May 21, 2008
More Moral than Most
inslag.se is one of my favorite blogs in Swedish. It looks at society and tries to explain why people act as they do - often from an innovative angle.
This post discusses why why people opposed to organ trade and child employment are not evil or coldhearted, despite appearances. They are just projecting their feelings, trying to keep the unpleasant out by boycotting and banning it.
While largely meant as a satire, I think there is some truth to it. Many people seem much more eager to ban things than actually get rid of complex, troubling causes (think of prostitution, drugs, internet piracy) - not just because a ban is a simple option but because it allows a distancing from whatever it is. If we just ban organ trade the organ scarcity problem will go away - if not from reality, at least from our personal agenda. Trying to deal with the problem is going to give most people far too much anguish: actually figuring out how to give poor children in poor countries a good life is messy, will involve compromising moral positions, doing nasty realpolitik and even (shudder) thinking about economics. Much easier to organize boycotts in the west instead, allowing oneself to signal that one is more moral than most.
Posted by Anders3 at May 21, 2008 02:57 PM