Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street
Michelle W.
November 4, 2012
Title of Paper
Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement.
The Occupy Wall Street Movement began September 17, 2011, in the Liberty Square of Zuccotti Park located in New York City. The protest is against corporations that take advantage of the economic poor and social inequalities, corruption, greed, and the excessive power of corporations on government over the democratic process. The group Occupy Wall Street has spread globally to over 1500 cities, they are demonstrating against the destructive powers of major banks and multinational corporations. These powers have influenced the government to bail them out, then turn around and make multimillion dollar profits which has created an economic collapse. The protest is against the 1% group, which refers to banks, the mortgage industry, the insurance industry, which leaves the 99% that aren’t in the multimillion dollar profit groups we are the made of the everyday people, the little guy. Occupy Wall Street protestors viewed the dominant rich as those who exploited their way to the top. OWS suggested that it was the taxpayers who had to bail the large companies out after they caused the collapse of the economy (Haidt, 2012).
Analyze each of the implications identified above against the utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics to determine which theory best applies to the movement. Support your position with examples and evidence.
Utilitarian is the moral doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions. The greatest happiness of all constitutes the standard that determines whether an action is right or wrong. Our belief that we are individuals and society is the net result of our choices. For example, the practice of blowing up rocks to release underground natural gas would not be permitted near residential areas if energy complaints
Michelle W.
November 4, 2012
Title of Paper
Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement.
The Occupy Wall Street Movement began September 17, 2011, in the Liberty Square of Zuccotti Park located in New York City. The protest is against corporations that take advantage of the economic poor and social inequalities, corruption, greed, and the excessive power of corporations on government over the democratic process. The group Occupy Wall Street has spread globally to over 1500 cities, they are demonstrating against the destructive powers of major banks and multinational corporations. These powers have influenced the government to bail them out, then turn around and make multimillion dollar profits which has created an economic collapse. The protest is against the 1% group, which refers to banks, the mortgage industry, the insurance industry, which leaves the 99% that aren’t in the multimillion dollar profit groups we are the made of the everyday people, the little guy. Occupy Wall Street protestors viewed the dominant rich as those who exploited their way to the top. OWS suggested that it was the taxpayers who had to bail the large companies out after they caused the collapse of the economy (Haidt, 2012).
Analyze each of the implications identified above against the utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics to determine which theory best applies to the movement. Support your position with examples and evidence.
Utilitarian is the moral doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions. The greatest happiness of all constitutes the standard that determines whether an action is right or wrong. Our belief that we are individuals and society is the net result of our choices. For example, the practice of blowing up rocks to release underground natural gas would not be permitted near residential areas if energy complaints
References: Haidt, J. (2012, April 10). The moral foundations of occupy wall street. Retrieved from http://reason.com/archives/2011/10/20/the-moral-foundations-of-occup Stolarik, R. (2012, September 17). Occupy movement (occupy wall street). Retrieved Nov. 3, 2012 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/o/occupy_wall_street/index.html Erich, R. (2012, May 09). The occupy wall street movement: How they could do it the right way. Retrieved November 3, 2012 http://roberterich.hubpages.com/hub/The-Occupy-Wall-Street-Movement-How-They-Could-Do-It-the-Right-Way Cohan, P. (2011, October 10). What is occupy wall street?. Retrieved from www.forbes.com/sites/petecohan/2011/10/10/what-is-occupy-wall-street-print/