This question rests on two very dubious claims: that there is, indeed, an “erosion of moral values,” and that this subsequently results in the “erosion of the strength of society.” I will argue that neither of these are the case.

To begin with, I will address this idea of an “erosion of moral values.” The very notion of the “erosion of morals” implies a variety of false claims. The first is that previous generations were “more moral,” that the past represented a high point from which we are moving away. This is hardly the case. In the United States, for example, the 1950’s are often looked at as a prime example of good, honest moral values. It is the birth of the idea of the American Dream, the father as breadwinner, mother as homemaker, one or two children, church on Sunday, etc. It was also the era of Jim Crow laws and McCarthyism, two great stains on American society.

It becomes quickly apparent, upon further examination of history, that while in some ways society may have seemed “more moral” than today, it also had several powerfully negative elements that have since been eliminated (to an extent). Thus, there truly are no “good old days” upon which to look back and say, “We are in moral decline.”

Second of all, this idea of moral decay implies that there are objective, “correct” moral values. This itself is a very dubious claim. It is extremely doubtful, for example, that a Catholic and a Mormon would agree on very many moral values, despite both being Christians. Taking in to account the various other religions, plus agnostics and atheists, and it becomes virtually impossible to determine what values are “correct,” if indeed there are objective moral values.

Third, there are no ways to really measure the “moral values” of people, barring asking them, and even that can be unreliable. Many people may not have specific moral codes - they know what is moral or immoral in context, but may not have a written out, easy-reference set of moral values.

Perhaps this question looks at the rising crime rates and divorce rates in the US and sees “moral decay.” I would suggest that the reasons for these are not “moral decay,” per say. Crime rates rise as poverty rises, and with the continued polarization of wealth, the rich get richer, and the poor are left to fend for themselves, subjected to worsening conditions that stretch the human spirit to the limit. The rising divorce rate can be attributed a variety of factors: lessened financial dependence of spouses, rushes in to marriages that just don’t work out, increased safety nets for those who are unhappy with their spouses, etc. These are not signs of moral decay. Poverty is the result of injustice hefted upon the masses by capitalism. Divorce is a freedom from an unhappy, unproductive marriage.

Now, for the idea that moral values are tied to the strength of a society. The strength of a society is based on how it treats its people. The treatment of people in society today is no worse, and in many ways better, than it was just a generation ago. There is certainly a lot of progress yet to be made, but on the whole, society is becoming stronger. I would like to thus propose the following: that the decay of the old “moral values” of society actually strengthens it.

As the old moral order is rejected, society is allowed to make choices that may be more beneficial. For example, one of the arguments for slavery was that white people had a “moral obligation” to enslave black people, who couldn’t care for themselves. When this idea was rejected, it allowed for emancipation of slavery. Similarly, prior to the women’s suffrage movement, women were viewed as inferior to men, and too stupid to actively participate in government. This idea was shed, and women enfranchised, for the betterment and strengthening of society.

Moral decay may be questionable, but there is one thing that is difficult to deny: the rejection of old values can result in the strengthening of society.