From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Nov 21 2002 - 10:57:16 MST
Ron h. wrote:
> Ayn Rand proposed the drowning man analogy. In that
> analogy most of us would risk much more to save our loved ones
> than a stranger. However, even the coldest of us would exerts
> ourselves to at least throw a drowning stranger a rope or a life
> preserver. So yes where there is famine we are willing to
> help.
I like that analogy.
> But where poverty is the fault of the locals and their own
> ruling class no we are not willing to dedicate ourselves to a
> life of poverty helping those same locals.
Very few people are willing to dedicate themselves to a life of poverty
for any cause. However as a people we do tend to put economic and
diplomatic pressure on those governments guilty of human rights
violations. China for example has felt some pressure from the USA in
this respect. South Africa was another recent example. The world can
feel our moral indignation when we want it to be felt.
-gts
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Jan 15 2003 - 17:58:17 MST