responsibility

An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 14 – Society 2 (Power) – Part 6: Brother, can you spare a dime?

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Wealth is never truly “self-made.” It’s built on collective effort, with thousands of workers – from the miners and builders to the teachers and drivers – creating the foundation for success. Elon Musk, or anyone at the top, owes their wealth to a system supported by the many, not just their personal genius. Wealth becomes structural when it grows beyond individual success, and as inequality grows, stability erodes. The real question isn’t about whether anyone deserves to be wealthy but about what responsibility comes with that wealth. When wealth is concentrated in outcome, how can we define ethical wealth as partnership, not charity? What happens when the permission for power is withdrawn?

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 11 – Ethics 1 (Relativism) – Part 2: Who makes the rules?

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The question of who makes the rules in a world without God is a fundamental one for ethical relativism. Without a divine lawgiver, morality must come from us – from our communities, our relationships, and our shared needs. Divine Command Theory, which insists that something is good because God commands it, falters because it leaves morality arbitrary and open to manipulation. If there’s no God making the rules, we are left to create them – not because they are divine, but because they help us coexist. Our rules arise out of necessity, and while ethical relativism might be unsettling, it also means we bear responsibility for the choices we make.

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