Justice

Where’s the Justice in That?

In 2004, Hurricane Charley left death and destruction – and inspired price gouging – across Florida. Hotel rooms, ice and generators all sold for multiples of their usual cost. Storm victims cried foul, but some commentators argued that supply and demand set prices, so not only was it fair to charge more for such items, but price gouging provided an incentive for the purveyors of needed commodities to raise their production to meet increased demand, thus benefiting both producers and consumers. Most people understand this economic argument, but feel uneasy about the ethical questions it provokes. In free markets, parties are at liberty to buy and sell what and when they choose, but after a disaster, survivors aren’t free to select what they purchase and from whom they buy. Isn’t taking advantage of people when they’re most in need morally wrong?

The Purple Heart is a US military award reserved for those who suffer injury or death in combat. Increasingly, veterans are returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses. Yet, in 2009 the Pentagon decreed that those experiencing psychological ills could not qualify...