Moral Relativism again

It has become a tired cliche that everyone has their own opinion on moral matters.  But consider that if that were really true, the Relativist would not be in a position to solve moral conflicts.  The relativist position does not allow for conflicts to have a resolution other than just an avoidance strategy.  This essentially is the non-interference posture.  "Just because my position differs from yours, you have not right to interfere with my position."  In some respects the Relativist and the Absolutist have this in common.  Both reflect a stubborn refusal to compromise and learn from others who differ.   Essentially this has been our problem throughout history.  We have thought ourselves correct and refused to learn from others.  So if we apply the cliche that everyone has their own opinion on moral matters, what we are really saying is that my opinion is just as good as yours, so I'm not altering my opinion - definitely a conversation stopper.  How can one come up with solutions to moral problems, if the other party is unwilling to engage in compromise.


Another more difficult issue with Relativism is its seeming self contradictory nature.  If everything is relative to a culture or subculture, then so is an opinion reflected by the statement "everything is relative".  So if relativism is itself relative, what allows the relativist position validity in any sense.  The relativist position is merely a function of the culture or subculture within which it arises.  Philosophers have sometimes tried to avoid this problem by pointing out the difference between statements made within a given subject, from statements made about the subject (meta-statements).  For instance there are mathematical statements and there are statements about mathematics; sociological statements and statements about sociology.  In some sense the statement that "everything in morals is relative" is such a meta-statement.  It is not  a statement from within the subject of morals, but a statement about morals.  In some sense therefore, Relativism is a Meta-moral theory and not an moral theory, and thus we should not expect it to solve moral conflicts.  Relativism cannot be made normative.