Opportunism - Moral Connotations of Human Opportunism

Moral Connotations of Human Opportunism

As a style of human behaviour, opportunism has the connotation of a lack of integrity, or doing something that is out of character (inconsistent). The underlying thought is that the price of the unrestrained pursuit of selfishness is behavioural inconsistency, i.e. it is ultimately impossible to be continuously selfish and remain consistent at the same time. Thus, opportunism involves compromising some or other principle normally upheld. However, the boundary between "legitimate self-interest" and "undesirable (or anti-social) selfishness" can be difficult to define; the definition may depend on one's point of view, or position in life.

Some people regard an opportunist stance positively as a legitimate choice, which can be the lesser evil. Thus, the British Conservative statesman Stanley Baldwin is supposed to have quipped:

"I would rather be an opportunist and float than go to the bottom with my principles around my neck" – Stanley Baldwin

The quip highlights that "opportunism" is not infrequently used as a term of abuse, but also that it involves some moral ambiguity:

• The somewhat apologetic suggestion is that, faced with the imperative to act, then not to be an opportunist would be to disadvantage oneself; and that the greater harm is caused by not doing what is to one's own advantage. Adhering to principles too tightly would cause one to fail, be blinded to the opportunities that exist, or be unwilling to take "necessary" risks.

• Baldwin's quip could be taken to imply that opportunism equates to choosing to pursue one's self-interest as a supreme principle of survival; labeling somebody an "opportunist" would be presuming a lack of integrity, perhaps out of ignorance about what his or her integrity consists in (obviously, availing oneself of an opportunity does not automatically make one an "opportunist").
• Baldwin could also be interpreted as ridiculing accusations or anxieties about opportunism as narrow-minded – by suggesting that, while others are being blamed, the accusers are motivated by a lack of creative insight into all the opportunities that could be taken up, in a way consistent with principles; an obsessive focus on "principles" or "opportunism" would simply be counterproductive, or might only mask what are in reality quite different motivations.
• Yet framing opportunism as a lesser evil implies the absence of clear positive principles of what would be good to do; Baldwin could be understood as saying that the political process is itself the means by which it is sorted out what those principles should be, or that politics can achieve no more than prevent worse things from happening (in his play Hamlet, William Shakespeare refers to the conservative notion of being "cruel to be kind" – so that "bad begins and worse remains behind").

Life can be viewed as presenting "an endless series of opportunities", where the pattern of one's responses defines who or what one is (individual identity). It can also be viewed as a striving to realize or express certain principles. However, the moral dilemma implied by opportunism concerns the conflict of self-interest with the interests of others, or with following a principle: either to do what one wants, or to do "what is the right thing to do" – it may be an inner conflict of a person, or a conflict imposed by the situation faced. Thus, substantively, opportunism refers to someone who acts on opportunities in a self-interested, biased or one-sided manner that conflicts or contrasts in some way with a (more general) rule, law, norm, or principle.

The fact that the self-interested action evokes this conflict, often implies that the tendency to use opportunities to advantage is excessive or improper, the corollary being a deficiency of character or at least a lack of propriety. Hence the term opportunism often has the pejorative connotation of morally unsound behaviour, or behaviour that sacrifices a greater good for the sake of gaining an advantage for oneself or one's own group. Such behaviour need not be criminal because there may be no law against it – opportunism as a general category is not a crime – but it may be perceived as "criminal" in the sense of being "immoral" or "unjustifiable" or "repugnant" to the extent that it makes selfishness supreme.

Moralists may have a distaste for opportunism, insofar as opportunism implies the violation of a moral principle. Yet they may themselves be opportunist to the extent that they appeal to moral principles when it suits themselves, while remaining silent when the morals they favour are actually challenged, violated or compromised. Thus opportunism can be associated with expediency or hypocrisy.