BLM and Covid-19: An Ethical Dilemma

Dilemma

This ethical dilemma involved in this presentation is related to the current Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests and rallies in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. The question that this presentation seeks to answer is whether it is ethical to risk the health of yourself and others to attend political protests in times of pandemic. While participation in BLM rallies as well as ensuring of public health are both ethical pursuits in themselves, the dilemma in this situation is raised because of the Covid 19 pandemic and the question of rightness of any public gathering in the times of infectious disease. Thus, the pertinent issue is not whether it is right to participate in BLM rallies but whether it is right to do so while exposing ourselves and others to the risk of an infectious and potentially life threatening disease.

The nature of ethical dilemma

Ethical dilemma often pits one issue against the other, where the action of the individual can be determined on the basis of what the right thing to do in that dilemma may be. problem with every ethical dilemma is that the choices available to the individual may not in themselves be wrong; but due to certain set of circumstances there may be a need to weigh the right course of action in which one choice may be discarded and the other adopted. Bentham argued that when faced with an ethical dilemma, the chosen action should be based on the process of weighing possible benefits of the action as against the possible risks of that action (Bentham, 1982).

Ethical theories

The ultimate choice of the individual depends on the ethical principles that the individual may choose to decide the dilemma. The ethical principles that can be used by the individual may be based on ethical theories like utilitarianism, duty ethics, deontology, etc. Generally speaking, ethical theories can be classified on the basis of value theory, normative ethics, and applied ethics. This presentation will use utilitarianism to argue that the choice to attend political rallies in the middle of the Covid 19 pandemic is not the right choice. The right choice is to stay away from such rallies because of the public health issues that are involved. The presentation will also use Duty Ethics to explain how the decision to participate in such rallies at this time is not right.

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism theory emphasises on the importance of making ethical decisions on the basis of the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number of people (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012). A utilitarian is a consequentialist. He believes in considering the consequences of the action for deciding on the correctness of the action. If the consequences of the chosen action leads to the greatest good for the greatest number of people, then it is the right action to take. However, if these consequences are not achieved through the action, then it is not the right action to take.

Applying utilitarianism

In applying utilitarianism to the decision making process, emphasises is on the utility of the act on the basis of the consequences of the act (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012). For the current dilemma, there are three questions that are needed to be considered for understanding the consequences of action. What would be the consequences for the BLM movement if rallies do not take place? What would be the consequences for public health if the rallies do take place? Which consequences are more serious and therefore to be prioritised?

To answer the first question, if the BLM rallies do not take place, then the movement definitely suffers a setback. It would be difficult to politically organise a movement unless people are allowed to meet and show their numbers to the authorities. To answer the second question, the consequences for public health would be rising number of coronavirus cases, possible overwhelming of the health sector, and possible deaths of many including the non-participants who come in contact with participants through social contacts. To answer the third question, the consequences of participation to public health are more serious and negative as compared to the consequences for not participation on BLM movement because the former involved potential deaths through disease not just of the participants but also others who come in their social contact. Considering this, a utilitarian response to the dilemma would be to say that participation at this time is not the right thing to do.

Duty Ethics

Kant’s Duty Ethics defines the right action as one that leads to the fulfilment of duty (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012). Unlike utilitarianism, which is based on consequentialism, Duty Ethics is based on the Categorical Imperative, which takes the view that morality is not based on experience but is inherently so. In other words, a right action is one that is moral and morality is not subjective, but it is objective (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012). Certain acts are viewed by Duty Ethicists as immoral in themselves regardless of their consequences (Brennan & Lo, 2016). An act is moral or right as per Duty Ethics when it can be universalised. The advantage of Duty Ethics is that it puts moral duty at the centre of decision making process and there is no possibility of an individual taking a divergent route to understanding what is moral on the basis of their subjective values (Vaughn, 2015). If an action cannot be universalised, then it is not correct.

Applying Duty Ethics

Applying Duty Ethics to the current dilemma, the question will not just be whether it is correct to participate in rallies related to the BLM but whether it is correct to participate in any public events that could risk public health. If it is argued that because of the significance of the BLM movement and the need for solidarity at this time, it is morally correct to participate in the BLM movement, the Duty Ethicist would argue that unless this rule can be universalised, then it is incorrect. In this current pandemic situation, the rule cannot be universalised because it is inherently wrong and immoral to risk the health of others through our actions. Therefore, for the Duty Ethicist, the answer to the question of whether we can participate in the BLM rallies or not would be in the negative.

Conclusion

Based on two theoretical frameworks, utilitarianism and Duty Ethics, this presentation has argued that participation in the BLM rallies and public events in the time of Covid 19 pandemic is not the right thing to do. This is not to say that the BLM movement is not ethical or not worthy of supporting, rather that public gatherings are liable to put stress on the public health sector, expose a number of people to potential health risks and even risk of death.

Bibliography

Bentham, J. (1982). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. London: Methuan .

Thiroux, J., & Krasemann, K. (2012). Ethics Theory and Practice (11 ed.). New York, NY, USA: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

Vaughn, L. (2015). Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW Norton & Company.