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“What good fortune for governments that the people do not think.” Adolf Hitler
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire
David Etkin, York University
Milgram Experiment, Yale U., 1961
“Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any
particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a
terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the
destructive effects of their work become patently clear …
relatively few people have the resources needed to resist
authority.”
David Etkin, York University
…those who were able to resist the authority figure
were able to provide justifications in the form of
moral principles and theory.
Boss, J.A. (2005). Analyzing Moral Issues. McGraw-Hill, NY, NY.
David Etkin, York University
We Live in a World of Bureaucracies
and Authority Figures
John le Carré (perhaps overly harshly) refers to “the
institutionalized functionaries of global disaster, so integrated with
the towering bureaucracy of world aid and so familiar with its
weaknesses that they are actually a part of the problem they think
they’re solving”.
David Etkin, York University
Hurricane Katrina Response
“This official treatment was in sharp contrast to the warm, heart-felt reception given to us by the ordinary Texans. … Throughout, the official relief effort was callous, inept, and racist.”
Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Slonsky, paramedics http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/Katrina-Hurricane-New-Orleans-USA.html
David Etkin, York University
Prevalence of Ethics in EM Literature
ethics
human relations
moral
principles
values
David Etkin, York University
Three Journals
Disaster Prevention & Management (1992-2011)
IJEM (2001-2011)
Disasters (1998-2011)
Keyword Frequencies:
oethics (.08%), values (.01%), principles (.18%), human (.06%) and moral (.03%)
David Etkin, York University
Eight Texts
None of these books include the word “principles” or “moral”
in their indices, except for one reference to “moral hazard”.
Perry and Lindell (2007) & Lindell et al. (2007) include
references to “ethics”
contains a brief description of the IAEM code of
professional ethics.
Lindell et al. (2007) refers to values within the context of
conflict, such as between property rights and public safety
Ferrier (2009) includes a reference to “human rights”
David Etkin, York University
Eight texts
Ferrier, N. (2009). Fundamentals of Emergency Management: Preparedness.
Haddow, G.D. and Bullock. J.A. (2003) Introduction to Emergency Management.
Coppola, D.P. (2007). Introduction to International Disaster Management.
Drabek, T.E and Hoetmer, G.J. (1991). Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local Government.
Perry and Lindell (2007). Emergency Planning.
Lindell, M.K., Prater, C. and Perry, R.W. (2007). Introduction to Emergency Management.
Alexander, D. (2002). Principles of Emergency Planning and Management.
Posner, R.A. (2004). Catastrophe: Risk and Response.
David Etkin, York University
The International Association of Emergency
Managers has addressed this issue by developing a
code of ethics and professional conduct.
o A worthy effort, but ad hoc and not rooted in
ethical theory
David Etkin, York University
Books that Address Ethics
“Ethical Land Use: Principles of Policy
and Planning” by Beatley (1994)
“Ethics for Disaster” by Zack (2009)
“Disaster Management Ethics”, by
Jenson (1997), UNDP
“Ethical Principles on DRR and People’s
Resilience”, by Prieur (2009)
& assorted articles / papers / web sites
David Etkin, York University
Relevant Ethical Theories
Utilitarianism or consequentialism (greatest good for the greatest number),
Kantian ethics (duties and rights), Virtue ethics, Social contract theory, Environmental ethics.
During crisis, the ground shifts and the clash between ethical systems is more blatant.
Arne Naess
E. Kant
Jeremy
Bentham
John Rawls
Aristotle
David Etkin, York University
“Real and fictional case studies in disasters seem to favor egalitarian or deontological (duty-based) moral principles over those of efficiency or a simple utilitarianism that saves the greatest number.”
“In morally ambiguous extreme cases, we do well to rely on the character or virtues of those in positions to make decisions”
Naomi Zack.
David Etkin, York University
Martin Buber
“I-Thou” or “I-It”
As long as the theory and practice of EM is
overly dominated by relationships with
“things” – be they resources, institutions,
measures of hazard/vulnerability or people -
then it suffers from a disconnect
David Etkin, York University
Ford Pinto:
People as Things
Cost-Benefit Analysis:
Cost of No Recall:
o 180 burn deaths @ $200,000 per death
o 180 burn injuries @ $67,000 per injury
o 2100 burned vehicles @ $700 per vehicle
o Total = $49.5 million
Cost of Recall:
o Sales: 11 million cars & 1.5 million trucks @ $11 per vehicle
o Total = $137 million
David Etkin, York University
On What Basis Should Ethical
Dilemmas be Resolved?
Three types of ethical dilemmas
1. Choices between costs and benefits o Can too much be spent to save a life? (e.g. HUSAR to Haiti)
2. When values conflict o Rights of property ownership vs. the common good (e.g. flood plain use)
3. When moral conflicts occur within a hierarchy of
obligations o Duty to family vs. duty to employer
David Etkin, York University
Ethical Theory in a Shifting Context:
Three Issues to Consider
1. The Morphing of Disasters
2. The Assumption of Return to Normalcy
3. An Environmental Zero-Sum Game
Is the moral landscape that underlies disaster theory
a constant, or does it depend upon the nature of
disaster?
David Etkin, York University
1. The Morphing of Disasters
De Smit, H. (2012). A Significant
Evolution of the Disaster Landscape.
Proceedings of the 2012 Industrial and
Systems Engineering Research
Conference. G. Lim and J.W.
Herrmann, eds
David Etkin, York University
Normal Accident Theory
As disasters morph towards greater complexity and impacts
they will affect more people in surprising, unpredictable
ways.
Are there ethical issues that are of more importance in
quadrant 2 than in the other three quadrants?
David Etkin, York University
Linear systems:
Emphasize risk-based strategies that depend mostly on a
utilitarian ethic and reliance upon experts
Complex systems:
Emphasize social discourse and the precautionary principle
Emphasize Kantian ethics and a diminished role of experts.
Suggests that how ethical theory is applied to disasters will
require a different emphasis than has been historically used.
David Etkin, York University
“What Disaster Response Management Can
Learn From Chaos Theory”, California
Research Bureau
“Management skill may not be the answer to why response
organizations are successful or fail. “
“It may be that sensitivity to initial conditions and
fortunate relationships with other organizations have
more to do with a successful response than disaster
management skill.”
David Etkin, York University
2. The Assumption of Return to
Normalcy
A world that is changing at an unprecedented rate…
What are the implications of a new normal?
Can definitions of emergency be abused so that the
extraordinary becomes the ordinary forever?
What ethical norms or rules are to be applied or foregone
during such situations?
David Etkin, York University
Questions for a New Normal
To what extent can governments and large bureaucracies be
trusted to act as required by social contract theory?
Should there be a shift in the roles of government, the private
sector and citizens, in terms of how disaster risk is managed?
Should different risk management strategies be pursued,
which are rooted in different ethical considerations?
David Etkin, York University
3. An Environmental Zero-Sum Game
Duties people have towards the environment related to
stewardship and overuse
The impact of limits to growth on human society
David Etkin, York University
Mileti (1999) – that “the first guiding principle of sustainability is
that human activities in a particular locale should not reduce the
carrying capacity of the ecosystem for any of its inhabitants”
“…the most probably pathway is through the development of a
global environmental ethic, akin to a religious movement” Nadeau, R.L. (2006). “The Environmental Endgame: Mainstream Economics, Ecological Disaster and
Human Survival”. Rutgers University Press.
David Etkin, York University