Conspiracy of silence versus moral freedom : applying the concept of structure of sin to the phenomenon of whistleblowing

When Pope John Paul II constructed the concept of structure of sin, he introduced a term to the field of moral and political theology to refer to the conditioning by which social groups predispose their members toward vice. This concept mainly concerns the collective dynamics through which the agent fails to fulfill his duty, and it draws particular attention to the conspiracy of silence that is instituted due to the complacency of certain agents and the indifference of others. It raises the question of the agent's moral freedom and, more specifically, the act of intelligence through which the agent calls into question those practices that seem to cause such conditioning. This article examines the collective dynamics at work in business settings and the moral freedom of employees through a closer examination of whistleblowing, a phenomenon in which these dynamics are of particular importance.