Civic Morality

If you happen to drop your wallet in Europe, try not to drop it in Lisbon. It seems most Portuguese think it is sometimes or always justified to keep any money they find. Try to drop it in Belfast instead. Only a few people in Northern Ireland would consider keeping it, or so they say.

These insights into our vices come from a massive European study of civic morals. Nearly 19.000 individuals in 13 countries were surveyed by the European Value Systems Study Group, a network of academics across the continent. They listed ten antisocial and illegal activities, ranging from littering to tax evasion, and asked people how often they could be justified.
The results show that Europe’s most moral and responsible citizens are the Danes, and the French are the least, but the researchers acknowledge that some nationalities may have been more honest than others when answering the questions. So how accurate are their findings? Perhaps the group’s next survey should be on whether it’s justifiable to lie to social scientists when they ask you questions.

The numbers in the table give the countries’ overall moral position compared with other European countries.
The final column gives their overall moral position as calculated by the European Value Systems Study Group.