Essay on Garrett Hardin Lifeboat Ethics - 1281 Words

Garrett Hardin argues for a very harsh thesis: we simply should not provide aid to people in poor countries. His argument is consequentialist: he claims that the net result of doing so would be negative -- would in fact be courting large-scale disaster. One of the things that we will notice about Hardins essay, however, is that whether he is right or wrong, he paints with a very broad brush. This makes it a good essay for the honing of your philosophical skills; you should notice that there are many places where the reasoning procees with less than total care. Hardin begins with metaphors. He points out that while the metaphor of earth as a grand spaceship has a certain popularity (or did 23 years ago) it is a flawed metaphor†¦show more content†¦Arent we irresponsible if we dont plan ahead for possible emergencies by leaving ourselves some excess capacity? (Recall that in this metaphor, capacity includes things like supplies.) It should be obvious that this is a dubious metaphor. To begin with (and this will come up again) not all countries are either rich or poor. Furthermore, it is not as clear as Hardin assumes that we lack the resources to save everyone. And the argument from the safety factor may seem dubious. Couldnt we help some people -- even if we select them in a fairly arbitrary way? Leave the safety factor aside. Presumably it is true that we should not give all our excess resources away; not planning for emergencies is irresponsible. The main reply that Hardin would make to our doubts is this: even if we have enough resources to help everyone in the short run, we dont have nearly enough to do so in the long run. Why not? Because of the difference in rates of population growth between rich and poor nations. Suppose that in 1974, the U.S. had decided to share its wealth with a group of countries such as Columbia, Venezuala and Pakistan. Suppose that the combined population of the poor countries equaled the total (1974) populationof the U.S.: about 210 million. The populaiton in the U.S. increass at a rate of about .8% per year; the population of those countries increases at a rate of about 3.3% per year. By 2061 -- 87 years later -- the population of the U.S. wouldShow MoreRelatedJustice vs. Reality in Lifeboat Ethics: the Case against Helping the Poor by Garrett Hardin534 Words   |  3 PagesThe essay titled Lifeboat Ethics: the Case against Helping the Poor by Garrett Hardin, was very interesting. The first part of the essay used a metaphor of the rich people of the earth in a lifeboat and the poor people in the sea drowning. The rich people could only allow a few people in and if they let , too many people in they will sink the boat and all die. The best thing for the rich people to do is not to let anyone in so they will have adequate supplies and space for them to survive. LaterRead MoreLifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor - Garrett Hardin What Should A Billionaire Give-and What Should You? - Peter Singer3380 Words   |  14 PagesLifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor - Garrett Hardin What Should A Billionaire Give-and What Should You? - Peter Singer One of the most important issues facing the world today is the issue of the poor. There are many things that can be done about this issue, however much of the world is torn between wanting to help and not knowing how to go about it. This is the issue that is presented in the two essays - Garrett Hardin’s â€Å"Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor,† andRead MoreThe Effective Concept of Lifeboat Ethics Essay1482 Words   |  6 PagesLifeboat Ethics is a metaphor for the process of wealth and resource distribution as described by ecologist Garrett Hardin. 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We must encourage them if we desire to save at least part ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Garrett Hardins The Tragedy Of The Commons784 Words   |  4 PagesGarrett Hardin published in Psychology Today in September 1974. This passage is an excerpt from his popular paper â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons† as a warning that overpopulation was dangerous due to how limited Earth’s resources are. This theory is reflected in Hardin’s thesis that the rich should do nothing to help the people of poor nations and turn away those trying to come in. Hardin used the imagery of a lifeboat almost filled in a sea full of drowning people to pose and answer a single questionRead MoreLifeboa t Ethics Essay583 Words   |  3 PagesLifeboat Ethics Hardins Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against the Poor - No! You Cannot Come in Garrett Hardin writes about saving the poor in his essayLifeboat Ethics: The Case Against the Poor found in The Blair Reader. Hardin writes about how the rich countries are in the lifeboat and the poor countries are swimming in the ocean. He also writes about how the United States helps other countries. Hardin feels that if the government keeps helping other countries and letting people in thenRead MoreRevision Of The Critique Of Hardin’S â€Å"Lifeboat Ethics†:1134 Words   |  5 PagesRevision of the Critique of Hardin’s â€Å"Lifeboat Ethics†: The Case against Helping the Poor Garrett Hardin was a controversial ecologist who believed that overpopulation was going to bring a downfall to a world of limited resources. Each nation was compared to a lifeboat with the rich being inside the boat and the poor in the water, drowning (Hardin, 561). He wrote the â€Å"Lifeboat Ethics† in 1974 when Ethiopia was having a starvation problem. Hardin’s opinion about the situation was that sendingRead MoreEssay on Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor900 Words   |  4 PagesGarrett Hardin, biologist from Stanford, used the metaphor of Earth being a â€Å"spaceship† persuading other countries, industries and people to stop polluting and washing natural resources of the world. He illustrates that the â€Å"spaceship† is represented by the wealthy countries, and the natural resources are represented as the poorer countries of the world. The wealthy people of the world have all the resources they need to survive and more, whil e other hand the poorer countries are unfortunate. TheirRead MoreRobbing the Rich to Give to the Poor Essay917 Words   |  4 Pagessupport them. No one desires people to suffer, but do wealthy nations have a moral obligation to aid poor nations who are unable to help themselves? Garrett Hardin in, Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor, uses a lifeboat analogy to expose the global negative consequences that could accompany the support of poor nations. Hardin stresses problems including population increase and environmental overuse as downfalls that are necessary to consider for the survival of wealthy nationsRead MoreHardin Durning Skinner Essay Draft 21480 Words   |  6 PagesDurning and Skinner Proved That Hardin’s Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor Does Not Float In Garrett Hardin’s essay, Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor, Hardin describes the wealthy population of the world as being in a single lifeboat that is almost filled until buckling while the poor population of the world treads water below. Hardin’s essay gets his readers to feel the natural instinct to survive. The lifeboat metaphor that Hardin uses relieves the wealthy population