Rich==ethically challenged?
I'm beginning to believe that the rich feel that not only can money buy anything, that it should be able to buy anything. This story I heard on CBC this morning about Overseas Medical Services is a case in point. This company's rather dubious services are to allow those that can afford it to go overseas for medical treatment. OK, so the rich can go overseas for medical treatment, what's the big deal, they've always been able to do that. The difference here is that, for the right price, OMS will allow you to purchase an organ from some poor person in a developing country. Some among you may have already had the thought “well what's wrong with that?” and if you did you are probably not alone. What you have to think about next is “is it right?”. If you think it is, I would suggest that you have lost your humanity. Once a person starts thinking that people can be bought and sold like a commodity the rot has set in. Nothing but money is truly of value to such a person (as anything else can be just bought and sold). Such a life is hollow, soulless.
Beyond the moral implications of buying and selling people, there are some practical implications as well. First the person selling the organ sees little of the money. Most of the upwards of $30,000 that is spent goes to the hospital and the organ broker. The “donor” is lucky to get a week's wage out of it. Secondly, the people in developing countries who are likely to donate organs for money aren't at the top of the social ladder. This means, in a developing country, that when they walk into the hospital to be “harvested” is likely the first time they've ever stepped in the building in their lives. The could have a number of undiagnosed disorders that the recipient could catch (the ultimate karmic revenge for this kind of affluence).
It's all just a sign that our society is in trouble. Gone are the days where people looked out for each other and helped one another, either as individuals or through the collective endeavour that is government. Our society is becoming an every person for themselves, screw the other guy before he gets you place. This is a giant step backwards to the 18th and 19th centuries for us.