4 ms·

Stealing a ton of money and then selling it on eBay is still wrong. If you rob a bank, does giving the money to charity make it right? If you shoplift a compute

by ltamake 15y ago

Stealing a ton of money and then selling it on eBay is still wrong. If you rob a bank, does giving the money to charity make it right? If you shoplift a computer, does giving it to a poor family make it right? No, you still stole something you didn't own.

bandushrew 15y ago
I dont agree with that. If I stole a loaf of bread to feed my family, that is a very different ethical proposition to stealing a loaf of bread to feed some ducks. If I rob a bank and give the money to a family who desperately needs it, I am a very different person from the person who steals it to purchase a ferrari. Legally , there may be no difference. Ethically and morally there is a huge difference in my opinion.
- mayanksinghal 15y ago
  No there is not. To give away your own money is charity, it's good. To give away money that you stole from someone else is immoral. And then if you say that you are moral, it's not only stupid but also douche-y. Oh and to steal to feed your own family is a different case altogether. You are not acting like a pretentious douche.
- TeMPOraL 15y ago
  You might be a different person if you steal for poor family and not for a ferrari, but not in the way I think you're implying. You would use the money differently, but still you would be a thief. Also, this behaviour doesn't scale. If everyone was allowed to steal bread because he/she is hungry, the whole trading system would probably collapse and make everyone hungry.
  - lurker19 15y ago
    Well, It is quite possibly scalable to allow impoverished to take free bread, if there is a defined poverty level and an insurance safety net provided by the not impoverished. This is the principle behind Social Security
    - true_religion 15y ago
      That's not the principle behind social security. Social security is a store of your accrued wealth of today that is meant to be returned to you once you are retired.
Someone 15y ago
"If you rob a bank, does giving the money to charity make it right?" Well, there is the Robin Hood appeal that he only stole from the rich. Robin Hood (in the movies) gets away with that because the rich are also evil and due to the time difference, obviously not 'us'. In this case, I think the fact that he stole from people like 'us' is causing the problem. I think people would react differently if this card were held by Mexican drug lords. I guess reactions to this wealth distribution differ according to the measure in which one a) relates to these Starbucks customers, b) finds said Starbucks customers somewhat guilty for being (relatively) rich and not doing enough for helping out the poor, and c) finds the Salvation army a good enough way to help out the poor (what if his charity would be the famine in Africa?)
- ltamake 15y ago
  Exactly. He stole from people who generously put money on the card instead of, for example, running a donation drive for the charity.

by ltamake 15y ago

bandushrew 15y ago

I dont agree with that. If I stole a loaf of bread to feed my family, that is a very different ethical proposition to stealing a loaf of bread to feed some ducks. If I rob a bank and give the money to a family who desperately needs it, I am a very different person from the person who steals it to purchase a ferrari. Legally , there may be no difference. Ethically and morally there is a huge difference in my opinion.

mayanksinghal 15y ago
No there is not. To give away your own money is charity, it's good. To give away money that you stole from someone else is immoral. And then if you say that you are moral, it's not only stupid but also douche-y. Oh and to steal to feed your own family is a different case altogether. You are not acting like a pretentious douche.
TeMPOraL 15y ago
You might be a different person if you steal for poor family and not for a ferrari, but not in the way I think you're implying. You would use the money differently, but still you would be a thief. Also, this behaviour doesn't scale. If everyone was allowed to steal bread because he/she is hungry, the whole trading system would probably collapse and make everyone hungry.
- lurker19 15y ago
  Well, It is quite possibly scalable to allow impoverished to take free bread, if there is a defined poverty level and an insurance safety net provided by the not impoverished. This is the principle behind Social Security
  - true_religion 15y ago
    That's not the principle behind social security. Social security is a store of your accrued wealth of today that is meant to be returned to you once you are retired.

Someone 15y ago

"If you rob a bank, does giving the money to charity make it right?" Well, there is the Robin Hood appeal that he only stole from the rich. Robin Hood (in the movies) gets away with that because the rich are also evil and due to the time difference, obviously not 'us'. In this case, I think the fact that he stole from people like 'us' is causing the problem. I think people would react differently if this card were held by Mexican drug lords. I guess reactions to this wealth distribution differ according to the measure in which one a) relates to these Starbucks customers, b) finds said Starbucks customers somewhat guilty for being (relatively) rich and not doing enough for helping out the poor, and c) finds the Salvation army a good enough way to help out the poor (what if his charity would be the famine in Africa?)

ltamake 15y ago
Exactly. He stole from people who generously put money on the card instead of, for example, running a donation drive for the charity.