera akuka, niko kumujyana mu bitaro by’ikitegererezo bya Alaska ari naho yaguye.
Umuganga wo ku bitaro bya Alaska Dr. Alan White yabwiye abanyamakuru ko uyu musaza yishwe na coronavirus avuga ko bishoboka ko idubu yamwishe yakuruwe n’impumuro ya coronavirus.
Ati “Uyu musaza iyo aba yarubahirije guhana intera hagati ye n’idubu, akanambara agapfukamunwa ntabwo iba yaramuriye”.
Uyu muganga yabwiye WDNR ko Russell nubwo batigeze bamupima coronavirus bamusanganye ibimenyetso byay.
Dr. Alan White ati “Abantu nibadashyira imbaraga mu kubahiriza amabwiriza yo kwirinda coronavirus, ibibazo nk’ibi bizakomeza kwisubiramo”.
Ibitaro bya Alaska bimaze igihe bivugwaho gutangaza imibare irenze iya nyayo y’abicwa na coronavirus. Iki kibazo kandi ntabwo kivuzwe muri Alaska gusa ahubwo kivugwa muri Leta zunze ubumwe za Amerika yose.
Nubwo nta gipimo cya coronavirus, Bernard Russell yafashwe, ibitaro bya Alaska byanzuye ko ariyo yamwishe
Paul Muvunyi wahoze ari perezida wa Rayon Sports avuga ko Muvunyi Sadate ntawigeze amweguza kuko ni biba bizabera mu nteko rusange aho yagiriyeho.
Hari mu kiganiro na Radio10, ubwo yavuga ku hazaza h’iyi kipe nk’umwe mu bantu bayiyoboye akaba naperezida w’icyubahiro wayo.
Yabanje kuvuga ku magambo yigezwe gutangazwa na perezida w’iyi kipe avuga ko hari abantu bari mu ishyamba barimo n’abahoze bayobora iyi kipe yanashinje ubusambo.
Muvunyi Paul yavuze ko iyo ari imvugo y’abasinzi n’ubwo azi neza ko Sadate atanywa inzoga.
Yagize ati“ ubundi Sadate nzi ko atanywa inzoga, ariko urumva ko iyo mvugo ari iy’umusinzi. Natunguwe no kumva ariya magambo avuzwe na Sadate. Akwiye kuzasaba imbabazi.”
Mu minsi ishize muri Gicurasi 2020 nibwo hagiye hanze ibaruwa y’akanama ngishwana k’iyi kipe bavuga ko bahagaritse Sadate ku mirimo yo kuba perezida wa Rayon Sports.
Yahakanye aya makuru ko batigeze beguza Sadate kuko azakurirwaho aho yagiriyeho, kuba inteko rusange yarabaye kandi iba rimwe mu mwaka, ngo iyo ari impamvu zihutirwa hatumizwa indi.
Yagize ati“Sadate ntawamweguje, kumukuraho bizabera aho yagiriyeho. Inteko rusange iba rimwe kandi yarabaye ni byo, ariko iyo habaye ikintu kihutitwa iratumizwa.”
Muvunyi Paul umwe mu bafashije Sadate kuba perezida w’iyi kipe, avuga ko yabitewe n’imishinga yari afite babonaga ko izafasha ikipe ikayikuramo amafaranga menshi nk’umushinga wa MK Card.
Yashimangiye kandi ko ikibaraje ishinga ari ukureba uburyo bakubaka ubumwe bw’abarayon aho gushinjanya amakosa, umwe yigizayo undi kuko hakenewe imbaraga za buri umwe mu kubaka ikipe.
