Ethic of reciprocity
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The ethic of reciprocity refers to the maxim "do as you would be done by". The maxim of the "golden rule" is exemplified in many Christian stories, such as the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which are unadorned replications of the Jewish Torah: "Love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:18 —NJPS).
The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim, ethical code, or morality that essentially states that one should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.
The Golden Rule is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights, in which each individual has a right to just treatment, and a reciprocal responsibility to ensure justice for others. Defined another way, it refers to the balance in an interactive system such that each party has both rights and duties, and the subordinate norm of complementarity states that one's rights are the other's obligation.
A key element of the Golden Rule is that a person attempting to live by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or her in-group. The Golden Rule has its roots in a wide range of world cultures, and is a standard different cultures use to resolve conflicts. It has a long history, and a great number of prominent religious figures and philosophers have restated its reciprocal, bilateral nature in various ways. The ethic of reciprocity was present in certain forms in the philosophies of ancient Babylon, Egypt, Persia, India, Greece, Judea, and China.
