Do you agree with having a sacrificial lamb?

1. 67

   ptosisposted 11 years ago

   Do you agree with having a sacrificial lamb?
   
   Utilitarianism says that the the good of the many outweighs the good of the few, or the one.
   I'm talking about a single human being or community of people akin to the NIMBY policy that has the garbage dump out in the boondocks that have no political currency.
   
   

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2. 0

   Larry Wallposted 11 years ago

   No, everyone should be given consideration and deserve respect for their rights, dignity and property.
   
   As a reporter, i had to deal with these situations. Sometimes they just get out of hand. The landfill or garbage dump starts out small. A small community lives a good distance, an adequate distance away from the site. Both grow. A lack of zoning laws, a lack of enforcement and a lack of how to use the political process exacerbate the situation until it appears almost insolvable.
   
   It can be solved. Government has to step in, people in other areas have to realize it could had been them and the ones immediately affected have to understand that once an agreement, the problem will not be solved overnight. It is not the best system, but right now it is all we have.
   
   I have been involved in incidents where attempts have been made to buy out the affected people. However, the buyout price is never enough and the community does not want to move, so the problem continues to smolder.
   
   Someday it will be resolved. I cannot tell you when.
   
   No there should be so sacrificial lamb.However, until planning and enforcement becomes part of urban development, pictures like the one above will not disappear.

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3. 78

   junksellerposted 11 years ago

   It's hard to argue against utilitarianism. But, it has to actually be necessary. If I could save my kid by donating an organ but die in the process, I might make the utilitarian argument that the overall good is better served because they are young and I am older. However, I sure wouldn't want to give up an organ just so a rich person could have a spare part, and in our world, that type of 'anti-utilitarianism' is the more common type (AKA shoving garbage dumps on the politically powerless). The good of the few outweighs the good of the many.

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