SEVERAL weeks ago, I wrote about a cause celebre in which a driver in Tianjin was sued for knocking down a jaywalking old woman whom he claimed to have helped. The court ruling, which found the driver guilty as charged, dropped a bombshell.

In the weeks thereafter, there was a spike in incidents involving needy people who had suffered, or even died, due to lack of help from gawking spectators.

The fear that extending a helping hand might mean nursing a viper in one's bosom has led many Good Samaritans to be more calculating in rendering help. All of a sudden, society is bemoaning the death of morality.

This pessimism is echoed by an Internet posting that reads, "If Comrade Lei Feng lived to this day, he would have been bankrupted by countless lawsuits filed against him." Lei Feng (1940-1962) was a soldier hero who helped others no matter what in the 1950s.

In these times of cynicism, there still are those who see to it that Lei Feng's spiritual legacy is carried on. People's Daily reported on Wednesday that 54 such modern-day Lei Fengs were honored at a high-profile gala in Beijing on Tuesday night.

They were selected from more than 20,000 candidates and after several rounds of online voting, their names were inscribed on the honor roll of this year's "China's Moral Role Models." In an effort to encourage ethical behavior and good character, in 2009 China launched the annual role model program that glorifies ordinary heroes.

They are placed on pedestals for various reasons, such as saving people whose lives are in danger, devoting themselves to work and maintaining an impeccable record of filial piety.

To some, these commendations offer a glimmer of hope that morality isn't "finished" as it's said to be. Nonetheless, I have some reservations about the virtual canonizing of these role models.

It's not that I doubt the authenticity of these hero stories. Most are indeed laudable. But a few sound exaggerated. Even Lei Feng, who was depicted as a Spartan-looking and frugal young man, was later revealed to own a fine watch, a bourgeois privilege at that time.

Recent experience also suggests that some recipients of morality awards leave much to be desired.

A billionaire philanthropist who became a celebrated figure for dispatching relief in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake has now taken to asking recipients of his aid to pose for photos with him and the cash he gave them. He apparently was unconcerned about the humiliation he would bring to the helped.

Another problem with glorification of role models is that it in itself isn't that effective in influencing social behavior. Good Samaritans are a vanishing breed even though we constantly extol the bravery of people who sacrifice their lives to save others'.

That said, the government has sent a clear message with these polls, that it's deeply worried about the general moral decay.

People's Daily hailed it as a good sign that the rank and file account for over 90 percent of nominees for this year's vote of moral leaders. It's heartening that more ordinary citizens now occupy national moral high ground, it said.

It is paradoxical that as more and more grassroots heroes are honored, society as a whole is sometimes slipping further to a level where deception rather than honesty is rewarded.

A graphic example is a common retort by a few unethical businesses when they were taken to task for selling substandard products that might harm people's health, "How much does a jin (half a kilogram) of conscience cost?"

This is moral nihilism at its extreme, a belief that everything has a price in the market but morality itself is not worth the price.

It is popular now to join the chorus denouncing the market economy for precipitating the demise of China's moral values. The market turns good people into predators; the market encourages treachery, not fair play, and so on.

Social trust

The market does sometimes expose the destructive force of human greed, but blaming it all on the market is both unfair and misguided. After all, the modern market economy is primarily based on social trust.

Adam Smith argued in his "Theory on Moral Sentiments" that the pursuit of material gains should be constrained by moral precepts. Altruism is a linchpin in the smooth functioning of a market economy.

The disintegration of morality we are witnessing in China is often described as a result of a spiritual void, to be filled only with worship of money.

Gone are the days when ancient merchants, though seen as slippery as they are now, prided themselves on their noblesse oblige and put communal good before profits.

In a largely atheist nation, it's useless to preach the good karma, bad karma philosophy to business people who don't believe in afterlife and payback and thus have no qualms about deceiving customers.

When Premier Wen Jiabao earnestly stressed the necessity early this year for restoring social morality, not everyone was upbeat about the odds of success.

Some joked, "how can we expect morality to wear pants when the law is streaking" -- meaning that when laws are not always followed it's naive to wish morality could be upheld.

Shame just isn't so damning any more, whether to philandering official playboys caught with their pants down or young people shouting out loud that a good marriage is to be preferred to hard work to move up the social ladder.

Recently there are reports that the vastly popular talent show "Super Girl" will be taken off the air next year for violating state broadcasting rules on duration.

Whatever its true motives for muting the Super Girl, the watchdog may have barked up the wrong tree.

Compared to "Super Girl," there are truly vulgar and raunchy programs, like some matchmaking and variety shows that know no limit in their sensationalism and obscenity, which I myself would love to see axed.

In order for the officially anointed role models to lead by moral example, it's imperative to first weed out the bad influences.