But on further reflection, I'm wondering what is an acceptable way to navigate those decisions?
If viewed entirely as a tradeoff between safety of that car's passengers vs. the total corporate profits, then the "right" answer is they should operate as a nonprofit that barely makes ends meet.
That's my intuition as well. But the questions (for me) remain:
What are the acceptable tradeoffs in this scenario? And acceptable to whom?
What ethical framework do we have for deciding that one particular solution is more acceptable than another, and why should we all agree on that framework?
And is viewing this as simply a 1D tradeoff of passenger safety vs. corporate profits the most useful way to frame the issue?
In the 1980s there was such a car: it was a 1970s Pinto with wood panelling.
gryfft•4h ago