From: Ethics for a Finite World by Herschel
Elliott
The Inability of Personal Ethics to Address the Physical Causes of Human
Ills.
Personal ethics errs in that its categorical moral laws incorporate
incentives that only increase human need. Frequently cited examples, again, are
apropos.
The obligation of personal ethics to give philanthropic aid to all in need
entails counterproductive incentives. The only thing that poor nations have to
do in order to receive more aid is to generate more need. Thus, nations with
dense populations, high birthrates, and ravaged environments can expect mankind
to supply them with the foods and funds they need to relieve their plight.
The pragmatic effect of such aid is to subsidize the status quo. It
supports the continued growth of the needy population. It stimulates the further
destructive exploitation of their degraded environments. Inevitably, the
expanding human population and the increased exploitation of the damaged
environment cause more people to suffer. Unconditional aid only exacerbates the
woes it was intended to redress. The categorical commandments of personal ethics
cannot be modified to take account of the fact that the behavior required by
personal ethics affects what happens in the world: it can cause hardship and
disaster rather than the expected benefit.
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