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From: tim@cmu-cs-k.ARPA (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Hard case #1
Message-ID: <257@cmu-cs-k.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 18-Feb-85 01:35:36 EST
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-k.257
Posted: Mon Feb 18 01:35:36 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Feb-85 03:42:59 EST
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 30

First of all, I want to say that this group has rapidly turned nearly as
verbose, idiotic, and unreadable as net.politics, which I unsubscribed to a
year ago.  Could people try to minimize dogmatic harangues, and to express
themselves concisely?  Thank you.

Now.  I am not a Libertarian.  I am not a Capitalist.  Nor am I a Socialist,
Communist, or any other "-ist" you care to throw at me.  I think all
economic systems that exist are bullshit because they fail to measure the
success of an economy by the ONE THING THAT REALLY MATTERS: the standard of
living of those under the system.  They all go on and on about how our
system (unlike the evil Brand X) accomplishes this or that philosophical
objective of dubious value.  What a waste.

The hard case referred to in the subject is this.  Does a starving (or sick)
person without financial resources have the right to steal the food (or
medicine) that will sustain his or her life?  If so, how can this be made
into law, so that we don't toss the "thief" into prison for an ethically
appropriate act?  If not, then why does the right of property take
precedence over the right to live?

I feel the implications of either answer are far-reaching, and I cannot
claim to have grasped them all myself.  What do the rest of you think?
-=-
Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University Computation Center
ARPA:	Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K	uucp:	seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim
CompuServe:	74176,1360	audio:	shout "Hey, Tim!"

"Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are
but as shadows; they pass & are done; but there is that which remains."
Liber AL, II:9.