A moral question for you all

[WhaleSharkBootySweat]

Imagine you go into a really nice small business selling either homewares or food. You pick something up that you really like, but it's the end of the month and you can't really afford it. What is the main reason that stops you from stealing it?

A.) Fear of getting caught, punished, criminal record, shame, losing your job
B.) Sympathy for the small business owner, not wanting them to lose money

Or something else.
For me it's massively more B but then I don't steal from chain stores, so I guess A must come into it then?
I just wonder where these moral decisions we make daily come from. Is it fear of repercussions or genuine moral compass? Why do a third of shoppers steal from self checkouts but wouldn't steal from a cashier at the till?
I think about the idea that if there wasn't law and order, then we would all steal and murder, but I genuinely believe that most of us wouldn't? I mean I've never felt compelled to, but why is that? Empathy?

This.

Regarding the idea that people can choose their own morals and "anything goes": I don't think someone who kills an innocent passer by to get their mobile phone has chosen good morals. So this idea has to be wrong. There's limits on what counts as good morals.

However, some rules can be chosen - not necessarily by an individual, but by a society. For example, maybe if everyone agrees that freedom is more important than life expectancy, it might be OK for that society to ease lockdown earlier than other societies. On the other hand, if everyone is risk-averse, it would be right to let lockdown run longer. In either case, when in Rome, we should do as the Romans do.

I've read that (approx figures) -

80% of people don't offend because it's wrong
16% don't offend because they fear being caught
4% know it's wrong, would prefer not to be caught, but do it anyway

Disgusting post!
Just don’t steal!!!!

It's pretty obvious the OP was asking a philosophical question about the way people's morals control their behaviour, not saying 'I'm thinking of stealing something. Please tell me why I shouldn't.'

Some posters are clearly too dim to understand that you can ask theoretical ethical questions without being a potential or actual criminal. It's good to ask yourself moral questions.

C - simply that theft is wrong and I’m not a thief!

For me it is because I know that stealing is wrong. It wouldn't even cross my mind that it was an option, if I couldn't afford something.

If someone steals from a small business, that business suffers.

If someone steals from a big chain, all the other customers of that chain suffer. Part of the overheads for any business is a percentage to cover 'shrinkage' - loss by theft, spoiling, damage etc. That cost is NOT met by the shareholders of a company - it goes onto the price that you and I pay.

@AllProperTeaIsTheft

If OP was genuinely interested, they could read the research done on this exact thing and similar.

C). Because it's wrong to take what doesn't belong to you.

If OP was genuinely interested, they could read the research done on this exact thing and similar.

You could say that about the vast majority of questions asked about virtually any topic on MN. Sometimes it's interesting to have a conversation and hear people's thoughts and opinions about things. That's pretty much what a forum is for, isn't it?

It just literally wouldn't enter my head to steal it.

I wouldn't have to think of A or B, I would just set it down and come back when I could afford it.

The option of stealing wouldn't be in the equation at all.

For me it’s just that it’s wrong and I couldn’t do it.

God the responses are boring. “It’s just wrong” yes but WHY?? Imagine being so unable to think critically.

If someone stole from you, what would you think?

Neither, it just wouldn't even cross my mind to steal anything.

It's wrong.

Hard to explain, but if I stole something, I wouldn't feel I'd have gained a thing, I'd feel I'd have lost a part of me. It wouldn't be a net benefit for me. It would feel like an act of self-harm.

I wouldn't steal or murder if it wasn't against the law. It's just wrong.

Why does anyone think it is ok to take something that belongs to someone else or that they haven't paid for? I have never deliberately stolen in my life from a shop or a person. I did once find a Cadbury's Flake in my trolley when I got to the car and I kept it. I hadn't taken it from the shelf so no idea how it got in there.

I think stealing is dishonest, deceitful, weak and one of the lowest things someone can do.

I wouldn't cover for someone who stole either. I was once in Curry's and saw a man stealing a lap-top- just disconnected the security lead. I said 'Excuse me, that's stealing'. He said ' It's for my daughter for Christmas. I'm broke. She won't get a Christmas present otherwise. Don't tell on me will you?'
I said 'Of course I'm going to tell' and he ran off leaving it. I told an assistant and a couple of minutes later she appeared with a manager who asked if I would recognise him on CCTV. I said I would. He went off to sort that out and the bloke re-appeared and went back to the lap-top, undid it again and picked it up. The manager was coming back and I pointed himout and they stopped him. The police came and by looking at the CCTV at this mall could track him back to a car which was full of stolen stuff from Curry's, Sports Direct, a computer place. He'd basically spent the morning shop-lifting. He called me all sorts when he was arrested but why should he get away with stealing all that stuff (no doubt intending to sell it)? Why does he think that's ok? Why should we pay extra on our prices for all the stuff these people steal?

The one that really gets me is cruelty/unkindness to people and animals. I hate it. I can't understand people who do it or tolerate it. A friend told me her neighbour was horrible to his dog , kicked it, locks it out in all weathers, shouted at it, it was always hungry and had had a sore paw for weeks- I asked what she'd done about it and she said nothing. I reported him to the RSPCA. He was visited and the RSPCA took the dog. My friend's mum went and adopted it and loves it to bits. I can't get over my friend doing nothing.

It's just wrong. Why should I benefit from someone 's hard work and effort into their business? And I already begrudge paying increased prices to cover the cost of theft. If you can't afford it you don't get it!!

The dilemma we debated at uni was "a man's wife is dying of cancer. There is a cure available but only privately. It costs £100 to make the cure but £5k to buy it. The man has offered his life savings of £1k and been told no. Should he steal the drug?"

There were then other options to consider like what if he stole the drug and left the £1k in its place? What if he was the scientist who had made the breakthroughs which led to the cure? What if two people needed the drug and had different amounts in life savings, would it matter if one was a murderer and one a model citizen? In which ways?

It was one of our most heated lectures in the end.

D. Self respect

I don't want anything I didn't earn, because I was brought up to have some self respect. I may not earn enough for fancy designer high-end expensive stuff, or just lots and lots of stuff... but what I have got I bloody earned. Stealing, regardless if a big or small business, completely obliterates that self respect you gain from knowing you earned it.

If that isn't true, put your hand on heart and ask if you check your speed when you go through a speed camera. If you never speed because it's wrong, you don't need to check. But I bet you do. And it's arguably worse as you might kill or injure someone.

That’s a different case though. If you steal from someone, they definitely suffer (to some extent or another). Speeding is potentially a victimless crime: you might kill someone, or (far more likely) there might be no consequences whatsoever.

That then leads into the “moral luck” debate: is someone who commits a crime with no consequences just as culpable as someone who commits exactly the same crime but ends up harming someone? The action is the same but the consequences are hugely different - so should the punishment be the same, or different?

(Incidentally, I don’t drive, so I can hand on heart say I have never gone over a speed limit in my life 😇)

This

I love that thought experiment, and am not surprised it was such a heated debate. That’s why all the responses here saying “well it wouldn’t even cross my mind” or “it’s just wrong” are a bit disappointing - these ideas are so interesting to think about if you really engage with them.

Enlightened self-interest. No thing would be worth how bad I would feel about myself for stealing.

B.

People stealing from big companies like supermarkets or retail stores doesn't bother me. It's wrong, it's not a 'good' thing to do but the shops can take the hit. If thieves only target these massive companies, they leave small businesses alone.

I would also turn a blind eye to anyone stealing baby items or essential food.

This 😂
basic respect. For them, for myself.

I obviously wouldn’t want to get caught or put any (small) business through lost money or stock but I have enough respect not to take something that doesn’t belong to me.