The moral high ground, in ethical or political parlance, refers to the status of being respected for remaining moral, and adhering to and upholding a universally recognized standard of justice or goodness

"Parties seeking the moral high ground simply refuse to act in ways which are not viewed as legitimate and morally defensible by the larger the [sic

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Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...

] society."

"In What Price the Moral High Ground?, economist and social critic Robert H. Frank

Robert H. Frank

Robert H. Frank is the Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management and a Professor of Economics at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He contributes to the "Economic View" column, which appears every fifth Sunday in The New York Times.-Career:Frank...

challenges the notion that doing well is accomplished only at the expense of doing good. Frank explores exciting new work in economics, psychology, and biology to argue that honest individuals often succeed, even in highly competitive environments, because their commitment to principle makes them more attractive as trading partners."

Holding the moral high ground can be used to legitimize political movements, notably nonviolent resistance, especially in the face of violent opposition, has been used by civil disobedience movements around the world to garner sympathy and support from society.