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Larry Pieniazek <lar@voyager.net> wrote:
> Saving hapless bidders from being foolish may be fun, but it's not fun
> enough to compromise morals.
Yes, it's a classic Kohlberg dilemma. [1] I think you can make a good
argument for _either_ response being the high moral ground, depending on
your framework of morality.
1. In Europe, a woman was near death from a very unusual kind of cancer. [2]
The doctors thought that one drug -- a form of radium discovered by a
druggist in the same town -- might save her life. The druggist paid $400
for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small dose of the drug. Heinz,
the sick woman's husband, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money
and tried every legal means, but he could only raise $2000, half of the
drug's selling price. Heinz pleaded with the druggist, explaining to him
that his wife was dying. He presented several options to the druggist:
sell the drug to Heinz at a cheaper price, let Heinz pay for the drug in
installments or let Heinz pay for it at a later date. But the druggist
said, "No, I discovered the drug and I¼m going to make money from it."
Heinz is now considering breaking into the drug store and stealing for
his wife.
2. Of course, "dying of cancer" is not the same as "ignorant people being
ripped of on eBay". But it's the same kind of problem.
--
Matthew Miller ---> mattdm@mattdm.org
Quotes 'R' Us ---> http://quotes-r-us.org/
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