Conscience or Consequence?
People have different spectrums. For example, in the math spectrum, one person may be more naturally gifted while another finds math to be a hard thing. Now, depending on how hard each person studies, they might score better on their tests. But the naturally gifted person will always have the advantage. The same is true in basketball. The taller person will always have a starting advantage. Some people may be taller and also naturally better at math, some neither, some more of one than the other. But how hard we study or practice does make a big difference.
There are thousands of spectrums, and each one of us has a unique set of them. But one of the most important spectrums is the conscience spectrum. This involves a natural response of feeling guilt when you don’t help someone, and especially if you disrespect them.
The conscience spectrum is difficult to assess in other people, because it begins as a feeling. However, aside from any level of naturally present conscience, people learn early that we should not disrespect others, and we should be helpful, or we will get in trouble. For example, in the person with little or no conscience, this early learning may prompt the person to be respectful as a way of staying out of trouble, where their weak conscience is not doing the job. So, outwardly, you may have two people who are respectful to others, and one of them does it from conscience, while the other does it to avoid consequence.
More broadly speaking, in a society, order and safety can be double edged swords. They may be achieved by conscience or by consequence, or various combinations of the two. The less they are achieved by conscience, the more they will be achieved by consequence. This reveals the next truth: The more that order and safety are achieved by conscience, the more trustworthiness there is in the general population, and the more freedom there is.