Hello Theo,
Here is my effort for the next issue.
I found Mark (Griffin) and Theo (Todman)’s conversation quite interesting. Would it be right for a legitimate democratic government to cause the leader of another nation to be assassinated ? If the less democratic government was infringed upon in a similar fashion, it would be right but other than that it would be a matter of expediency.
Going deeper, there is a lot of environmental damage on this planet. Multinational corporations have caused a lot of this with the help of eager governments. Usually the victims of this, human that is, are indigenous peoples in third world and developing countries. The local governments / junta usually suppress these peoples into silence.
Now for the beans : so under what circumstances is it right for an "endangered people", say the Ogoni people, to cause a director of a multinational corporation, eg. Shell or BP, to be assassinated? As we enter the 21st century, warfare has entered a new realm. Corporate battles for resources, labour, materials etc. is the norm. Profit is the new god and most multinationals are operating a "scorched earth" type of development. The battle ground might be the stockmarket and retail market, but the waste grounds after each battle become environmentally shattered, damaging the lives of the local peoples.
Is it morally correct or acceptable for these corporate boards of directors to become "fair targets" ? If "an eye for an eye" morality is acceptable, then it is acceptable to me, isn’t it?
Please excuse the error in my last article. Sunningdale was long before a year ago.
Alan Carr
Previous Article (in Commensal 89)
Theo