Abstract
The attraction of morality in times of affluence is that not much of it seems needed. More choices are available and thus fewer harsh dilemmas arise. If they arise, money can be used to buy out of or evade the consequences of choice. The wages of sin are offset by the cheapness of therapy, drugs, liquor, economy flights, and a career change. If all else fails, public confessions can profitably be produced as a miniseries. Vice is rewarded because everything is rewarded, even virtue.
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© 1981 The Hastings Center
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Callahan, D. (1981). Minimalist Ethics. In: Caplan, A.L., Callahan, D. (eds) Ethics in Hard Times. The Hastings Center Series in Ethics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4022-5_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4022-5_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4024-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4022-5
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