SUS1501
ASSIGNMENT 2 2024
DUE: 23 AUGUST 2024
SEMESTER 2 2024
,3. Ask whether your maxim is conceivable in a world ruled by the universal law;
and finally
To evaluate the act using Kant's categorical imperative, we must consider whether the proposed
maxim can be conceived as a universal law and whether it can be consistently willed by
everyone. The maxim states that "the richest South African men will take R 77 million every day
, for six months to get really, really rich." When restated as a universal law, it suggests that "all
people (8.1 billion of them) will take R77 million every day for six months to get really, really rich."
In a world where this universal law applies, the concept of everyone taking R77 million daily for
personal enrichment is fundamentally inconceivable. The global economy does not have the
resources to support such an act universally. Money, in this context, would lose its value due to
hyperinflation, and the basic economic structures would collapse. The very notion of
accumulating wealth would become meaningless as currency would be devalued to the point
of uselessness. Thus, the maxim is not conceivable in a world governed by this universal law,
as it would lead to economic chaos and the collapse of financial systems, making the act
impossible to implement universally.
4. Ask whether you would rationally act on your maxim in such a world.
Quite frankly, the concept of money and wealth would become meaningless, as
distributing such enormous sums would cause hyperinflation, rendering currency
worthless. In a world where everyone is immensely rich, the relative value of wealth
disappears, and essential economic structures based on scarcity and demand would
collapse. Consequently, basic goods and services would become unattainable, leading
to societal chaos and the breakdown of economic stability. Acting on this maxim would
therefore not be rational, as it undermines the very foundation of economic systems,
making it impossible to achieve the desired outcome of becoming truly wealthy.
ASSIGNMENT 2 2024
DUE: 23 AUGUST 2024
SEMESTER 2 2024
,3. Ask whether your maxim is conceivable in a world ruled by the universal law;
and finally
To evaluate the act using Kant's categorical imperative, we must consider whether the proposed
maxim can be conceived as a universal law and whether it can be consistently willed by
everyone. The maxim states that "the richest South African men will take R 77 million every day
, for six months to get really, really rich." When restated as a universal law, it suggests that "all
people (8.1 billion of them) will take R77 million every day for six months to get really, really rich."
In a world where this universal law applies, the concept of everyone taking R77 million daily for
personal enrichment is fundamentally inconceivable. The global economy does not have the
resources to support such an act universally. Money, in this context, would lose its value due to
hyperinflation, and the basic economic structures would collapse. The very notion of
accumulating wealth would become meaningless as currency would be devalued to the point
of uselessness. Thus, the maxim is not conceivable in a world governed by this universal law,
as it would lead to economic chaos and the collapse of financial systems, making the act
impossible to implement universally.
4. Ask whether you would rationally act on your maxim in such a world.
Quite frankly, the concept of money and wealth would become meaningless, as
distributing such enormous sums would cause hyperinflation, rendering currency
worthless. In a world where everyone is immensely rich, the relative value of wealth
disappears, and essential economic structures based on scarcity and demand would
collapse. Consequently, basic goods and services would become unattainable, leading
to societal chaos and the breakdown of economic stability. Acting on this maxim would
therefore not be rational, as it undermines the very foundation of economic systems,
making it impossible to achieve the desired outcome of becoming truly wealthy.
