Friday, July 25, 2008

Samaritan's dilemma

I had lunch at McDonald's today. On the way out, I saw the guy who had been in front of me in line handing a homeless woman a hamburger. I could have given up a buck for her burger, but I didn't. Am I a bad person?

To be honest, I have legitimate concerns with helping the poor. On the one hand, I feel the urge to help those in need. On the other, I know about the Samaritan's dilemma. How does one avoid this conundrum?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Try reading the book "The Samaritan's Dilemma" by Ostrom, et al. She tries to address what is best to do to help the poor while avoiding the dilemma. Hope this helps!