But as humans became more mobile and able to live in larger and largersettlements packed with people who did not know one another personally andcould not “get back at” others if they were injured or insulted (or praised andstrengthened) by them, the Golden Rule became less and less sufficient as a moralguide. Indeed, as people from once-separate cultures came into closer proxim-ity, “doing unto others what you want done to yourself” often became a causeof conflict itself! What is a tribute in one society might well be an insult in an-other. In our modern, congested, multicultural world, a better, new Golden Rulemight be, “Do unto others as they wish you to do unto them.” In this sense,then, ethics becomes “situational” (something to be negotiated between strangersor newcomers) rather than something absolute and obvious for people who livetogether from birth to death.