Ought the Rich to Help the Poor?

Abstract

In the present situation, COVID 19 pandemic still rampantly spreads over the world whereby it brings about the inability and recession in running various kinds of business including ceasing its operation. On the one hand, one group of people called ‘rich’ still possesses hefty wealth which is more than enough for living life without being affected by a pandemic, on the other hand, another group of people called ‘poor’, once unemployed, comes to encounter the rapid shortage of income causing the most difficulty in living life. A philosophical question is asked in the situation “ought the rich to help the poor?” In this matter, while some argued that they ought to help because man has to help one another, another also argued that they ought not to help because it is not their duty; this means that anyone who wishes to help can help; it should not be the matter of duty because it demands too much. In this paper, I argued that they should help because helping one another is moral duty in two dimensions: a duty to purify oneself and a duty to protect humanhood and this discussion will be critically examined in the context of Buddhist ethics.