by John Ellis
The train switch problem (or Trolley Problem) is a well-known ethics thought experiment created by the philosopher Philippa Foot. The problem operates as an exploration of the Doctrine of Double Effect and was formulated as part of the abortion debate of the late 1960s. Since then, it’s been largely reduced to a mere riddle used as a type of party trick. Unfortunately, that reduction means the train switch problem is now mostly devoid of any real philosophical content and is open to charges of false equivalency, as demonstrated in this article’s title. Colloquial reductions have their own legitimacy, though, and so I use it in all its party trick glory.
Its “party trick glory” is useful in this discussion, I believe, because it lays bare the inhumanity of how two recent events have been viewed, discussed, and acted upon. By definition, then, it also lays bare a level of inhumanity that exists in the epistemological fabric of Western culture.
Saving human lives shouldn’t be an either/or. If society has the ability to save a life, every effort should be made to save that life regardless of the cost (sidenote: it’s astounding that the implications of this are met with such staunch resistance by professing Christians). This week, many physical resources and existential capital were spent in the efforts to rescue incredibly rich people who, under their own free will (with the exception of the son who didn’t want to go), went on a foolhardy vanity adventure. And society was right to spend those resources in efforts to save those human lives, no matter how foolhardy we may believe their choices to have been.
If you’re unfamiliar with the submersible Titan and the deaths of the five people aboard, here are the CliffsNotes: Owned and operated by OceanGate, Titan was a submersible (not to be confused with a submarine) used to transport tourists, willing and able to pay the $250,000 price tag, to view the remains of the doomed Titanic resting on the floor of the North Atlantic. Not long into its dive early this week, communication with Titan was lost. Unsure of what happened, a massive rescue operation was begun.
Titan had enough oxygen to last for ninety hours, meaning the rescue efforts were on the clock. Multiple agencies from multiple countries became involved at great expense. Seemingly every news media organization in existence kept us informed on a minute-by-minute basis of the rescue operations’ efforts. Tragically, as the clock ran down on the ninety hours, pieces of the remains of the submersible were discovered on the ocean floor. During the rescue operations, the spotlight was shone on OceanGate, revealing many safety concerns about the submersible and the integrity of the company. A spotlight was also turned onto the world of luxury adventure trips.
On Twitter, more than anywhere else, I presume, scores of people, generally on the progressive side of the political spectrum, openly mocked the victims and vehemently derided the rescue operations. In response to the chortling, think pieces chastised the insensitive disregard for the victims and their families (the ones I read were written by Christians and/or published on Christian sites). Rightfully so. However, one thing those think pieces (at least, the ones I read) failed to acknowledge was the reason for the anger that was articulated by those responding to the amount of resources spent in the North Atlantic this week.
In the Mediterranean, migrants desperate to provide safety and a better life for their families are dying. The EU not only does mostly nothing but allows member states like the far-right/fascist government of Italy to create laws that criminalize attempts to rescue migrants in distress on the ocean (read this article about a German sea captain facing twenty years in prison for aiding distressed migrants). Recently, a boat headed to Italy capsized plunging into the ocean the hundreds of desperate Image Bearers fleeing the ongoing violence and oppression in Libya. Hundreds are confirmed drowned; hundreds more are feared drowned.
A tragedy of epic proportions, voices like former President Obama are calling out the disparity in media coverage between the Titan and the drowning of the migrants. There was also an outsized difference in the rescue responses. Again, it shouldn’t be an either/or. In fact, just today, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported another thirty-seven migrants missing after their boat capsized somewhere between Tunisia and Italy. I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d bet everything I own that the interest and response from the EU and the rest of the West regarding those thirty-seven missing Image Bearers will pale in comparison to that displayed this week in the efforts to retrieve the five aboard the Titan. That shouldn’t be.
The notion of equality of opportunity in the West is a lie. This is demonstrated in many ways. One of the ways in which this can be seen is in how threats to rich people galvanize Western governments to act, no matter the cost. The use of public resources in the service of wealthy people is almost a given. Threats to the poor and oppressed? Well … the list of horrific, unbiblical actions (and inactions) by Western governments is growing longer as I type, including the lack of effort to preserve the life of those counted among the least of these. In contrast to the Good Samaritan, many of us believe that our community resources are reserved for those who’ve earned it. Of all people, followers of King Jesus should reject and denounce the ideology of meritocracy that is a core tenet of Western culture.
It’s not hyperbole to say that the West has accumulated more wealth than any group of people in history. The reduction of the train switch problem to a false equivalency doesn’t even apply. We have the resources to protect and preserve the lives of both the rich and the poor. The level of contribution to the system shouldn’t be a variable taken into consideration, especially for Christians. A hierarchy of access to life-saving/preserving resources is a denial of the doctrine of the Imago Dei.
Practically Known Theology 