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LIFE AND LIES #89 | The Trolley Problem

"Have you heard about the trolley problem," asked Sheth who was sitting beside me.

Yes, I had, but I did not reply right away. I looked around at unfamiliar faces surrounding me and found a mixed bag of people of Slavic, Eastern and Mongol origins. There wasn't an Indian in sight except, of course, my friend Sheth. An hour ago, he and I had landed at Almaty International Airport, Kazakhstan and were waiting for our connecting flight to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. There was still an hour to go and I had nothing to do. There was no internet. Our SIM cards were not of any use. We would buy the local SIM in Bishkek. I hadn't brought a book with me or downloaded any movie/TV series on my mobile. Even if I weren't shy and wanted to talk to someone, language would have failed me. Neither I knew Kazakh nor Russian. Therefore, to pass the time, I decided to humour my friend and replied, "No, I don't. Tell me."

"Imagine a train moving forward on a track," he began. "And in its path lay five people who are tied down to the tracks. They cannot move. You are witnessing all of this from a distance, and the only thing you can do to save these people is to pull a lever that will divert the train onto a different track. But there's a problem. A person is tied to the other track. If you pull the lever, you'll kill that person instead. What would you do? Do nothing and kill five or pull the lever and kill one?"

"I'll shout to the train driver to apply the brakes," I said, trying to mess with him.

"You are very far away. The driver cannot hear you," Sheth gave an earnest reply. "Also, the brakes are broken. It's a burning train."

"I want to know the ages of the people tied to the tracks."

"How would you know their ages? You are far far away," Sheth sounded a bit agitated. But then he put on a wicked smile, "Fine. The five persons tied together are middle-aged men and the one alone is a toddler."

Sheth had been creative. I was not familiar with this version of the trolley problem. After giving it some thought, | replied, "I would save the kid."

"I would have saved the five men," he responded immediately.

"But why?"

"Because the middle-aged men have dependencies on them, family etc. And the kid doesn't. And if it's an unclaimed child, death is a better option."

"But that's so cruel. I won't have that on my hands," I replied.

"The right thing to do isn't always the best thing to do," he said, calmly. Then he paused briefly before saying, "Let's lighten the situation a little bit. The train is moving and you are holding the lever. The five people are going to die no matter what you do. But if you pull the lever, the train will do a cool flip in the air in slow motion, like in the movies, before landing back on the track and killing the men eventually. Would you pull the lever?"

"Yes," I replied even though I was not familiar with this version of the trolley problem.

"Woah, that was a fast answer."

"The way I see it is that my actions have no consequences. The five men are going to die anyway. Why should I not have fun then? How is it different from what we do every day? There's always a war going on somewhere. People witness some of it, from the safety of their homes, on TV channels and social media. They do nothing and continue to go on with their daily lives, celebrating birthdays and promotions. Or... travelling to another country."

"Not the interpretation I expected," Sheth's voice had a sombre tone. "Okay, let's do another one. You know Sisyphus, right?"

"Yes. Greek mythology. The guy was punished with an eternal task to roll a boulder uphill. But every time he neared the top of the hill, the boulder rolled back down and he had to start from scratch."

"Right," confirmed Sheth. "This version of the trolley problem is based on him. Similar situation. If you do nothing, the train goes on to kill five people. But if you pull the lever, the train gets diverted but goes in a loop and comes back on the same path. You have to keep pulling the lever at regular intervals to keep the five people alive. But remember, even if you save their lives, they are still tied to the track. They can't eat, sleep or experience any joy in life. Would you still choose to pull the lever?"

It took me a while before answering, "We are humans. Even when we have nothing, we always hope for things to get better. I'll keep pushing the lever hoping that one day these unfortunate circumstances will change."

"That's a profound notion," replied Sheth. "You know, at its core, the trolley problem is a critique of utilitarianism, the idea that the right thing to do is whatever maximises the overall happiness."

"I understand that, but despite the multiple iterations of the trolley problem that you just showcased, when it comes to reality, neither you nor me would be holding the lever. We'll be one of the five people tied to the tracks, while the one who is tied alone would pay off the man holding the lever, asking him to do nothing, to let the five people die. Welcome to capitalism."

"You're right. Wealth triumphs everything," Sheth's voice grew distant. "When I was a child, I used to think hoarding was a societal human phenomenon. Then I grew up to realise, it's Darwinian. Now I think, it's a universal truth. Take the gravitational force, for example. Matter is only attracted towards bodies of higher matter. So, in a way, unbridled capitalism is like a black hole which sucks the matter from the universe and renders it unusable for others. In contrast, unbridled communism is like the universe at a nascent stage. Matter is spread out everywhere, but it isn't useful to anyone. The true balance lies in the middle. Matter coalesce and form stars, planets and other celestial bodies. Though, not created as equals, but open for matter and energy exchange."

"Sheth, sorry to interrupt your Eureka moment but do you know how to say 'where's the washroom' in Russian?"

***
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