In what ways has law fostered a culture of clear morality? Are there objective measurements to state what would be beneficial to the people which laws are meant for? I'm very interested in ways that don't create a litany of unmaintainable spider web that, at times, confounds even a seasoned attorney.
Perhaps culture isn't the answer. Perhaps an all-knowing panopticon of artificial intelligence is ideal(though I seriously doubt it). I just risked being specific for the sake of example and to help spark a response.
Any examples of what has worked well in the past would be helpful.
Let's take a specific example for a moral code.
It is wrong to break into a stranger's house and kill them.
So... it sounds pretty cut and dry... but what about war? What if this stranger has built a military base within a city and is pillaging? Now it's illegal to remove his presence with lethal force.
So now it's:
It is wrong to break into a unknown civilian's house and kill them.
That has lots of problems too. It's never going to be perfect.
Let me know if I should delete this question and why. I'll be checking back often. I suck at SE questions. I asked this in SE Law... got two downvotes and was told to ask it here.