한국윤리교육학회

Hardin proposes an ethical position that compares the Earth to a lifeboat floating on the sea, namely, the ethics of a lifeboat. Just as people aboard lifeboats need to turn a blind eye to others in the sea and escape for survival, the core argument of lifeboats ethics is that developing countries should now be allowed to die naturally as responsible for irresponsible reproduction. Hardin's argument for consequentialism is strong because the actions that the guidelines for lifeboat ethics demand from us are harrowing, but we cannot accept the consequences of moving toward everyone's destruction. However, Hardin's lifeboat analogy has certain limitations in that it actually contains important details about the actual Earth's situation or distorted premises. Given the rational consideration of the real situation, not the metaphor, it can be a duty for developed countries to help developing countries create democratic political and social cultures.