Is it acceptable if poor hungry people steal food in order to avoid dying of starvation ? ?

Question

Is it immoral ?

Thanks for your answers .

Answer 1

Your assumption is that they would stave if they didn't steal. Thieves can always find a way to justify stealing and most people here are helping them out.

When you have faith in the Universe, God, self, whatever, to get what you need without stealing, that faith can take you to honesty and virtue....and even food.

Death is not the worst thing...we all do die eventually.

Answer 2

Yes it is, deep down we all know that our entire society is used to almost be security and a boundary to stop chaos, but not as real and important as life and death, the thing that is the most real

Answer 3

depends on the circumstances in most cases yes but if someone is homeless because of drugs and spending all their money on drugs then no

Answer 4

Morally, no, it is not acceptable. By the law, it is not acceptable. Would I do It if I had to feed my self and my family? Yes. When you are in poverty and you want to survive and to insure the survival of your loved ones, you don't think about the law or the morality of it. If you saw a starving child stealing from a fruit stand or bread stand, would you yell "Thief?" and have the child turned over the authorities, or would you look the other way? Place your selves in someone else shoes. Imagine your house, money, and life being stripped away from you and all you had was a corner on a street ally some where to live. You have a five year old child who depends on you. People do not accept you for job positions because you have no address and all the shelters are full. What would you do? Can everyone here honestly say that they would let their child or loved one starve?

Answer 5

Let me put it this way: no-one is going to give it to them, starving or not, market economies would rather people starved. so they'll have to steal it.

Answer 6

some people prefer 2 starve to death and not 2 steal. Believe  that it is a matter of faith and attitude. many people sleep without having a peice of bread to eat , yet they do not steal. Now if u make it acceptable the first time, the second the third.. what then is the individual going to live on stealing all his life. One should consider the purest, and highest solution and the point is that not many people can stand the test, it is hard , but people of faith that have souls norished with belief not with food only might say that if one says stealing is ok the first 100 times, then what. I know a man, he stealed 4 food the first time, but when he got work he repaid the person , he stealed the food from, He said that maybe the food i stole was 4 hungry children.

Answer 7

It is not acceptable; it is immoral. Period. Sorry, but people need to be responsible for their own actions; no excuses. On top of that, the Governments of all these nations, the individuals running the governments, MUST be responsible for their actions.

Answer 8

yessss

Answer 9

It is immoral to steal anything.

However, it is immoral for society to let someone starve. It may not be society's fault, however, if the hungry person has wasted their money on other things they wanted, like say booze and drugs, or even clothing they didn't need, and caused their own suffering.

Rather than steal, it is better to front up to a government welfare agency, or to your local MP, and make your case for aid, rather than steal from some other person who may be struggling to keep his business going and his family alive. If your mismanagement has contributed to your situation they can provide budgetting advice.

After all, it is the responsibility of the society through its government to determine what is fair and just, and not your right to decide you are justified to steal from some individual who may look comfortably off but may in fact be working 18 hours a day to make a business run to feed his family.

Answer 10

In the eye of the law, stealing is forbidden, therefore it is unacceptable. But compassion may make this act acceptable. So, the question is: justice or compassion? When i was young, i thought justice was more important. But like aristotle said, if there was compassion, there wont be a need for justice.

Another question that may rise up is two justice"s" conflicting each other. Is it a justice to make the person starve to death by not letting him steal foood, or is it a justice to give the person something to eat to avoid such consequence? That is up to you to decide.

Answer 11

yes, it's acceptable.

Answer 12

No.  It is unacceptable.  We have social constructs.  These agreements are what separate us from the animals.  I will ask you a number of questions:

Why are they so poor?

Unless they are in a vegetative state, why have they not actively sought employment (of any sort -- including the bartering of services) to better their position?

I was poor and without a home.  I made decisions and have suffered the consequences and have been rewarded too.  I now give back to those both in financial aid and in education.

The end never justifies the means.

Answer 13

It all depends where  they steal it from.

But I don't think it's immoral at all.

Answer 14

I once stole a crunchie chocolate bar from the local petrol service station. The guilt racked me so, I returned the next day, paid for my fuel with cash and left a surplus .50p to eliminate the bad karma of ill deed. Indeed it is very immoral.

Alas I cannot assume the role of victim with any degree of sincerity or tenacity.

Answer 15

Actually the unacceptable part is that the person with plenty of food to spare didn't offer the food to the person dying.  That is assuming they are stealing from someone with plenty.  If they are stealing from another starving person then that just makes the situation kinda stupid.

Answer 16

Morality is set by the culture.

It is not right to take that which is not yours. There for most cultures would set a moral code opposed to stealing.

How ever in a just society one would be judged for their motives not just their acts.

Answer 17

No it isn't acceptable, but it is understandable. Even the most hard hearted would understand that. However if caught, the one stealing the food could end up paying sevenfold for what he stole.

It is not a moral thing to do. Stealing is stealing however small the theft.

You're welcome.

Answer 18

why would it be immoral?

Answer 19

There are enough charities to help out starving people.

Answer 20

Some of the responses dont make sense. Look at the question. If the person steals food in order to avoid DYING, how is it unacceptable? And obviously there is no other way for this person to obtain food, because he is about to die from starvation. So there is no food bank, etc. Heres a question:

What if the person steals food because his child is dying from starvation? Then would it be acceptable?

And as for using religion or laws to justify your answer. Well isnt it against the bible to watch an innocent person die in front of you? Also, isnt it against the law to kill someone? That is what we are doing if we say we dont find it "acceptable" to steal food, if they are literally dying from starvation. Dont you think?

Anyways my answer to the question: Yes it is acceptable. It is even necessary.

Answer 21

it is acceptable if other people have no sympathy for a dying person.

Answer 22

Immoral?

What is immoral?

Illegal, yes, it is.

Answer 23

I wonder how people judge Robin Hood!

He is supposed to be a Hero...Hence I can safely assume... acceptable...even lovable!

I know nothing of morality...the concept is too fluid...it changes with times,  societies,  religions.

I wonder what Law has to say on this.  Is it as harsh on the hungry as it should be on the greedy/covetous!!!  But then Law sides with the Rich,  for they know how to bend it....

Answer 24

Not if it's MY FOOD.

Answer 25

Stealing is against the law and, as such, is not acceptable.  The person or people who do this out of extreme hunger is still breaking the law, although their hunger would be a mitigating factor.

I assume that the scenario for this is in the USA.  I think that somehow there will be a way to obtain food for the hungry without resorting to stealing.

Answer 26

i think it is not good for them to steel but i think someone should give them food, shelter and education

Answer 27

The moral right to live trumps the moral wrong of thievery.

Answer 28

If they have no legal alternatives available to them, then most certainly. The crime would be prohibiting them from doing so in that case.