To me, this rings similar to people who argue against eating animals with "but what if you're starving and alone on a deserted island?!" (and no, that's not a s

To me, this rings similar to people who argue against eating animals with "but what if you're starving and alone on a deserted island?!" (and no, that's not a straw-man) I think you conflate these two things somewhat: Of course there are always extreme situations when people are left with tough decisions and have to choose between "doing the right thing" and sustaining themselves and their family. Separately, there are egotistic people who will disregard the consequences of their actions on others. For those who only care about themselves, it is hard to change things without changing incentive structures. Finally, some are just ignorant because they don't know or didn't think it through deeply. Neither of these are justifications to look the other way for those who can find employment either way and are choosing between an $80k job and a $200k job.