Utilitarianism is an ethical principle that dictates that actions are ‘moral’ only when they contribute towards the betterment of the greatest number of people in society or what is often referred to as the ‘greater good theory’ . When considered within the context of Disaster Management and Response, utilitarianism implies that the ideal course of action is one that will allow the maximum number of victims to be rescued, treated and saved. The ethical and moral dilemma this creates is what criteria should medical and rescue personnel use in order to determine which individuals are more worthy of receiving help first.
Disasters are events that cause widespread death and destruction and necessitate the need for immediate help to the affected population . The challenges that the government as well as relief service providing entities face in these circumstances – such as when the September 11 terrorist attacks rocked New York or Hurricane Katrina wiped out almost all of New Orleans – are multi-faceted. Resources such as trained rescue personnel, food, water and medicine are scarce and transporting them over disrupted road networks is extremely difficult. Therefore, in the aftermath of disasters, all plans are executed with a utilitarian focus on locations, communities and individuals that pose the least opportunity cost. In ethical terms, this process of prioritizing relief efforts is dubbed ‘disaster triage’ .
Opponents of the utilitarian view, such as Immanuel Kant, however, question the basis on which the triage model is implemented, given the lack of information and uncertainty in disaster situations. Deontologists such as Kant are of the view that each human life is equally valuable and therefore deserves an equitable level of relief efforts to be directed its way . In practical terms one may argue that if it is comes to deciding whether 100 doctors trapped in a burning building or 10 babies trapped in a nursery should be saved, the trained medical personnel should get precedence since they will be of more value to society.
In my opinion, disaster response plans should be prepared in advance and periodic risk assessment exercises should be conducted to ensure that every individual has at least a fair chance of being rescued and saved when disaster strikes.
Works Cited
Danz, Brandon. "Ethics: At the Core of Emergency Planning and Response ." American Society for Public Administration 12 September 2014: 2-5. Web. http://patimes.org/ethics-core-emergency-planning-response/
Geale, Sara Kathleen. "The ethics of disaster management." Journal of Disaster Prevention and Management (2012): 445-462. Print.
