Apigo, Diane – BSN 1-B student concerned to the

issues involves in false trading as per utilitarianism

approach.

Camarista, Coleen Mae – BSN 1-B student that aims

to express the difference of scientific and natural
occurrences in terms of ivory trading as per
utilitarianism.

Valencia, Quennie Babes – BSN 1-B student that

goals to formulate evaluations concerned with ivory
trading business as per utilitarianism.

Mr. Clydell Ofilas – Ethics

Adviser
College of Arts and Sciences
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Title ............................................................................................... 1

II. Introduction..................................................................... 2

Discussion .........................................................................2-4

Analysis ..................................................................................... 5-6

III. Reference ............................................................................... 7

 The Challenge of
Utilitarianism in the Case of
Ivory Trading Business and
Its Relative Consequences

1
Introduction

Utilitarianism has challenged us for centuries that almost eliminated the sort of poverty

that leads to starvation and accomplished the wonders of technology and in economics. Our

systems have been getting more and more complicated. At the same time, however, problems

still remain. The ups and downs in economy is the term we referred to as business cycle and in

spite of the problems, people continue to use resources with skill, to build up factories and

empire that trains and educate workers and managers of the future. Before proceeding to the

proper discussion, let’s take a look back on how we define utilitarianism as “an ethical theory

that argues for the goodness of pleasure and the determination of right behavior based on the

usefulness of the action’s consequences” and consequentialist Jeremy Bentham proposed

utilitarianism by arguing that our action are governed by two sovereign masters which he

referred to as “pleasure” and “pain”. And when properly addressed, these, along with such

concerns as honesty and efficiency in government, education for all, willingness for all to devote

energies for improvement, doing away with wars and hunger, enlightened awareness of

national needs, realization of such values as cooperation, unity and faith in God – all these

endow us hope for one world and realization of our dreams – perhaps, utilitarianism as a future

envisioned. In lieu of this subject, let us consider Bentham’s suggestions and may this be

consider as a case study in regards of justifying the regulations in terms of legal versus illegal

business. However, this critique is not necessarily normative, in the sense that this should be

the case, but may also stem from the observation that this is how societies do and will function.

But for this case study, this utilitarian critique raises the queries whether human rights are

either absolute or inalienable.

Discussion

The ivory trade debate has become a huge consideration in regards of utilitarianism for

it involves the exchange of greater profit for the good of people in a certain society. The term

“ivory” in this case study refers to a natural resources which includes organisms who possesses

tusks and horns such as Elephants (Elephantidae) and Rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae) and is

basically occurring in the African states such as Kenya, Somalia, Libya and a few state in Asia as

lead by China. Utilitarianism has played a very delicate role in the society’s market for the factor

inputs and outputs and market commodities. However, exchange depends on the value of a

thing that is what it may be exchanged for. An ivory of 10 lbs. for example that’ll be traded in

exchange of millions of dollars would pay as double as the price of an actual ivory and that

2
Government would able to sustain a great number of families in a society. But people usually

speak of the value of things in terms of money – that is, by stating a price. Business

utilitarianism always deploy cooperative marketing for the betterment of international trading to

suffice the needs and desires of people in a certain society. In no other area is that

interdependence more greatly felt than in the field of economics. And trade economics goes by

in many names and is sometimes called foreign trade. And foreign trade can be in the form of

legal or illegal exploitation. And nations that have no formal diplomatic ties and lack of the

authorization of such organization is subject to become an enemy and could be interdependent

in dishonest way whereas some refer to as piracy in terms of business. As per of 18th century to

the generation of 21st century, clothing, weapons and other equipment are being extracted from

organismal coverings and structures that lead to a global phenomenon of standing in the way of

governments or societies sacrificing individual or minority of any sort of living organisms’

interests in favour of the collective, and it is the bulwark of human rights. This exploitation were

established and implemented additional measures in order to maintain barriers to the

international transfer of goods, particularly free market deregulation. Participants in the

movement stand in opposition to the unregulated political power of large, multi-national

corporations, as the corporations exercise power through leveraging trade agreements which in

some instances damage the democratic rights of citizen, the environment, as well as national

government’s sovereignty. Such efforts generally involve illegal process or actions taken by a

state in order to demonstrate its democratic decision-making as good for the greatest number

of the society. However, these qualities of human rights may not standing up under the light of

probing scrutiny. Human rights are particularly vulnerable to challenges from both utilitarianism

and cultural relativism and is being blinded by the consequences abided by the international law

in accordance with United Nations and is being monitored by CITES (the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species). The elevation of the extreme happiness for the

greatest number cannot validate some violation of an individual's welfare, if that individual has

a right to the benefit, the most basic utilitarian critique of human rights lies in the assertion that

resources are scarce in any society, and especially limited in some parts of the globe. This

scarcity inexorably clues to utilitarian controls to allot those resources in a way that will spread

and maximize the greatest good. Given that thousands of elephants are being murdered to

extract ivories and tusks and is being traded internationally making the price doubled for the

good of the country’s economic status is worth of castigation denounced as discordant and

3
an item of trade since pre-history, and it is use is deeply ingrained in many cultures. Its allure

may diminish, but won’t disappear. Prohibiting legal ivory commerce drives demand into the

black market, leaving trade solely in the hands of criminals. But ivory exchange in an open

market is a terror in the equilibrium state of biological status where millions of price of a piece

of ivory couldn’t afford the lives of every dead elephants and rhinoceros. But if people would

consider a clean strategy of extracting such ivory product with accordance to ban poaching,

there’d still be a significant supply of ivory from elephants that die from natural mortality.

Another objection is based on the view that individuals are not important and only have value in

their contribution to the aggregate happiness of all members of the society taken together.

Perhaps the most telling critique of efforts to settle utilitarianism with human rights is that the

resolutions proposed may end up leading not to universal human rights but to cultural

relativism. One ultimate query is whether all societies would agree on who is meant by 'humans'

to which rights apply? Even if one can move beyond these fundamental disputes, cultural

relativism persists as a thorny obstacle when it comes to deciding what particular benefits

should be protected within the human rights rubric. Back to the economic discussion of ivory

trading, to comprehend the government’s role in economy, some activities and how they affect

the other sectors of economy must be analyzed. The main utilitarian goal of government is to

provide service essential to the functioning and maintenance of society which are inadequately

provided for by the private sectors. But ivory trading case in a deceitful way would make and

conclude one state or nation as corrupt. If these countries are so untrustworthy that regulating

illegal trade with them would be and should be excluded in terms of trade balance. Having an

extremely capital to suffice for the greatest number is not necessarily favorable, it could be that

a country that imports more and exports less finds such arrangements more advantageous to

its economy. The ultimate authority to make the most important choices with respect to

exercising that right cannot rest with someone else - either the state, another individual, or

some entity - but must be able to be reclaimed and exercised by the individual whose right is at

stake. At issue is whether the state can claim command over the lives of its inhabitants and

sacrifice them in the interests of the state. It would seem the state can, if there is an absolute

human right that protects an individual's life. One might say there is a better reason for

conscription if a certain state allow its open-season for ivory hunting, on the grounds of a

collective self-defense. But what is desired for, is the law the supports agreement however

there is none, so ivory trading business is illegal and therefore it must be abolished.

4
Analysis

The students would like to elaborate their knowledge in regards with business

utilitarianism that ought to make assumptions on what they can contribute in a current issue

that deals with illegal exploitation. The students envisioned the future as a safe and prosperous

predicament. They ought to figure out if humans are absolute or inalienable. Through and

through as students of the future for the profession of medicine, the aim is to descry the

unfathomable situation in our society that is in dire need of profound and in-depth of analyzing

in order to make themselves and the globe as one world, one dream to promote peace and

tolerate freedom of rightness engaging Science, Humanity and Mathematics to provide rational

and logical assumptions and to suffice the needs and desires of millions of every living

organisms. In the form of ivory trading as a utilitarianism, it is indeed that this issue is not

favorable. Thousands of animals are being killed every year for the ivory trading, which results

to illegal by the heartless people and it is considered such exploitations to be a crime. Many

people believed that ivory trading is largely responsible for our world, but it is a mistake. Can

you imagine that animals will died just because of what we can get on them? Animals can help

us in a right way, some can produce food for us to eat, to have some products for us to sell etc.

Instead of killing and torture the animals, we should give them a protection against the

criminal. Animals are uniquely important to places where they belong to live. Animals help to

reshape our beautiful landscape and etc. Can we imagine that no longer animals living in this

world? Did you know that they are rarely important to protect our variety of life in biodiversity.

Others will kill animals just because for display materials and many more that related on this.

Some may want ivory materials as a symbols of their perspective. Do you think that from this

way we can help the world through killing animals? For me it absolutely wrong. You just

decreased the number of animals that we can give importance to our work. This form is not

valid, and I'm not in favor, because killing animals of different species is illegal and it results to

extinction of some species in the world rapidly. With all of these arguments revealed and

discussed, the ivory business trade should be deemed as a form of an unethical entrepreneurial

scheme, given the exception of extracting the said product from naturally deceased elephants

and rhinoceros. The practice have been preceding for a considerably taxing amount of time and

the cycle arrived to a point that there would be critical dangers in human rights, ecological

balance, and the economic status of the country or countries involved with the trade. Whether

products needed for certain cultural practices. This is where the conflict arise, when the

5
standard of what is ethically correct or not are changed according to the cultures norms.

Concerning the labor and economic sector, manpower are hired for the job regardless

of the unethical setting of the trade and this sets the mentality of the neglecting of utilitarian

approach towards employment and will possibly have greater effects to the society. Though we

could not blame these said laborers because their ideals are set towards their need that could

be sustained by this business, thus the intervention should come from a greater powerful

authority to regulate these anomalies.

Moreover, the dangers of the trade are not just directly to those organisms who

possess tusks such as elephants and rhinoceros, but also other animals living in the ecosystem

because of the constant disruption of their habitat. Comprehending this would mean that the

great risk in ecological status are beyond alarming and should be addressed accordingly, thus a

utilitarian approach to this would be the consideration of the ivory business trade to be illegal.

Above all, utilitarianism could be both viewed as a challenge and an intervention depending on

how it would be imposed. In this case study, the ivory trading business should be intervened by

utilitarianism where it weighs the better good basing on ethical standards. The great need to

illegalize the ivory trading business should be addressed or else humanity and its environment

and economy will incrementally collapse.

Light a candle and stand to those who came before men!

6
Courtesy of the Following:

Beyond Sacrificial Harm: A Two-Dimensional Model of Utilitarian Psychology

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5900580/ [retrieved: Sept. 15,

2019]

Ivory Trade Debate: Should the Global Ban on Ivory Be Lifted?

(https://e360.yale.edu/features/point_the_case_for_a_legal_ivory_trade_it_coul

d_help_stop_the_slaughter) [retrieved: Sept. 15, 2019]

National Geographic’s Original Documentary: Racing Extinction (2015) [Directed

by: Louie Psihoyos; Produced by National Geographic and Discovery Channel;

Elaborations by: J. Goodall, E. Musk, J. Sartore., et al] [Retrieved: January 18, 2016

& applied Sept. 15, 2019]