The term morality refers to social conventions about right and wrong that are so widely shared that they become ther basis for an established consensus. However, one's view of what is moral may vary by age, cultural group, ethnic background, religion, and gender. There is widespread agreement on the immorality of murder, theft, and arson, but other behaviors that are accepted in one culture might be unacceptable in another. For example, in the United state Statea it is perfectly acceptable to place one's elderly parents in a managed care facility in their declining years. In most Middle Eastern countries, however, elderly parents would never be placed in such a facility; theyremain at home and are cared for by other family members.
Another example concerns attitudes towards the illegal copying of software (piracy), which range from strong opposition to acceptance as a standard approach to business. In 2003, 36 percent of all software in circulation worldwide was pirated at a codt of $29 billion to software vendors. The highest piracy rates were in Vietnam and China, where 92 percent of the sotware was pirated. In the United States, the piracy rate was 22 percent.
Even within the same society, people can have strong disagreements over important moral issues-in the United States, for example, issues such as abortion, the death penalty, and gun control are continuosly debated, and both sides fell their arguments are on solid moral ground