Samhällsmoral genom lag? : En sociologisk studie av de viktigaste argumenten för en svensk civilkuragelag

Sammanfattning: A tragic event in 2012 sparked a debate about the need for a law of civil courage when it became clearthat passivity in situations where people ́s lives are put in danger is not punishable. In this essay based on qualitative interviews with jurists and students of law the issue of civil courage is analyzed with the help of sociological theory. My objective has been to try and find out if a law of civil courage can be motivated with the argument that it would strengthen the public moral. My conclusion is that a law of moral courage is not a suitable way of making people more willing to help others or to strengthen the civil courage or the public moral. It is better to try and strengthen the trust among people in society, for example by countering segregation and exclusion. It is also important to have trustworthy institutionsand mass media that can support the public moral.