Gone On For A Long Time, BUT Does That Make It Right?
Someone might say, “But this situation (or whatever) has gone on for a long time (say 30 years). Therefore, it must be OK.”
Such a statement, that uses duration as an ethical argument, can be very wrong. Look at slavery which has a several hundred-year history. What about long-standing restrictions of women in society? How about racism? Then there are people who have been incarcerated for decades only to find they are innocent. Simple duration is not a compelling argument for sustaining some condition or attitude in the future.
But why does it happen? There are several possible reasons. For example, it is only natural to accept something that has been ongoing. It could be that it simply wasn’t noticed, or the victims maybe had no advocate. Another is that great power may have overwhelmed the victims and there was nothing they could do to right the situation (https://sites.google.com/view/evil-overpowers-good ). While many actions are obviously unacceptable, ethical views and laws can evolve, and maybe the ethics of the situation evolved over time so that the situation is no longer acceptable. Also, we all have some kind of biases, and these may influence our actions and beliefs.
What do we do when confronted by such a situation. Well, one is to end the injustice as soon as possible. You may need to change laws or practices. This will help prevent the problem from occurring in the future. Speak out against the problem; let the wrongdoers know how you feel. Help restore or compensate the victims as best you can. Don’t let the bad past be prologue.
The flaws in the “duration makes it right” argument can be easy to see. Correcting the situation may be somewhat difficult, especially if damage has been done. Nevertheless, an effort should be made to make it right.
A similar situation occurs when a large number of people have done some wrong. Because many people have done it, does that make it right? Of course not. The arguments given above apply here.
An especially concerning situation is one where there is fraud. Fraud is an intentional deception in order to achieve an unfair advantage or some gain. It can be a civil or criminal breach. While it may not be an overtly criminal act, it can certainly be an unethical or immoral one in varying degrees. Legal guilt vs moral and ethical guilt has been discussed (https://sites.google.com/view/cant-prove-it-but ).
In summary, just because something bad has been done by a large number of people or for a long time does not make it right or acceptable. Sometimes the wrong in an action is ignored but should not be, and ethics and laws can evolve.