The Ethical Dilemma of Stealing to Survive

We are to act by a set of moral rules, which we solely have by being human. People faced with many hardships to steal every day for the survival of their lives. To be merciful and to be just. It depends. It is something to think about when I am in a difficult situation. A situation about a man who stole food from my house and the authorities asked me what I should do with him.

According to the question, if I was in that position to be merciful or be just to a man that stole food from my house and the police told me that it is up to me to punish him. I would look at the negative and positive side, such as why he stole the food? Was he so hungry and that he was desperate to do it? Did he have a family he needed to feed? With a positive outlook, I do not think he deserves to go to jail for something that is not big of a deal. Yes, it is wrong to steal, but sometimes people steal for a reason. I would assume he stole food because he was starving. I believe that no human being should not go through a day of being hungry.

Most importantly, he did not try to steal any valuables — for instance, jewelry, my bed, or electronic devices. The best solution to fix this problem is to help him with government aid, look for a job, or check out relief organizations that can provide food. Also, to bring justice to his actions is to let him repay the amount he stole.

Even though my religion says, it is a terrible thing to let him go. Rules are rules, but sometimes it is better to listen or follow my instincts. Hopefully, in the future, he can change his ways and think about his actions first before committing a crime. The negative aspect would be that he was trespassing, and it will make me feel unsafe living in my own house. I would feel miserable knowing that my house got robbed.

“We all must make moral judgments, asses moral norms, judge peoples character and question the soundness of our moral outlooks. A great deal is shared when we do ethics, including numerous decisions that determine the quality of our lives” (Vaughn 12 ) For me personally, I value caring and having compassion far beyond the other moral foundations, so I say that it is immoral not to steal the food needed for survival. Stealing is always stealing but is not always wrong. They are laws to abide by, but that does not mean they are right.