Democracy is a fragile gift to citizens, easily deteriorating into totalitarianism or subverting the will of the majority by the tyranny of the minority. This class describes the civic virtues that are needed to protect and preserve a democratic form of government. Virtue ethics is a modern version of the ethics of Aristotle, a complement to the more familiar utilitarian ethics (the greatest good for the greatest number) or Kantian ethics (based on duty). The latter two focus on determining what action is good, while virtue ethics addresses what qualities of character lead us to do that which is good.

Holley Ulbrich is a veteran OLLI instructor whose career as a professional and a volunteer has spanned economics, ethics, religion, and politics. A retired economics professor from Clemson, she received a Master of Theological Studies degree from Emory with a concentration in ethics and returned to the classroom to teach a graduate course in ethics and public policy for 14 years.