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Public morality refers tomoral and ethical standards enforced in a society, by law or police work or social pressure, and applied to public life, to the content of themedia, and to conduct inpublic places.
Public morality often meansregulation of sexual matters, includingprostitution andhomosexuality, but also matters of dress andnudity,pornography, acceptability in social terms ofcohabitation beforemarriage, and the protection of children. It is a main justification forcensorship; it can lead to campaigns againstprofanity, and so be at odds withfreedom of speech.Gambling is generally controlled:casinos have been considered much more of a threat than large-scalelotteries orfootball pools.Public drunkenness is quite unacceptable in some societies, and legal control of consumption ofalcohol is often justified in terms of public morality, just as much as for medical reasons or to limitalcohol-related crime. Drug legislation, historically speaking, has sometimes followed on similar reasoning.Abortion is sometimes treated as an aspect of public morality, even if it is legally defined, regulated by medical professionals, and almost entirely hidden from public view.AIDS as a health policy issue is linked to public morality in a complicated manner. A famous remark on male homosexuality ofMrs Patrick Campbell, that she did not care what people did as long as they "didn't frighten the horses",[1] shows that in some sense even hightolerance expects apublic limitation on behaviour. At the opposite extreme atheocracy may equate public morality with religious instruction, and give both the equal force of law.
Views on public morality do change over time. Public views on which things are acceptable often move towards wider tolerance. Rapid shifts the other way are often characterised bymoral panics, as in the shutting down of theatres a generation afterShakespeare's death by the EnglishPuritans.
It may also be applied to themorals of public life.Political corruption, or the telling of lies in public statements, tarnish not only individual politicians, but the entire conduct of political life, whether at local or national level. These are fairly universally regarded as blots on reputations, though in some cases there is a grey area between corruption and legitimate fund-raising. Whether the private lives of politicians are a public morals issue is not a matter of agreement, internationally speaking; the existence of an extramarital relationship of a prime minister or even a president would in some countries be considered a revelation well within the sphere of thepublic interest, while in other countries it would be considered quite irrelevant.
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