Why do ethical choices matter?
Definition
Ethical Choice
An ethical choice is a decision guided by moral principles. It means choosing the option that is right, fair, and responsible, even if it is not the easiest or most beneficial for you.
- When individuals face injustice, danger, or moral dilemmas, their decisions, big or small, can set off chains of events that reshape societies.
- Ethical choices matter most when the stakes are high, the risks are real, and the outcome is uncertain.
Analogy
- If history is a giant machine, ethical choices are the moments when a person decides to pull a lever, even though they don’t know exactly what will happen.
Exam technique
- Explain the context, the ethical dilemma, the choice, and the impact.
How Do Personal Choices Alter History?
1. Ethical choices challenge injustice
- People often make ethical decisions when they see something fundamentally wrong.
- Courageous ethical decisions often inspire others to act.
Example
- Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and then chose to return repeatedly to free others.
- Ethical dilemma: Protect herself or risk everything to help strangers.
- Impact: Freed around 70 enslaved people and strengthened the Underground Railroad network.
2. Small decisions can create huge ripple effects
- A single action, even quiet or simple, can catalyse massive historical change.
Example
- Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat was a personal decision rooted in dignity.
- Triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- Shifted the Civil Rights Movement into national focus.
3. Ethical decisions can expose hidden truths
- Some individuals choose to reveal information or wrongdoing even when it is unpopular or dangerous.
Example
- Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers (1971).
- Exposed government misrepresentation of the Vietnam War.
- Sparked national debates about trust, democracy, and presidential power.
Note
- Ethical decisions often force society to confront uncomfortable realities.
4. Ethical choices sometimes reshape laws or institutions
- When individuals act ethically, institutions are often pressured to change.
Example
- Emmeline Pankhurst chose militant suffragette tactics to expose the injustice of women’s disenfranchisement.
- Her decisions forced political debate and helped win UK voting rights for women.
Note
- When laws are unjust, ethical choices push society closer to justice.
5. Not all impactful choices are positive
- History is also shaped by harmful ethical decisions, or failures of responsibility.
Example
- Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement (1938):
- He chose negotiation with Hitler rather than confrontation.
- Many saw this as a moral attempt to preserve peace but it allowed Nazi aggression to grow.
Note
- Ethical responsibility includes thinking about consequences, not just intentions.
6. Ethical choices are shaped by context
- People don’t make decisions in a vacuum, they are influenced by fear, culture, pressure, and available information.
Example
- Sophie Scholl and the White Rose resisted Nazi propaganda by distributing anti-Hitler leaflets.
- Context: Extreme repression, danger, and surveillance.
- Impact: Became symbols of moral resistance, inspiring postwar German democracy.
Common Mistake
- Describing the action but ignoring the ethical dilemma.
- Ignoring context: why the choice was risky or difficult.
- Treating impact as immediate - change often builds slowly.
- Using only “famous” people. Ordinary ethical choices matter too.
Case study
Malala Yousafzai
- Background
- Malala Yousafzai grew up in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, where the Taliban banned girls from attending school.
- Education was not just a right, it was a lifeline for girls’ futures.
- Malala believed denying girls education was a moral wrong.
- Her ethical decision
- At age 11, Malala began speaking publicly and anonymously blogging for the BBC about life under Taliban rule.
- At 15, she openly campaigned for girls’ education, despite increasing threats.
- Why this was an ethical dilemma:
- Speaking out meant risking her safety, her schooling, and her family’s security.
- Remaining silent meant allowing injustice to continue.
- The turning point
- In October 2012, Malala was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen on her way home from school.
- She survived and made an extraordinary decision:
- She chose to continue speaking out rather than retreat in fear.
- Impact of her decision
- Global awareness
- Her story made the world pay attention to the millions of girls denied education.
- Policy influence
- Governments and NGOs increased funding for girls’ schools in conflict zones.
- Nobel Peace Prize (2014)
- Malala became the youngest Nobel Prize winner, reinforcing her message of education as a human right.
- Malala Fund
- She co-founded an organisation that supports grassroots activists fighting for girls’ education in places like Afghanistan, Nigeria, India, and Brazil.
- Global awareness
- Why her decision mattered ethically
- She acted based on principle, not personal benefit.
- She prioritised collective rights (education for all girls) over personal safety.
- Her decision exposed global inequality and inspired worldwide activism.
- Long-term significance
- Malala’s activism influenced UN policies on education.
- Millions now recognise education as a pathway to gender equality.
- She remains a symbol of youth leadership, resilience, and moral courage.
Self review
- What makes a decision ethical in a historical context?
- Why are ethical choices especially powerful during times of crisis?
- How can a seemingly small personal choice generate large-scale historical change?
- Why must we consider context when analysing an individual’s ethical responsibility?
- How do historians differ in their views about the role of individual decisions in shaping history?
