News According to Locke

Today in the Wall Street Journal, there was a story about building new natural gas pipelines in Europe. The article talks about Nabucco, the main gas company in Europe. Nabucco plans to construct a 3,300 kilometer pipeline in hopes of taking over some of Russia’s gas territory which supplies most of the West. This is an $11.03 billion project that is planned to begin in 2011 if everything goes right. Apparently, the reason for this new gas pipeline is because European gas usage is going up while the production of the gas is going down. Although, rising gas usage is only an estimation ,not a fact.

The ethical issue here is whether or not the gas pipeline is necessary for the benefit of the European nations, or if it is simply to create competition among the gas companies so they can raise their prices. The article states that the global gas market has been oversupplied and will continue to be until 2015. With this fact, I find it hard to believe that the gas pipeline is necessary.

According to Locke, there are natural limits of property. He believes that one should only take what is possible to use within a timeframe. In the case of the gas supply, if it is oversupplied, then the left over gas is not being used; therefore, the excess gas is wasteful. Locke believes you should not take more than you need, so why should Nabucco build a new pipeline that will be used to make more gas than they need. This is wasteful and therefore stealing from mankind according to Locke.

In addition, this relates to Aristotle’s views about man’s obsession with money and wealth. This pipeline is only being built for business purposes to increase profits for the major gas companies. Building this pipeline is unethical and unnecessary.

How Aristotle Relates

There is an article written in The Chicago Tribune on Sunday, January 17th that discusses the differences of the American society compared to the Haitian society. It talks about how American Society is obviously “superior to Haiti’s in almost everything that touches on human well-being.” The article goes on to suggest that American’s have a more successful society because we begin life with the necessary components to succeed as a society compared to the severe lack of necessary components in Haiti including a stable government, individual freedom, and a complex economy.

The ethical issue here involves how to help the Haitians, not just in this time of extreme distress from the earthquake but also on a long-term basis. Steve Chapman, author of this article states, “They inherited a world they didn’t make and have only minimal capacity to change. That’s their misfortune.” How can we help turn the country of Haiti around and help them back on their feet considering the horrible state of the country even before this disaster?

Aristotle talks about living a good life using one’s wealth and not letting wealth become limitless. Considering this, how can one attempt to live a good life if the very foundations to obtain a good life are lacking. He talks about the men in a state coming together and sharing what each has to offer with the entire community. This idea could only have a chance at working if it was in a peaceful state. The current Haitians were born into a state filled with chaos and unjust behaviors; therefore, their chance at attempting to live a good comfortable life is hindered.