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Re: More ethics...

Subject: Re: More ethics...
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 20:07:20 -0700

Peter wrote:


That constitutes stealing and it should not matter if I am just
the poor schmuck that I am, or Microsoft. Similarly, It should not
matter if I steal it from you or Microsoft.


Here's my reasoning: stealing is wrong because it harms other people. If someone steals $1000 from an unemployed person, you hurt them considerably. If you steal $1000 from Microsoft, which apparently banks a billion dollars per month, the company is not substantially hurt.

Legally, the difference in harm doesn't matter, and perhaps shouldn't; to insist that it should would be to declare open season on large corporations. And, if you assume, as I tend to, that stealing has a harmful effect on the thief, the effect on the thief isn't affected by whom the victim is. But if the degree of harm is the criterion for judging the seriousness of the act, then stealing from the unemployed person is the greater crime in ethical terms.

Perhaps, however, there may be other reasons for viewing theft as wrong, in which case the argument fails. Also, your position might depend on where you are on Kohlberg's morality scale. For example, if you don't steal because you are afraid of getting caught, or because you've been told it's wrong, you're not likely to agree with this reasoning.


--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"At poolside picnics they chant for Ferraris and furs
Their muscle tone sharpens but their hold on reality blurs
You can have your cake and eat it, & never have to puke up a thing,
Jerusalem on the jukebox, little angels beat your wings."
-Richard Thompson, "Jerusalem on the Jukebox"


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Follow-Ups:

References:
RE: More ethics...: From: David Knopf
Re: More ethics...: From: Bruce Byfield
Re: More ethics...: From: Peter

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