Moral authority and standing to blame

Victor Todros discusses the concept of standing in relation to moral authority and blame. Standing refers to the right or authority to hold someone accountable for their actions. Even if a person is morally responsible for wrongdoing, they may lack the standing to hold others accountable. This lack of standing can occur when there is a lack of a personal relationship or relevance to the situation. For example, a neighbor criticizing someone for not doing the dishes may lack the standing to hold them accountable. Victor explores various factors that can undermine standing, such as hypocrisy and complicity, where a person is involved in the wrongdoing themselves. He suggests that standing is an important consideration in punishment and raises questions about the state's moral authority to punish criminal offenders given its potential complicity in creating the conditions for wrongdoing.