All Nations Are in the Same Boat

                          - Counterargument of Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Helping the Poor

Generally, lifeboats are regarded as tools for saving people. However, in Garrett Hardin’s essay Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Helping the Poor, lifeboats are no longer related to the concept of saving. He compares rich nations to lifeboats and people in poor nations to helpless swimmers in the ocean. As the limited resources on Earth are dwindling, rich nations should not help poor nations. That is the core of lifeboat ethics. Although Garrett Hardin is a learned human ecologist, is his theory beneficial to the future of all human beings?

Certainly not. With the rapid globalization in all aspects, all nations in the world are so interrelated to each other that one problem in a nation may trigger some severe problem in another nation. Currently in poor nations exist a lot of problems and crises, ranging from environment deterioration to social instability, but they are hardly poor-nation-exclusive, as they affect all nations as a whole. The lifeboat ethics, being merely the excuse for rich nations to escape their responsibilities, would lead to disasters of all human beings. Living on the same planet, all nations are in the same boat. Therefore, in a comprehensive and correct perspective, rich nations are obligated to help poor nations.

Environmental protection is one aspect that matters to the whole world. The natural environment is an integral part of the Earth, thus one damage in one place may cause a chain of adverse effects in the whole biosphere. Brazil, a developing country, has the largest tropical forest in the world - the Amazon rainforest. Unfortunately, in order to make a living, the local people there cut down the rainforest for farming or logging. As people in developing countries, they lack the awareness of environmental protection, and might damage this giant oxygen factory permanently and irrevocably. It is estimated that if the rainforest is completely destroyed, the oxygen on Earth would reduce by 33%. When desperately gasping for oxygen to survive, can people in rich nations still ignore the environmental problems in poor nations? All nations are closely bound up with the environment of the Earth. For the sake of all human being, Rich nations, with their solid financial strength and advanced technology, should offer their help to slow down and prevent the deterioration of the world natural environment.

The deterioration of natural environment in poor nations should not be the only one issue that attracts the rich nations’ concern, as the healthcare issue is also vital to all human beings. The memory of the break-out of SARS is still fresh to many people. The epidemic took hundreds of lives in Southeast Asia before it swept North America, the rich nations, and claimed 44 more lives. Even though the Atlantic Ocean lies between these countries, rich nations are just not capable of protecting themselves from the deadly disease. Had there not been the efforts from all over the world, the epidemic would not be under control so quickly. With respects to the healthcare issue, supports from developed countries are indispensable. Otherwise diseases like SARS, avian flu or AIDS would be the doom of human beings.

Apart from the environmental protection and the healthcare issue, social issues in poor nations may bring about social issues in rich nations. Advocating the lifeboat ethics, Garrett Hardin would never associate the drug problem in U.S. with the social chaos in Afghanistan. After the fall of the Taliban regime, people in Afghanistan, suffering from wars and poverty, have resumed their old practice: growing poppy for their living. The social disorder of this country facilitating the poppy cultivation, in 2005, it produced 87% of the world’s opium, being the largest supplier of drug. When governments in rich nations are troubled by their domestic drug crimes, it is wise for them to pay some attentions to a remote Middle-Asian poor nation, where most drugs are produced. Rich nations, with their social issues connecting to those in poor nations, should take the initiative to strive for the peace and well-being of the world.

All the above cases are just a tip of the iceberg of the issues in poor nations. But the facts reflect that they are somewhat related to rich nations. Solutions to these problems require the contributions from all nations, in which rich nations should take up a large part. This may seem unfair, but the financial power and the political influence determine them to play a key role. As to the forms of the rich nations’ aids, financial supports are necessary. They can provide immediate relief for poor nations. However, technological and educational supports are the most effective. Enhancing the productivity and eliminating illiteracy in poor nations can accelerate the development and eventually pull the nations out of poverty.

No country can be absolutely isolated from others. The lifeboat ethics is not the solution to the issues all human beings are facing now. If one government insists on the lifeboat ethics, it will not only be condemned by all the people with conscience, but also be punished by its own shortsightedness. The sustainable development of the world and a prosperous future of human beings are common causes for all nations, in which rich nations have an important stake. Hence rich nations are bound to take up more responsibilities and make the world a better place. United we survive, divided we fall.