We are living in an era of overproduction.
The days of starvation and ragged clothes due to a lack of goods are long gone. Every day, thousands of tons of perfectly fine food are thrown away simply because they are nearing their expiration dates, and brand-new clothes that have gone out of style are headed to incinerators under the pretext of protecting brand value.
At this point, a question inevitably rears its head: Are we not living in an age of abundance, where we no longer need to strip others of their possessions just to avoid starving to death? If so, why can we not change the laws to mandate that this overflow be donated to the Third World or distributed to those in need? Has the golden opportunity finally arrived to align the simple, private morality of "sharing what is left over" with the public morality and laws of the state?
Regrettably, modern society is not entirely free from the very dilemma that Aristides faced in ancient Athens. Even though the era of scarcity has passed and the era of abundance has arrived, a cold, hard wall unique to modern capitalism prevents ‘private goodwill’ from directly translating into ‘public justice.’
The Tragedy of Economics: When Charity Becomes a Bomb
Through the lens of an individual, the thought of "I would rather give it away than throw it out" is an act of flawless, benevolent intent. However, the moment this goodwill collides with the intricate gears of the global economic system, charity can return as a fatal bomb.
Suppose developed nations make massive, free donations of leftover clothing or surplus rice to the Third World. While this might alleviate immediate hunger, the indigenous clothing factories and local farmers who were barely managing to sprout inside that country will go bankrupt one after another. No one will pay money for goods when the market is flooded with free items. Consequently, a paradox occurs where charity—meant to preserve the purity of one’s soul—births a ‘public immorality’ that permanently demolishes a nation’s foundation for self-reliance.
When you add the logistical reality—such as who will bear the astronomical shipping and refrigeration costs to send perishable food nearing its expiration date to the other side of the globe—private morality is rendered utterly powerless before the titanic wall of the system.
And Yet, the Law is Advancing, Inch by Inch
This does not mean humanity is sitting idly by. Unlike the era of Aristides, modern society is using the breathing room provided by abundance to gradually push private morality into the realm of public law.
The most prominent example is France’s "Anti-Food Waste Law." France banned large supermarkets above a certain size from throwing away edible food. Products nearing their expiration dates must be donated to charities, and failure to do so results in hefty fines. This was the exact moment the private conscience of "thou shalt not waste food" was enforced as a public obligation.
The same goes for ESG management, which holds corporations socially accountable, and the carbon credit trading system. By creating public frameworks that cut off investments or penalize companies that fail to uphold the private morality of environmental protection and mutual prosperity, we are constructing a system where companies can no longer survive unless they act ethically.
The Complex Homework Left for Us
The fundamental reason modern society cannot perfectly align private morality with public morality is that this world still spins on two major axes: the sovereignty of independent nations and profit-seeking capitalism. A mega-corporation that must represent the interests of its shareholders cannot voluntarily surrender all profits solely for the sake of humanity. Furthermore, with the interests of the United States, China, and Europe starkly diverging, creating the "law of a single global government" is virtually impossible.
What is clear, however, is that we can no longer hide behind the excuses of the ancients who argued, "We are on the verge of starvation, so we have no choice but to be vicious." The era of overproduction has provided us with the material foundation to be more moral.
Yet, slogans like "let’s have a good heart" are no longer enough. We must predict how a minor act of personal goodwill might cause side effects within the interlocking cogs of the global economic network, and then design precise laws and systems to mitigate them. Rooting a system of sharing into this muddy reality without triggering unintended harm—that is the lonely, intricate homework assigned to the politicians and citizens of our time who must realize public morality on the modern stage.
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