Far From Omelas

Abstract

The world contains immense suffering, both human and non-human. Millions of human children die yearly from preventable causes like starvation. Beyond human suffering, billions of land animals are subjected to torturous factory farm conditions including castration, boiling, and grinding, often without anesthetic. Trillions of aquatic animals are killed, frequently experiencing intense suffering as they’re dragged from the ocean, suffocating and then decapitated. This human-caused suffering is dwarfed by the suffering experienced in the wild, where countless animals endure starvation, parasitism, disease, and predation. Compared to the utopian city of Omelas, where one child’s suffering ensures the happiness of all others, our world is far more tragic, as suffering here is widespread and serves no greater good. If one would abandon Omelas due to its moral compromise, then supporting the expansion of a similar suffering-filled condition beyond Earth becomes indefensible. – AI-generated abstract.