Lessons in Moral Theory from the Dutch (Autonomy, Beneficence, And Gezelligheid) (Viewpoint Essay‪)‬

American bioethicists lack the theoretical resources to work in cross-cultural settings. All we have are two approaches to ethics--principles vs. narratives--that are mostly at odds, and neither of which is up to the job. If moral principles are too abstract to be useful, and if stories cannot provide moral authority, then where do we find our moral norms? When bioethics was in its infancy, it was viewed as a distinctly American discourse, though faint snatches of conversation wafted in from England when the wind was blowing easterly. Of the 104 articles and case studies published in the Hastings Center Report in the first four years of its existence, only four looked beyond the borders of the United States. Now that the field has come of age, however, it has increasingly gone global. The International Association of Bioethics recently held its ninth World Congress, the journal Developing World Bioethics is eight years old, the World Health Organization's Global Summit of National Bioethics Advisory Bodies has met regularly for the past seven years, and bioethics centers are found in every country from Albania to Zimbabwe. (1)