Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) is an American psychologist mostly known for his theory of stages of moral development, which adapts the theory previously conceived by Piaget.
His theory states that the basis to develop an ethical behaviour is by overcoming six different steps which involve a dilemma. Each stage requires more advanced moral skills to adequately solve the dilemma. Three levels of morality are distinguished in the stages, which chronologically are the following: pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional.
In the conventional third stage is where the concept of consensus democracy plays its role. Consensus democracy is referred to the socially agreed standards which people try to resemble in their behaviour to gain acceptance and good opinions from his peers.
Things such as the gold standard and the Crime of 1873 contributed to the rise of America's industrial economy. The result was Republican policymakers sharply limiting the nation's money supply to the level of available gold.
