If I had a billion pounds of rice, and millions of people were starving, would it be immoral for me to stockpile that so 50 generations of my family would be taken care of before the millions of starving people now?
Edit: because i can't reply right now:
I'm curious if a direct application of your question to something you need to survive would get a different answer.
We think of money as something we can accumulate without limit but if you replace it with other things in a similar context it seems different. Why is it okay for billionaires to exist, but not for someone to stockpile too much food?
Yes. 1-2-3 generations, ok. 50? Definitely immoral. They'd be as remote to you as a random fisherman in Kamchatka. They should also make their own contributions to society.
Edit: because i can't reply right now:
I'm curious if a direct application of your question to something you need to survive would get a different answer.
We think of money as something we can accumulate without limit but if you replace it with other things in a similar context it seems different. Why is it okay for billionaires to exist, but not for someone to stockpile too much food?
I'm curious if anyone has an answer to both.