Stop the Boats: Do the Ends Justify the Means?

Gordon Menzies

Economic Papers, 2015, vol. 34, issue 4, 229-242

Abstract: type="main" xml:id="ecpa12113-abs-0001">

The Stop the Boats policy towards irregular maritime arrivals (boat people) is to process prospective refugee-status claimants in non-judicial prisons, without the prospect of ultimate Australian abode, with the aim of stopping further boat people coming to Australia. The numbers of people involved to date are small, as are the economic impacts. Stop the Boats appears to succeed on its own terms, but it faces the pitfalls of “ends justify the means” consequentialist ethics, favoured by economists and others. Chief among these are that there are no obvious moral limits in pursuing desirable ends, such as stopping deaths at sea.

Date: 2015
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