Shoplifting necessities is not morally wrong, amirite?

It's stealing. Trying to justify stealing by pointing out corporations' immoral price-gouging is garbage logic. Is it understandable? Yes. Is it a horrible crime that deserves draconian punishment? No. It is morally wrong, though. The fact that you don't see it speaks to your own moral failings.

by hillardpaucek 1 week ago

Why is it inherently morally wrong to steal food from a massive corporation that profits off of the exploration of its workers? Because theft is morally wrong. Is it then inherently morally wrong wrong for someone who lost their job at the local grocery store, after Wal-Mart's predatory business practices ran them out of business, to steal a loaf of bread??? Yes. See above. My grandma ran a small store in a poor mining town. She caught teens stealing food for their families all of the time. Not once did she lecture them about how immoral it is to steal. She made sure they had enough food to eat, and sent them home... Because people having basic necessities, is more important than profits. Cool. If I am wrong here, I'd love to hear why... Because theft is morally wrong.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Yes it is

by Anonymous 1 week ago

it's not yours do not take simple rule

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I think it's less about acknowledging that simple rule and more about being in a "pick your poison" situation for some people. Not justified of course, but definitely understandable

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Private property shouldnt exist. I condone anyone to take what isn't personal property.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

blah blah blah smh whatever

by Anonymous 1 week ago

It's still theft and you should be punished for doing it.

by No-Interview1876 1 week ago

I mean sure but I'm not putting them in the same category as malicious shoplifters. I'd rather point them towards local resources and have them do community work. Most honest people would gladly take that deal if they're simply trying to survive. For repeat offenders, then stricter punishment should be considered, though I'd definitely want to analyze the type and effectiveness of any resources and assistance first…

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Theft is theft. I don't want someone stealing my property that I lawfully purchased.

by No-Interview1876 1 week ago

Neither do I but I refuse to have such a black and white take

by Anonymous 1 week ago

So if it's not your property that's being stolen, then it's ok to steal. Got it.

by No-Interview1876 1 week ago

If you need necessities (actual necessities - food, toiletries, things like that), then there are legal ways of getting them. You don't get a pass to steal just because you are in a tough spot.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

because companies want to enforce a false scarcity No its mainly because of health codes and laws in place that prevent old food from being sold to the public. I don't see anything morally wrong with people breaking some rules while trying to survive in a very unfair system. in the end you only end up hurting the worker not the company. its because of this rational you have that self checkout is being phased out now.

by Old-Cloud-2398 1 week ago

I think it's more of the fact that store owners and employees lack knowledge about health codes; they don't want to risk getting people sick and being liable for that (which I don't know - I think someone that has no money has little chance of getting a lawyer to sue them, but it's just me); where I am, if you provide any help to people in good faith, you aren't liable for any damages - so if you give out food or do the CPR or whatever, you can't get sued (well, probably you can, but it will be immediately thrown out as you are protected by law from that); I don't live in US tho.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I'm sure the liability component is very real. When I worked in the restaurant industry a lot of it was focused on discouraging kitchen staff from 'wasting food' i.e. oops, I overcooked these ribs, guess I'll have to eat them for lunch/take them home for dinner. Basically forcing the kitchen to record all waste and dispose of it, then use that to help with inventory management and tracking food costs.

by Weissnatmattie 1 week ago

Yeah, I will just say that people in my area think that as well, but you are protected by law from getting sued. It's often a part of what is called „Good Samaritan Laws"; those laws cover most notably any damage that you do while doing CPR to people, but in many countries around the world they also cover unintentional damage while providing other types of help - for example, if someone gets food poisoning from food you donated. It's just a common misconception in many places that you can get sued for providing help; but in many places there are laws that protect you from that; is what I wanted to say.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I agree with you. But the law and morals aren't always in line

by Emotional_Ad 1 week ago

I recall a debate about this during the looting at protests in 2020. One take was that non-essential items shouldn't be punished either because those in need will take them to resell in order to buy necessities. So where do we draw the line? Seems to me that the answer lies in better social programs and actual help for those in need rather than turning a blind eye to theft.

by friedrich18 1 week ago

It is wrong in 99.9% of cases.. and you need to define "necessities". If I'm hungry and steal a loaf of bread, am I wrong? What if I'm a little hungry and decided to steal the most expensive steak and most expensive sides I can find, am I wrong?

by Adelinekihn 1 week ago

Stealing will always be wrong, doesn't matter the reason for it

by Anonymous 1 week ago

money is a necessity so its not morally wrong to rob an old person for their money

by leschwaylon 1 week ago

Because the law is the pinnacle of morality and fairness

by Kamrenwintheise 1 week ago

It's not ok to steal from a big store. I could justify it if I was in a hard enough position but it would still be wrong.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Poor john woolworths or walmart losing 0$ on those insured razors, to make him feel better he needs to up the prices of milk from 6$ to 10$ because why not

by Kamrenwintheise 1 week ago

So if someone is rich enough then it's ok to steal from them?

by Anonymous 1 week ago

If their duopoly is pricing my country out of eating well without paying an arm and a leg then yeah I'd say its justified stealing the equivalent of pocket lint for them from one of their thousands of massively profitable stores

by Kamrenwintheise 1 week ago

As long as you can justify it to yourself then I guess that all that matters

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Depending on why you are in such desperate strates, and who you are stealing from... If you just don't want to work at all, and are stealing from a local small business, YTA. If you are dealing with medical issues that make working difficult, and steal some food from Wal-Mart, carry on lol.

by Business-Fun1326 1 week ago