4 ms·
"It is hard to hang a man for stealing a sheep", he said. But the judge replied that we are not hanging you for stealing a sheep. We hang you so that other peop
by heikkilevanto 4y ago
"It is hard to hang a man for stealing a sheep", he said. But the judge replied that we are not hanging you for stealing a sheep. We hang you so that other people would not steal sheep.
In the same way, we spend resources to save one drowning man, not so much to save that one man, but to let all seafaring men to know that if need be, we will do our best to save them.
- Nevermark 4y agoHighly efficient and utilitarian in both cases. Especially when you consider the tertiary effects of greater widespread daily peace of mind and social morale, two things that tend to spill over positively into all areas of life and to non-obvious beneficiaries.