Governance and International Relations Lifeboat Ethics Essay

Governance and International Relations Lifeboat Ethics - Essay Example This divide is the basis of much talk within the ranks of the economists and gurus who understand ethics and how it should be implemented across the board . What is even more interesting is the fact that surrounds the determination of resources for the developing nations as they seem to go beyond a certain level of growth within their respective regimes. It is a fact that the world is not that rosy for the underdeveloped countries which essentially have to make both ends meet to ensure that they are on the right path – geared to achieve results which are attainable and positive along the way . On the same token, this paper gives a good look at the lifeboat ethics which indeed is a way to find out where the resource distribution should be acknowledged and how this would mean sheer value for all the nations in the world. Philosophically, it is quintessential to understand the phenomenon behind the lifeboat ethics. This is a term that was proposed by Garrett Hardin, who was an ecologist in the year 1974. Hardin used this metaphor to describe a situation where a lifeboat consisted of 50 people which had room for another 10 individuals to get on board. Since this lifeboat is on the move as it is in the ocean where hundreds of swimmers surround it, the ‘ethics’ element comes in when the dilemma arises with regards to the swimmers . This dilemma discusses whether these swimmers should be taken on board the lifeboat or left as they are at the moment. Hardin believed that the lifeboat metaphor could easily be compared alongside the Spaceship Earth model which consisted of resource distribution where he asserted that a spaceship would be led by a single leader who is essentially the captain of the spaceship. However, the earth lacks a captain4. He also opined that the tragedy of the commons came about from the spaceship model which was completely different from the lifeboat premise where rich nations were seen as the lifeboats while poor countries were termed as the swimmers5. In the same setting, Hardin’s lifeboat ethics resembles closely with the environmental ethics, utilitarianism, resource depletion talks and so on. He uses lifeboat ethics to find out the queries regarding policies such as immigration, foods banks and foreign assistance in the form of aid. Purely from a philosophical perspective, the aspect of lifeboat ethics should be understood with regards to how the policies are drafted for the rich and the poor nations at the same time. This means that their domains are drawn up in such a way that there are successful touch points for the rich countries while extreme losses for the poor ones. This divide is something that has a huge say in deciding who is going wrong and which country needs to pull up its socks to bring harmony within this world in terms o f resource allocation6. Hence lifeboat ethics is a good enough measure of finding out how ethical domains should be understood within the basis of bringing about equality so that no one misses out on the resources which are available throughout the world. In terms of the philosophical undertakings, it is only with the presence of adequate policies that things will get resolved and that too in an amicable fashion for all the nations in the world – without any discrimination whatsoever. Hence attention should be paid towards the philosophical side as well because these remain significant to comprehend within the relevant thick of things. When one discusses the tangent of lifeboat ethics, it is also of paramount essence to gain an insight into what the fallacies are. The future is never known with a particular degree of certainty which is indeed required for the problem at hand. Also there is the basis of no one being likely to be in the situation which has been

Critical assessment of the contention that todays globalised business Essay

Critical assessment of the contention that todays globalised business environment is mainly about the production of flows, and needs to take little account of territories - Essay Example Flows are a significant part of the current globalization process because they allow for cultures and economies of different countries to be integrated to one another. This leads to the creation of a common style of doing things and a step towards the development of a common global culture (Wolf 2004). A territory refers to a defined area of water and land mass, and air owned by a country, state, organization or a person. People have often hold the view that globalization has caused the dissolving of all boundaries and borders and that cultural influences, people and money can flow freely all round the globe. According to such a view, the globalised business environment is basically about the creation of needs and flows that take little consideration of territories. However, there are instances in which we find that the flows of goods, technologies or services are subject to territory border restrictions (Bhagwati 2004). ICT has played a significant role in globalization because it has changed the environment in which services and goods are created and distributed. Currently, people move across international boundaries for purposes of business, studies, searching for better economic opportunities and tourism. This in turn has led to transfer of technologies, trade patterns and factor endowments across the world. (Freeman 2006). Even with the potential advantages of globalisation, there are still policies that control or restrict the free movement of workers into advanced labour markets. Some territories continue to be a significant part of today’s globalization to a great extends for example the San Diego-Tijuana. Tijuana-San Diego lies on the border between, San Diego and Tijuana, two large coastal cities in North America. The international metropolitan area is located at the junction of major state routes, interstates and federal highways. It is positioned at the terminus of 10 major federal highways and interstates. Stiglitz(2006) explains that such a strategic position is important for globalization because it serves as a point which people or states meet and integrate. It facilitates easy flow and exchange of ideas, goods, capital, technology and people. San Diego is a significant area of culture finance, and economies in California while Tijuana is a significant regional business center in northwestern Mexico. Globalization has enabled the region to remain as a dominant commercial center in the US. According to Noah Timothy (2010), San Diego experiences the most active land-crossing in the world as people cross for business and tourist purposes. Globalisation has allowed san Diego-Tijuana to grow to a powerful economic region in the California. As much as globalization has increased the flow of goods or people across borders, there are still some policies and trade regulations in some countries that restrict the importation of certain goods (Bhagwati 2004). For exa mple the importation of certain merchandise are restricted or totally prohibited in Portugal to protect its economy and security while some are subject to restrain under import quota (US. Department of Commerce 2010).This means that globalization does not have the power to disregard territories. The current flow of goods people, finance and cultural ideas around has bound up territories through the creation of a global competitive environment that