Similarly, we would have no basis for criticizing so called Jim Crow law that required,
prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation and discrimination against Aefrican Americans in parts of the United States. Under this line of reasoning, it world have been wrong to question Jim Crow laws back in the 1950s, and wrong to argue for passage of the Civil Rights Act. The critics of the theory of ethical relativism argue that these conclusion are nonsense that the only way a society can achieve pro gress is if debates, including debates on moral principles, are allowed.