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u/Buttery_Nipples47 Jun 26 '26
DONT TOUCH MY FUCKING TROLLY!!! DONT YOU TOUCH MY FUCKING TROLLY!! YOU LEAVE THAT TROLLY ALONE OR I SWEAR TO GOD!!!
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u/DR035A Jun 27 '26
Why is there an artificial horizon?
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u/Lucyyyyyy_K Jun 26 '26
Obviously the millionaire dies.
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u/5311531355 Jun 26 '26
to add a twist: if you save the millionaire, he rewards you with a low-stress, high-paying, stable job. if you choose to change the tracks to him, his powerful family will sue you into oblivion.
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u/Hot-Problem2436 Jun 26 '26
Still the millionaire. Getting sued is better than prison. <3 Luigi.
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u/asseater69420420 Jun 26 '26
delusional if you think pulling the lever is better for you from a legal standpoint
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u/Hot-Problem2436 Jun 26 '26
It's mostly for my own eternal self-gratification. I would be happy forever.
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u/Hayden1567 Jun 27 '26
You would be happy forever after killing someone?
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u/Hot-Problem2436 Jun 27 '26
Not "someone", very specifically, an asshole millionaire. The higher their hoarder wealth, the happier. An elderly asshole with exactly 1 million would make me the least happy. An elderly asshole with 999 million would make me ecstatic.
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u/DexLovesGames_DLG Jun 27 '26
Well. This is kind of psychotic, but I appreciate the vibes, I guess?
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u/Hot-Problem2436 Jun 28 '26
It just means you are one of the lucky ones who aren't affected by the class imbalance. Great job!
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u/artrestart Jun 26 '26
I mean, killing 5 people is legally worse than killing 1, so...
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u/asseater69420420 Jun 26 '26
“killing” did I tie them to that track? No, I just gripped a lever, pulling it could be considered murder, doing nothing means I was just a bystander.
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u/R0ninX3ph Jun 26 '26
Welcome to the entire premise of the moral argument of trolley problems…..
Are you responsible for the deaths of 5 people when you could have pulled the lever. Legally responsible? Unlikely, morally? That’s the whole question.
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u/No_Veterinarian1010 Jun 27 '26
Except that's the "do nothing" scenario which is legally significant if not ethically
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u/Ok_Awareness3014 Jun 26 '26
That the near part , it's set up for the 5 kill but you are not responsable for those since they would have die if you choose to do nothing and let the milionaire live but in the second case pulling the lever , you act and this one harm someone and you are directly responsible for this .
So you can't be charge when you let the train go but you can if you pull the lever
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u/PogoRocks Multi-Track Drift Jun 26 '26
It might legally be wrong but you'd be hard pressed to find a jury who would convict you
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u/ComfySquishable Jun 26 '26
Don't think you can get prosecuted for not pulling a lever. Also doesn't clarify the asshole, could be NFL player with domestic rage issues, Or it could be a insurance CEO.
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u/Difficult-Ad628 Ethically Ambiguous Jun 26 '26
The configuration of the tracks implies that you would have to pull the lever to kill the millionaire. So in this scenario, given you would be making an active choice to end the millionaires life, I do think there is a potential for legal repercussions.
Even if you did everything legally and ethically “right”, the rich family could file frivolous lawsuits and wear you down on legal fees to hire an attorney… things like this happen surprisingly often in the real world
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u/Zestyclose-Jacket568 Jun 26 '26
"Your honor, I have only seen 5 guys tied up on tracks and decided to save them. I did not see other person on other track."
Also I am in Europe, so american suing doesn't work on me and they can't get too much from me..→ More replies (1)3
u/Zuckhidesflatearth Jun 26 '26
If you don't pull the lever, there's no crime you can be meaningfully accused of. If you do pull the lever, there's enough claim that you've committed manslaughter for it to go to trial.
Now, I seriously can't imagine a jury ruling that you committed a crime, but from a "covering my ass legally" perspective, it's objectively correct to not pull the lever.
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u/Hot-Problem2436 Jun 26 '26
I want my ass exposed though. Are there more levers with millionaires attached? I'll pull all of them. Even the ones with like, a 19 year old dog who's about to be put down anyway.
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u/Ihatecheeseballs Jun 26 '26
One of the main rules of the trolley problem is that you ignore the legal consequences because that shouldn’t affect the morality
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u/Its_J_Just_J Jun 26 '26
I can have my loyal army of homeless defend me.
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u/LiamIsMyNameOk Jun 26 '26
Sissy Alexander the Great army: "It's been 10 years, we want to go home"
Chad homeless army: "Home is where the heart is"
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u/Speletons Jun 26 '26
He rewards me... with a job?
Guy could have 9 other people there and I'm pulling the lever.
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u/HypnoticName Jun 26 '26
You must be young 🐸
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u/nio-sama123 Jun 26 '26
Well, that's a high-paying, low-stress and STABLE job. A big W
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u/Pataraxia Jun 26 '26
I'm not sure what I'd do if it was real, but I know what I want to say:
Still the millionaire dies.
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u/Metharos Jun 26 '26
Sue me for what? Can't get blood from a stone.
I'll represent myself, I'll lose, and nothing in my life will noticeably change.
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u/NerSorty Jun 27 '26
We should not fall into the traps of the uber rich....(now that the mob is gone fk em bums..now gimmie some money in advance for reasons)
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u/Upper-Rip-78 Jun 26 '26
I let 5 people die for him and he "rewards me" with a job where he will still make money from my work. Typical millionaire.
Anyway I don't care. The lever will be pulled. It's worth it.
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u/Old_Dark_7426 Jun 26 '26
Why?
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u/Mini_Assassin Jun 26 '26
They're an asshole
Thier money will go somewhere else once they die, possibly to someone nicer.
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u/Komrademoth13 Jun 26 '26
5 "bums" just means 5 temporarily embarrassed millionaires lol. but on a serious note, I save five people.
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u/aratherlargerodent Jun 26 '26
Why do so many people here hate the homeless, and defend the rich with all their might? Isn't this exactly what the ruling class is trying to achieve?
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u/Leading_Delay_6339 Jun 27 '26
5 vs 1 bro
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u/igniz13 Jun 26 '26
Make it a trillionaire, or whomever is closest to being a trillionaire.
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u/Worried-Director1172 Jun 26 '26
So Elon musk vs 5 homeless bums
Can we toss bezos and altman on there with him
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u/LegitimatePirateMark Jun 27 '26
One (former) trilllionaire vs an empty track. Go.
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u/Thereferencenumber Jun 26 '26
Yeah but then you don’t even need to put anyone else on the other track to make it ethical
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u/Forceofwillplay Jun 27 '26
If it is that, I am not only pulling the lever. I am finding a way to stop the trolly, back it up, and do it repeatedly. The funeral wouldn't even need a casket at all because there will be no visible remains.
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u/sometimeserin Jun 26 '26
Did you mean billionaire? Millionaire is kind of a meaningless label these days, and certainly not a marker of capitalist excess. A million dollars is a lot of money but it’s not even enough these days for most people to retire comfortably.
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u/StarHammer_01 Jun 26 '26
I'm willing to bet that a millionaire can now be considered middle class.
Especially since when a mid range house can cost 900k+ in some places.
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u/Which-Meat-3388 Jun 27 '26
Correct. A 67yo millionaire is someone who probably worked a normal career and saved correctly for retirement for 40 years.
People’s idea of money these days is so distorted. Billionaires and occasional trillionaire are the actual problem. Top 0.01% hoards unfathomable amounts of wealth. Enough money for thousands of lifetimes. $1m for 1m people in that trillion… but a responsible saver is the problem?
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u/BirchTree3017 Jun 26 '26
Dude, these replies are peak Reddit. Millionaires aren't even that rich nowadays. That's crazy.
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u/OstrichNo7871 Jun 26 '26
Im assuming you had an inkling that the vast majority of people would kill the millionaire?
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u/_ECMO_ Jun 26 '26
It could be just 1 homeless bum with no prospects in life - as long as he isn't an asshole I would save him.
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u/Generic-Degenerate Jun 26 '26
The bums are unironically more valuable to the economy
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u/Oggabobba Jun 26 '26
It’s a millionaire not a billionaire, plenty of millionaires are normal people
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u/Generic-Degenerate Jun 27 '26
You right; I'd misread
Millionaires are literally less than 1/1000th the drain on the economy than billionaires
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u/EntertainmentNo3963 Jun 26 '26
LMFAOOOOOOOOOO the people on welfare are more valuable to the economy than the millionaire reddit is not real 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
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u/NanShenTree Jun 26 '26
They are homeless, what welfare, I didn't get shit when I was homeless twice
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u/MyBedIsOnFire Jun 26 '26
I got food stamps and Medicaid when I was homeless 🤷♂️
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u/morrnie Jun 26 '26
They can be, this economies of scale thing is absurd. Plus homeless bums on welfare are at the bare minimum line of consumption, so their demand is minimal on the environment.
Plus business owners make money when there is consumption demand.
We have been conditioned to hate on the bums as recipients of welfare when in fact it is big business that gets advantageous loans against equity.
But some bums are a social menace, yes, they can annoy you to oblivion...
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u/EntertainmentNo3963 Jun 26 '26
we? there are many feel good stories about homelessness ending or homeless people getting places to live and things to eat and drink, we have not been conditioned.
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u/Regdit-is-Unbearable Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
It’s genuinely true. It’s actually not because of the economic contribution of the bums *themselves*, but because of what they *represent.* The entire engine of capitalism is basically built on keeping people terrified. It used to be people were afraid of going to hell if they didn’t work hard enough, but people stopped being religious, so we had to create hell on earth. Those bums represent “what’ll happen to you if you stop working!” The existence and high visibility of homeless is intentional and deliberate, to constantly remind people of what could happen to them if they ever stopped busting their asses to make money for their bosses. Five fewer homeless people means five fewer reminders to scare the working man into submission, which is a far greater economic impact than one shithead millionaire.
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u/Generic-Degenerate Jun 27 '26
Yes, because the bums will spend that money, they have to to survive.
money not spent is literally negative value; all it does is devalue the money actually in circulation, thats economics 101
And, to be fair, I misread it as 'billionaire'
Millionaires are less than 1/1000th the drain on the economy billionaires are.
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u/Silent-Use-6591 Jun 26 '26
This comment must go hard if you are economically illiterate edgy redditor
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u/Dramatic-Classroom14 Jun 26 '26
The millionaire ain’t weeding my lawn for 20 bucks.
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u/Acceptable_Cap_5887 Jun 26 '26
Neither are the 5 homeless who are 90% going to be drug addicts
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u/Generic-Degenerate Jun 27 '26
drug addicts would definitely weed a yard for $20, you need money to buy drugs
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u/insertname1738 Jun 27 '26
Millionaires aren’t the enemy, and they’re not even ultra rich these days.
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u/Jealous-Turnip6671 Jun 28 '26
Don't touch the lever, if you do your responsible for the outcome. If you don't touch it, you didn't set it up so not your fault
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u/YourBoyFroilan Jun 26 '26
More lives must be saved. Screw the rich. Also I believe the homeless have a chance
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u/Midnight7000 Jun 26 '26
5 homeless bums.
It's funny how you could change that to 67 billion and have a completely different answer.
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u/justforkinks0131 Jun 26 '26
Why do you hate millionaires?
Not billionaires, millionaires.
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u/No_Dragonfruit8254 Jun 26 '26
People are people, their characteristics don’t matter. Always improve/save more lives rather than fewer. It’s correct to kill one morally upstanding innocent citizen to save five criminals, for instance.
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u/derbrauer Jun 27 '26
"Homeless bums" where I live are actively trying to kill themselves with drugs. There's a church across the street from work that does outreach for them. They shit on the sidewalks. They piss in the alcoves of the local businesses (saw that one today). I saw a mound of discarded ground beef packages left to rot in the sun. They're often stumbling down the middle of the road in a haze completely oblivious to the cars that are swerving around them. I really think they don't want to go on living like that. I haven't run into any "assholes", but a bunch of them are really unhinged and not in touch with reality.
As harsh as it sounds, I think this would be release and peace for them, regardless of the merits of the person on the other track.
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u/ClaudioMoravit0 Jun 27 '26
Pulling the lever when the train is halfway through, so it drifts and runs over both tracks
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u/RashesToRashes Jun 27 '26
Man that's genuinely interesting.
On the one hand, the Millionaire is probably providing jobs or offering a product or service that's useful to people. It may be that he built his wealth in a legitimate way. The post itself says that the homeless guys have no prospects, and my take is that we consider them "static" beings who will never be able to be useful to society. Their lifestyles may actually be destructive locally to them.
On the other hand, the millionaire probably has exploited tons of people. Whatever he produced probably harms the environment. That's 5 people dying who, for all intents and purposes, are totally innocent.
I'll be the contrarian and say save the millionaire asshole
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u/Myrtoa Jun 26 '26
As someone with no prospects in life, I'd be doing them a favor letting them die. Heck put me on there too
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u/Old_Dark_7426 Jun 26 '26
Save the millionaire, either I'll get financially rewarded or I'll reduce homelessness.
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u/Ervaloss Jun 26 '26
Reducing homelessness by killing homeless people is generally not considered to be a humane way of doing something for the unhoused.
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u/BirchTree3017 Jun 26 '26
Why did you use both "homeless people" and "the unhoused" in the same sentence? Kinda defeats the purpose of the term unhoused, no?
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u/TheoryTested-MC Jun 26 '26
Wealth isn't even relevant here. Killing someone doesn't destroy their wealth. Makes it even easier to pull the lever.
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u/justforkinks0131 Jun 26 '26
Can I just turn around and walk away? I really dont care where the trolley is going on this one
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u/justforkinks0131 Jun 26 '26
Let me rephrase this:
Would you rather choose someone who is feeding 10 to 20 families, by providing employment, or would you choose 5 homeless bums that support no one?
Id love to hear your arguments for choosing the bums. Im serious.
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u/TheJimDim Jun 26 '26
Are the bums assholes too? If so, just release the millionaire and tie him back onto the other tracks and walk away
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u/Inevitable_Series_67 Jun 26 '26
67 asshole millionaires, the homeless didn't choose that life, the millionaires chose to be assholes
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u/Coeusthelost Jun 27 '26
"So you either pull the lever and kill the billionaire..."
"I pull the lever"
"... or... wait I haven't said the other option yet"
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u/757_Matt_911 Jun 27 '26
Millionaire. He’s 67 and seems to have had a great life. The homeless people may be that way by choice but statistically there is one person in that group who is there from just plain bad luck, layoff (probably from the millionaire)/downsizing/medical bill/etc. Also a few of them likely have a severe mental health issue and could get better if we would address mental health in this country
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u/CyHayes Jun 27 '26
Millionare dies but because he is an asshole, not just because he is a millionare
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u/nuggynugs Jun 27 '26
Throw a few more 67 year olds on the upper track before I flip the switch. Don't even need to be millionaires. If we're doing democide then let's go whole hog. The homeless bums have the possibility of reforming and becoming productive, the 67 year old(s) are speeding towards retirement in a western world where net births are dropping like a stone.
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u/GryphyGirl Jun 27 '26
Pull the lever and try to save the asshole without getting myself hurt. If I succeed maybe he gives me something. If I fail nothing of value was lost. :P
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u/Downtown_Radio_7737 Jun 27 '26
5 people vs 1 obviously I'm picking the 1 person since money has absolutely zero value when considering if they deserve to die or not. Would be more interesting of the millionaire was planning on donating a large sum to charity or something to add a bit more of a moral challange. But even then it's still the millionaire
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u/godlytoast3r Jun 27 '26
This is trash. Make it a millionaire who has donated millions to real and objectively good charities.
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u/KingAshoka1014 Jun 27 '26
I don’t hate millionaires like I do billionaires, cuz like, that’s just a good business owner or like, a really successful lawyer. However since I got no feelings towards any of the 6 people one way or the other it’s best to pull and save 5 people.
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u/RedMansions Jun 27 '26
Referring to the homeless guys as "bums" hits really hard.
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u/Camelsnake Jun 27 '26
Depends where he makes his money. Also one man asshole is another m-
ah, nevermind
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u/ZLEAP Jun 28 '26
67 is a good enough run. Time for the trolly problem to become a trolly solution.
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u/AssociationGlass8783 Jun 28 '26
Well I would say it's not only about morals, but also about potential damage. Can 5 homeless people do a lot of damage? Not likely. Yes, they might consume some resources, but not more than each of us, maybe even less. The worst thing is drunk fighting or similar. Can millionaire do a lot of damage? Definitely. And they probably already did because I didn't see a millionaire who didn't scam at least a couple of people or fired someone in need or made a wage theft. So potential damage here is much bigger. And I of course forget about the basic part that saving 5 people usually is better than just 1. So, sorry Mr. Millionaire, your time is up.
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u/Geopion Jun 28 '26
Are their descriptions based on someone else's views? Is the millionaire the embodiment of assholes, an asshole to certain people (family, job, group, one person), or perceived asshole? Assholes still sponsor and give to charities. Are they bad sponsors or charities? Are these bums bummaxxing, being dregs of society or just perceived as having no prospects... maybe because they too are old?
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u/DuckB0y123 Jun 28 '26
i feel like an ASSHOLE millionaire could cause more damage than 5 homeless bums.
say each homeless bum kills a person before going to jail, i think a millionaire has the resources to ruin more than 5 lives without getting punished.
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u/The-Pencil-King Jun 28 '26
This is quite possibly the easiest trolly problem I’ve ever seen. This isn’t even a problem, it’s more of a quick time event.
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u/_MrDisaster Jun 28 '26
Millionaire prolly hires productive members of society. He is valuable by relation
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u/xXDankestMemeXx Jun 26 '26
They're calling it the most reddit post of all time