The Case of the Businessman.

** I chose (utilitarianism)
When attempting to resolve complex moral dilemmas, we need to be able to give good reasons to support the conclusions that we draw. It is not enough to say that something is wrong, we must show why it is wrong. An excellent way to provide good reasons is to apply a moral theory directly to a case and see what action the theory would prescribe or to see how the theory would evaluate an action that has already been performed.
To do this well, one should spend some time justifying why we are using this theory instead of any other theory we may have chosen instead. To justify a theory, one needs to explain why this theory is the best way to resolve our contested moral issues. For example, “We should use X moral theory to resolve this issue because Y is the most important consideration when evaluating moral actions. Y is the most important consideration for reasons Z and A.”
Your task for this paper is to choose one moral theory from this list: utilitarianism, Kantianism, or virtue ethics, justify it, and apply it to the case study below to tell us what course of action the theory would recommend. After your analysis, reflect on your theory’s results – do you personally agree with the verdict? Why? Are there any important considerations ignored by your theory? If so, what are they? What objections can be raised against your theory? How might those objections be overcome?

The Case: In a small farming community, a businessman and entrepreneur buys the biggest local pond in the region and sells rights to it to local farmers for irrigation and to the local town for residential water. He increases his profits this way and proceeds, over the years, to buy-up all the other ponds in the region. Since the area is very remote and completely dependent on the local water supply, the businessman then decides to increase the price of water-rights by fifteen times, which effectively makes water-rights too expensive for farmers and most residents of the region. Some of them have other places to go to find work, but most will wind-up in complete poverty or starvation with nowhere to turn. The Businessman is perfectly OK with this, as he wants to buy the bankrupt farmer’s land and use it for other business ventures. Nor does he care that this will be depopulating most of the community, as he plans on buying-up their lands as well and using those too. The businessman has done nothing illegal and feels that it is his right to do what he pleases with his own property.
Is the businessman doing anything immoral in this case? Apply one moral theory (utilitarianism, Kantianism, or virtue ethics) to this case and determine if the businessman’s actions are morally acceptable, according to the theory you chose).
Your paper should be set up as follows:
1) Introduction – briefly and generally set up the discussion you intend to have within your essay
Include a thesis statement telling your reader what you hope to show, or attempt to prove with your essay – “This essay will explain that X moral theory condemns/supports the businessman’s actions and we should/should not adopt this theory because of (reasons we should or should not adopt it).”
2) Explain to us, in your own words, how the theory works, and justify it.
Be sure to define key terms
Make sure you present the theory in its strongest form
You need to show how it works (explain all that is required for us to properly apply the theory below)
3) Apply the theory to the case of the Businessman
Show the steps used to make the application (do not just say “the theory says X” – show how this conclusion is reached) – for the utilitarian, you must explain how utility is calculated (use Bentham’s felicific calculus) and apply this to the case, for Kantianism, you must apply the categorical imperatives, for virtue ethics, you must apply the doctrine of the mean (focus on virtues and vices, not actions).
What answer does the theory give us? Why?
4) Discuss the implications of accepting this moral theory
Do you agree with the theory’s results?
Is this how we should make our moral decisions?
What problems might arise in enacting this theory? What objections can be raised against it? Can they be overcome?
5) Close out your essay with a strong conclusion, reaffirming your thesis statement without merely restating content.
Offer a strong reiteration of your key points and discuss the impact of your project
Do not introduce any new ideas or information into the conclusion
Do not end your essay in a question (i.e. “What do you think?”)
This essay is asking for you to make an argument about what a moral theory would say about a specific case – do not confuse crafting your own argument with offering a mere opinion. Arguments support the claims that they make with evidence and good reasons, mere opinions do not. You must give an argument here.

The essay should be typed, have 1-inch margins, be double spaced using 12-point font (with a normal theme – Times New Roman, Calibri, etc.), and should adhere to formal guidelines (have a title, check your grammar and sentence structure, cite sources properly using parenthetical, in-text citations, and list the full bibliographic entry on works cited page.
You should only use the course materials as citations for this essay – do not google random websites. Failing to cite your sources will result in a significant grade reduction.

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