Absolute good is an offshoot of Absolutism. Absolute good is the philosophical belief (see Moral Philosophy) that there are actions that are good in all instances. This view is especially popular with western religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. According to these beliefs, there is a set of rules, the following of which is good, and the breaking of which is bad.
There are also secular definitions of absolute good, such as the idea that minimizing harm to the greatest number of people is good, and causing harm is bad. The Roman legal system, from which the American is derived, was designed to punish bad acts while allowing good acts, in accordance with a standardized list of unacceptable behavior. Many more subjective scales exist, and are often based on the personal opinions of an individual. These scales are much more difficult to define, although an individual following these beliefs is able to immediately assign a value of good or bad to a given act.
Absolute good is the antithesis to relative good. See also relativism.