I've been thinking more about this. I recalled a preacher giving a lecture on the implications of stealing (one of the Commandments). But rather than take a moral approach, such as stealing is wrong, he took a societal approach. If stealing was OK, then more people would be stealing--and many societal conventions would no longer work. When we analyze all the supposed morals, we find that "better society" approach often coincides with a "moral" approach.

For example, the morality of sexual orientation can be something for interpretation. But when we look at whether society benefits or diminishes with "allowing" sexual orientation outside of heterosexuality, we really can't make a good case for oppressing this nature. In this sense, the better society becomes the morality: just leave those people alone.

But I can see such an essay taking a lot longer to concoct and present in a logical way.