Learning by Training

By Arend van Campen

PROPORTIONALITY AND UTILITARIANISM

September has come and, although it is still quite warm in Central Europe, cold fronts can be expected any time now. The weather is unpredictable, something that was confirmed by Lorenz who, by trying to mathematically compute weather patterns, accidently ended up by discovering the butterfly effect. And this is how I see our business of trading, shipping or storing hazardous cargoes.

A better synonym for unpredictability would be unreliable behaviour. By this I mean the erratic actions of legislators and governments that have damaged our usual ways of business, therefore jeopardising many livelihoods of numerous people and likely implosion of supply chains. They are doing that to ‘save lives’ and make sure that intensive care capacity is not being overrun. Perhaps that was valid during the first three months of the Coronavirus outbreak, but the continuation of literally suffocating (face masks) and locking down entire nations are proving to be detrimental to incomes, which are needed to stay alive.

So, preserving life for some is being paid for by the lives of the many. This is contradicting utilitarianism, a philosophy initiated by Jeremy Bentham that would form the basis for decision making by looking at the greater good for the greatest number of people. We can easily synthesise that this preferred proportionality is either overlooked or categorically ignored. It is quite disconcerting that people all over the world are facing a dilemma, but one thing we must not accept without being given some answers and that is why our businesses, thus the chances for survival of healthy people are being sacrificed for the lesser good, and not for the greater good?

As a cybernetician I am looking for information that would explain or justify such harmful effects on people, the economy and social cohesion. People must be allowed to run their shops, hotels, bars or companies freely, without being shut down. We’d have to test the golden rule that was asked by Immanuel Kant. Questions could be based on his categorical imperative, addressing the issue so that choice and decisions can be tested. The golden rule: ‘do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you’ precedes and always must be the first reflective and rhetorical question.

Obviously, this rhetorical question seems not have been asked by the politicians and virologists who have been given to powers to decide if your business may survive or not. They usually do not run companies or are dependent on monthly revenue, because they receive a guaranteed, monthly salary. Unfortunately, I can certainly observe that harmful decisions are not made by wise and reflective individuals, but driven by fear and diverse ulterior motivations. This is very dangerous indeed, not just for business, but for all life on earth.

You may disagree with what I am writing here, but as long as we are not given all the answers and our questions are not being answered, our future business outlook stays much more unpredictable than needed. It is time to choose; continuity of business or hardship for the many.

This is the latest in a series of articles by Arend van Campen, founder of TankTerminalTraining. More information on the company’s activities can be found at www.tankterminaltraining.com. Those interested in responding personally can contact him directly at arendvc@ tankterminaltraining.com.