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by Apreche 202 days ago
I know this article is focusing on legal responsibility, but if you are going to consider moral culpability for inaction you must also factor in capability.

If a very weak person does not have the strength to perform CPR, they should not feel guilty for failing to perform it.

You also have to consider the costs involved. Somewhere out there is a homeless person who is going to die in the cold tonight. I’m not vastly wealthy, but I could afford to save them if I dropped everything I was doing, searched for them, and found them in time. It is in my power to save them, but at great personal expense. Therefore, I do not hold myself morally responsible for not doing so.

Now consider the billionaire. By merely uttering the command, the smallest effort, they could feed, house, provide medical care, and educate an enormous number of people in poverty. Remember what Uncle Ben said. With great power comes great responsibility. The blood is on their hands.