e message should get across to these people that this will no longer work. Fifthly, by providing aid now, you are prolonging the life of a hideous regime which will in the longer term be responsible for far more deaths than would be the case if you left well alone, in which case the regime would collapse more quickly – it’s a simple application of utilitarian moral principles. Ultimately, aid should be restricted to acute cases where it can do some good, rather than chronic cases, where it just serves to prolong the agony. As I replied to my friend, this is all very well, but as a simple matter of human empathy it is intolerable that we stand by while thousands die in appalling circumstances when so many of us have more than enough to live on: it’s an insult to our common humanity, which is the most precious thing we have. And these poor people are hardly responsible for their plight. Why should they be the ones to suffer for the crimes of their rulers? What do you think? Should I give aid, or is my friend right?”
Well, I won’t bother to send the letter in now. As the Guardian reports, no aid will be reaching North Korea this winter.
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