Garrett Hardin's Lifeboat Ethics

In college it is a common sight to see students crowding a room on the first day to try to get a spot in a class that is a requirement to graduate, but most of them already know they might not be able to get a spot in the class. This phenomenon is an example of the idea of “lifeboat” ethics. Garrett Hardin, the writer of Lifeboat Ethics, said in his writings “So we sit here, say fifty people in our life boat... let us assume that it has room for ten more… [we] see one hundred others swimming in the water outside, begging for admission in to our boat...” (Hardin 415). Hardin’s Lifeboat Ethics is about the concept that we’re on a boat and we’re trying to decide who will get on the lifeboat and survive. Though we are not in the open sea, our