ISSUE212 为达目的不择手段【求拍，有拍必回】

爱上千年的猫UID: 2476232

TOPIC: ISSUE212 - "If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it is justifiable."
WORDS: 649
TIME: 00:40:00
DATE: 2010-3-23 19:48:35

Is it justifiable to take any mean to attain certain goal if the goal is worthy as the speaker asserts? I presumably tend to disagree for at least two reasons. The first is there is no identified standard to evaluate whether a goal is worthy. The second is that facts have already proved that the measures taken to achieve so-called "worth" goals should follow certain rules and customs.

People with different view of value hold different standards to assess the worth of a goal. Generally, there could be three levels of evaluation that are commonly accepted. The first one is the personal level, or individual level, on which people determine the worth from their own interests. Then comes the group level, or community level, on which the interests are shared by a group of people. The last but not least is the worldwide level, or humanity level, on which all human beings concern. These levels actually play as the benchmarks when we are determine whether a goal is worthy or not.

On the personal level, all goals that can satisfy individual's needs and desires are often viewed as worthy. Attending college education can be goal of high school students. Owning a house can be goal of homeless people. Earning more money can be goal of ordinary employees. These goals are all worthy to some extent that they meet certain needs of individuals. However, to attain these goals, individuals should perform at least within the law permission or relevant regulations. In the above cases, students should not cheat when they are attending the college entrance examination; homeless people should not rob others' houses; and employees should not embezzle the firms' assets. If they achieved the goals while breaking the laws, what will be waiting for them is legal penalty instead of happiness that could be enjoyed after attaining goals.

On the community level, the basic requirement is not to undermine other communities' interests. Our society is composed of each individual, but what have influences are the different interests groups and communities. For example, the employees and employers are in conflicting interests groups, at least to some extent. Obviously, employers wish to cut down the production costs, including the salary paid to employees, which apparently will undermine the revenue of employees. If such situations are met, employees may run boycott and the normal production process will be interrupted. The group of employers will also suffer from the loss. Therefore, when interests groups are trying to achieve their goals, they should be careful not to undermine the interests of other groups.

On the worldwide level, any attempts to attain certain "worthy" goals should not threat the peaceful and safe living environment of all human beings. The example of researching nuclear power aptly illustrates this point. Although it has already been proved that nuclear power is the most potential source of energy in the future, its risky properties decide that it should only be used under strict regulations. Even if only a small quantity of leakage of the radioactive materials, which used to create nuclear power, many people living in the neighborhood will suffer. Once it is used to make heavy weapons and put into use in wars, all human beings and the earth will be in risk. In short, despite of the worthy prospect of nuclear power in life and martial, any unrestricted research or use will only be unjustifiable and should be prohibited.

To sum up, to decide on whether a goal is worthy to achieve, different standards exist. Even if the goal is worthy enough, there should be certain limitations to the means taken to attain the goal. No matter on the personal level, the community level, or the worldwide level, facts already demonstrate that not any measures adopted to achieve goals are justifiable. In order to realize the value, one should follow the rules and regulations in certain fields.

1. main idea: any means within the law permission is justifiable
2. define "worthy": personal level, group level, social level
3. personal level: at least within the law permission
4. group level: not to undermine other groups' interest
5. social level: not to cause other problems
6. sum