The Ovarian Lottery - Ethics in one principle
This idea completely changed my view of right and wrong as soon as it appeared in my mind:
When and where you are born is a function of pure luck.
Why is this idea so important when it comes to building a fair and just world?
Let's break it down.
There is no time like the present
We are currently living in the most prosperous, most educated, safest and healthiest moment of human existence.
The fact that you are alive today rather than in 1950 means that you can expect to enjoy a life that is 58% longer.
Your chances of success are dramatically better just for having been alive at this moment in time. And you had no influence over that fact.
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The great gamble
Where we are born is even more important than when.
The country we live in, our families, our social status and certain aspects of our character are all functions of pure luck.
You or I could just as easily have been born into a tribe in the Amazon as we could a well to do household in the west.
You had absolutely no say in the fact that you gained consciousness in the initial circumstances that you did.
And those initial circumstances have a dramatic bearing on how your life transpires, whether it's a glorious adventure or a miserable mass of suffering.
So, treat every person you encounter with dignity and respect.
The fact that outcomes in life are so greatly determined by the initial circumstances of a person's existence should compel us to that stance.
We don't blame anyone when they do something wrong by accident.
So why do we blame people so vehemently for their questionable character or their lack of talents, when those are just as accidental?