Off-Earth Quotes

“In 1974, ecologist Garrett Hardin wrote a pair of articles, titled “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor” and “Living on a Lifeboat,” arguing that pulling additional victims onto a crowded lifeboat would put the lives of the entire boat at risk, and that therefore wealthy nations (the lifeboats, in his metaphor) should not admit or send aid to the citizens of poorer nations (the swimmers), else they risk suffering their own collapse due to overuse of limited resources.16 This kind of radical utilitarianism appeals to some, but even today most immigration and asylum policies acknowledge a middle ground in the possibility that sharing some land and resources can benefit everyone, not just those lucky enough to be born in a lifeboat.”
― Erika Nesvold, Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space