Lifeboat Ethics

Team America-http://newsroomnews.com/2011/04/team-america/

Team America, World Police. Is that our official title? Do our moral obligations demand that we give what we have earned to those less fortunate? These are Lifeboat Ethics.

http://knox.villagesoup.com/discussions/view/welfare-state-handouts-make-up-one-third-of-u-s-wages/385091

Lifeboat Ethics use the metaphor of a lifeboat to explain our current global situation, and what we have taken upon ourselves as an obligation. Hardin illustrates an image for us. We are stranded in the ocean on the "American" lifeboat with 50 people inside. Surrounded by 100 people, our boat can hold up to 60 people. What do we do? Do we risk the safety of our own boat? Do we bring others on and sink us all? Or do we make the tough decision and stay alive? Questions like these directly relate to the position America has been placed in the world today. As a global powerhouse, we have certain expectations placed upon us that involve taking care of those countries that are less fortunate. We are expected to risk our welfare to protect other people.

This is an act of charity, and is measured by a moral compass. But what happens when those morals start becoming part of our government? Can the government decide what the moral obligations of its citizens are, or should that be decided on an individual basis?

http://redclaycitizen.typepad.com/redclay/2008/09/welfare.html

Hardin points out that by being so charitable to other countries, we are actually risking our own well-being. This is unfair to our country. By looking out for the needs of others, we are putting ourselves in unneccesary risky situations. This "world police" mentality that the United States has developed has contributed greatly to the current economic situation we're in. We are reaching over the edge of the lifeboat to pull these people up, but eventually we are going to sink the boat.