Dishonesty means, lack of honesty, a disposition to lie, cheat or steal.
We don’t know how accurate an honesty poll work exactly but according to a research conducted in a survey by the Centre for the Study of Integrity at the University of Essex, Britain became a more dishonest country than before.
Lack of moral values show that British people buy more stolen goods and are more likely to lie on application forms or have an extramarital affair.
This new study which reveals dramatic decline in private integrity indicates that British people are becoming less honest and their trust in government and business leaders has fallen.
Is the nation heading for an ‘Integrity Crisis’? Perhaps yes, as the research suggests that the “integrity problem” is likely to get worse because young people are more tolerant of dishonest behaviour than the older generation. Only 33 per cent of under-25s think lying on a job application is never justified, compared with 41 per cent of middle-aged people and 55 per cent of those over 65.
As we now all the recent controversies such as phone hacking, MP’s expenses and the banking crisis have had an effect on the issues arising from recent scandals. Besides some issues have to be researched into these areas of public concern.
Professor Whiteley, who has devised an “integrity test”, says that there could be big implications for politics, as integrity levels mattered because there was a link between them and a sense of civic duty. And that means of course it will be difficult to mobilise volunteers to support David Cameron’s Big Society project, if integrity continues to decline.
Professor Whiteley states, “If social capital is low, and people are suspicious and don’t work together, those communities have worse health, worse educational performance, they are less happy and they are less economically developed and entrepreneurial and it really does have a profound effect.
We should not be surprised as those that hold power in Britain are setting the tone; bankers, MPs, MEPs, CEOs, boardroom directors etc.
It is for political leaders to ensure that they demonstrate honesty and trustworthiness are in peoples’ own interests.
Not surprisingly the study shows that women have slightly more integrity than men. Does this come as a surprise?
Of course not!
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Semra Eren-Nijhar 