Imagine your sister calling you for help, money help. She is out of a job right now and is doing everything possible to stay afloat. You want to help her out but it would be nearly impossible for you to help her without covering yourself in debt as well. This is a common issue in the world today. Not every country has an adequate amount of natural resources which makes it impossible for each country to fulfill the needs for its citizens. Hardin's proposal about removing the poor people sounds wrong, but it's the only effective way to maintain the Earth's health and beauty.
Hardin uses the metaphor is a lifeboat to explain the ethics of life. He says the capacity of the lifeboat is sixty and currently fifty rich countries are enjoying the safety and luxuries provided by the lifeboat while the rest poor countries are swimming in the sea begging to get admission in the life boat. If we as humans were to be completely fair to all and let the every country in the life boat, it would sink and we would all drown in attempt to being fair and allowing all to enjoy to natural resources on earth. Hardin wants to keep the poor countries swimming out at sea so the rich can continue to use earth’s resources and have room for emergencies, plus keeping the earth beautiful. It is the sacrifice of the poor countries to allow rich countries to continue living peacefully. This is like the zoo. Many argue that the zoo is cruel and the animals should not be held captive there. In reality, it is the sacrifice of a few animals of certain species so awareness and research can be done and the rest of the species can survive. Likewise in humanity, the poor should be sacrificed to allow rich to survive and still keep earth beautiful and clean.
Maybe if other countries were given these resources they would become developed like the United States. Think about Mexico, they are not as developed as America but they have many hard working people that do take initiative and try to come to America and work hard here. These hard workers don't only lead to more developed countries economically but also politically and politically causes a more developed world as a whole.
Imagine if your sister needed financial help and came to you. You yourself are struggling to meet ends but he’s your sister and you feel responsible to help him. The bible states that we are all bothers but in the end it is the decision on whether to help your brother so he does not starve and starve yourself or to let him fed for himself and ensure the security or yourself and your family. There is no way that the world will keep having resources for generations to come, and it is just best to stop it now. With not enough materials to satisfy every country, we should take Garrett Hardin’s ideal to reduce the number of poor countries who receive supply to reserve our earth’s heath and beauty.
