It&#x27;s a reasonable seeming law, yes, just as the categorical imperative is - but what if your culture says that the more skulls you collect, the better a person you are? It&#x27;s easy to define a law in isolation from social pressures which defy that law. Take the inquisition - by burning hereticks you saved their souls, and this was therefore good - so do as you would be done by applies, even if it comprises an auto da fé.<p>With re: apathy - &quot;all that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing&quot; - sure, but this still relies on a fixed idea of good and evil, and that you can recognise &quot;evil&quot; at its inception. The issue there is that tragic consequences tend to only become apparent in hindsight.<p>I do personally agree with &quot;do as you would be done by&quot;, but you can&#x27;t apply it as a universal law without the complete homogenisation of global culture - and even then folks will develop their own ideas of what constitutes good and evil.<p>Ultimately, it&#x27;s all about societal consensus, which these days (since bernays in particular) is media led.