Garrett Hardin Lifeboat Ethics Analysis

Critical Analysis Essay of Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor
Do you believe the rich countries should share their resources with the poor countries? In the world there are a lot of lamentable situations that the world would not have if we shared our resources. In the article “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor”, the author, Garrett Hardin, argues that, “...no single person or institution has the right to destroy, waste, or use more than a fair share of its resources.” He wrote this article to persuade the reader to think about our world's catastrophes and how they would end if we all were equal in resources and wealth. I do not agree with Garrett Hardin’s article, because I believe the rich countries should not share to make everything equal.
Hardin demonstrates many illustrations as to why the wealthy countries should share their wealth and resources. He gives examples like the lifeboat ethic. He tries to argue that most people will find it morally wrong to be narcissistic and to not …show more content…
There is a limited capacity on the lifeboat and it can only fit sixty people. There is fifty people aboard which are the richest in the world. There is one hundred poor people trying to swim and make their way onto the boat. If the rich grant all of the poor to get onto the ship, then the boat will sink. However, who decides which passengers should be on the boat? The citizens who do not get onto the boat will drown and perish. For the citizens that do get onto the boat, some of them will have a guilty conscious about their good luck. If the rich do decide to let ten on board, they will lose their safety factor. Hardin explains it as, “... if we don’t leave room for excess capacity as a safety factor in our country’s agriculture, a new plant disease or a bad change in the weather could have disastrous consequences.” What would you