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Thought Experiment 22: The Lifeboat

8/17/2015

2 Comments

 
Picture
The Lifeboat Memorial in South Shields, UK (Source: http://is.gd/aY3vrf)
Ready to feel a little uncomfortable? Time for this week's thought experiment!

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     "Right," said Roger, the self-appointed captain of the lifeboat. "There are twelve of us on this vessel, which is great, because it can hold up to twenty. And we have plenty of rations to last until someone comes to get us, which won't be longer than twenty-four hours. So, I think this means we can safely allow ourselves an extra chocolate biscuit and a shot of rum each. Any objections?"
     "Much as I'd doubtless enjoy the extra biscuit," said Mr. Mates, "shouldn't our main priority right now be to get the boat over there and pick up the poor drowning woman who has been shouting at us for the last half hour?" A few people looked down into the hull of the boat, embarrassed, while others shook their heads in disbelief.
     "I thought we had agreed," said Roger. "It's not our fault she's drowning, and if we pick her up, we won't be able to enjoy our extra rations. Why should we disrupt our cosy set-up here?" There were grunts of agreement.
     "Because we could save her, and if we don't she'll die. Isn't that reason enough?"
     "Life's a bitch," replied Roger. "If she dies, it's not because we killed her. Anyone for a digestive?"

Baggini, J., The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten, 2005, p. 61.
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It's a pretty obvious metaphor, isn't it? But as Baggini says in his discussion of this experiment:

The UN has set a target for developed countries to give 0.7 percent of their GDP to overseas aid. Few have met it.

So what do you think? Are we all being as callous as Roger?
2 Comments
Jason
8/17/2015 06:06:21 pm

Ed, although I think I see where this thought experiment is trying to go, this appears to be a flawed metaphor - possibly even oversimplified for a thought exercise.

At a first glance, sure you might feel a little uncomfortable thinking about the extreme poverty that exists, particularly outside of the developed world. Hover, the experiment coupled with your reference to the UN targets suggests that the problem can be solved by just throwing more money at it. Are we to think that the drowning woman would be saved by everyone throwing their extra biscuits at her?

If you're going to relate this to international development, I feel like there needs to be some circling sharks in the water or something like that (maybe just one shark).If it were as easy as just reaching down and pulling her up, of course you should go save her, but in reality there may be an actual cost to raising a nation out of poverty: a real cost in lives if military intervention is needed (not saying that's always the right solution) - shark biting your leg off, your freely given excess wealth never even making it to the drowning nation - shark eats biscuits before they make it to the drowning lady, which honestly aren't going to help her anyways, etc...

After hearing stories from friends who work at World Bank, NGOs, etc... this story doesn't make me feel uncomfortable at all.

Reply
@EdGibney link
8/18/2015 01:40:19 am

Well I teed that one up and you hit it right out of the park, Jason. Obviously I didn't write the thought experiment, but if I were to re-write it, yeah, some sharks could be there, maybe 1,000 miles between us, and either her family or friends threw her in the water or she dove in willingly, etc. That might be a little closer to the Int. Dev. world. Having been a Peace Corps volunteer, I don't feel that uncomfortable about the level I've given either (similar to what you probably feel from your background), but even for us it still gives some cause to consider the appropriate balance between giving and acceptance of reality. Heck, some people out there might give less after considering this!

Reply



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