Of rights, wrongs and buying cat food

In one of the threads where I lurk, the question was asked:

Is academic writing ethical?

Down in the thread, the question was expanded. Is it ethical to write school papers for students? The great and vast majority of the writers chiming in said no. Two offered a bit of wit in their reply which could go either way to yes or to no, depending interpretations.

Me? I sezed:

Ethics and morals are pretty much the same in one sense. What is ethical and moral for you is not for someone else and vice versa.

You must live with yourself. 

If you do not try to force your ethics and morals on me, I shall do the same to you.

I have no issues with writing academic papers for students. 

YMMV.

So far no one has assailed me as the newest spawn of Satan, but I am certain several of the commentators thought that way.

One commentator said it is unethical and could get a student expelled.

Yes, that could happen. If so, that's a risk the student totally accepted in hiring someone to write a paper for him.

The ethics of the situation remain a personal matter.

In case you don't wonder, students have hired people to write papers for them since the first instructor demanded a student turn in a "research" paper. University professors in particularly hate it, which amuses me immensely. That's a subject for another post.

SHOW ME ON THIS DOLL

Those of a libertarian mindset like to say "No victim, no crime." A victim must be a living, breathing entity. A victim cannot be "the state," or "government" or a corporation, etc. Another way of putting it is: "Show me on this doll where you were harmed." Property damage is a crime.

Injury must be tangible. "Feelings" are not tangible. The L-crowd says no one is responsible for your feelings except you.

So who was harmed?

The school? No. The building and infrastructure remain intact.

The teacher? How? If anything, when a student hires someone to write a paper, that reflects on the teacher's ability to reach the student in question and instill a desire to learn about the subject. 

The taxpayers footing the bill for the student's education? Again, how. Can you prove economic damages?

The student? The student hired someone to perform a task. Provided the task was done to specs, how was anyone harmed? You say the student did not learn anything.

Au contraire! The student learned an extremely valuable lesson, far more valuable than learning about poor plotting and deus ex machina in the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs (a term paper I actually did write for myself thankyouverymuchforasking).

The student learned capitalism beats socialism unless socialism is backed up by a gun.

A KINDER GENTLER MACHINE GUN IN HAND

Not backed up by a gun you say? Maybe not a physical gun in this case but certainly government-endorsed violence. A kinder, gentler machine gun in the hands of a kind person kills just as thoroughly as the same gun in the hands of a psychopath.

As one of the thread commentators says, "As an educator, a university sponsored (sic) help center will have strict ethical guidelines of what they can and cannot do. If a student hires a private individual to edit, write, etc, in their stead, it is both unethical and grounds for expulsion."

Violence. Officially endorsed violence. Expulsion is an action against a student that has provable economic harm. Is this OK because it is endorsed, encoded and legal violence?

Welllllll...

VIOLATION OF CONTRACT

This writing for hire COULD be a violation of a contract. Did the student agree to write his own paper? Did the student agree that hiring someone to write the paper is grounds for expulsion?

If so, this is a contract violation and the student is subject to the penalties of the contract. Again, this is a far more valuable lesson than having to research whatever the teacher wants examined. Again, the student learned about capitalism in a very direct and personal way.

Violence, yes, but violence explicitly agreed to beforehand. Not violence foisted on the student by the dictates of others.

If the student gets away with it, as most do, another valuable lesson is learned.

Money talks. Period. Even in a socialist society, capitalism will exist. It may be on the black market, but it's gonna be there and will not be stopped. The student learns to navigate the shady side of the economy. That is certainly a more important lesson than explaining what a dirty loaf of bread in Chaucer signifies. (Shoot me a message and I'll tell ya what it means).

KITTY GOTTA EAT

Sooner or later someone has to buy cat food, 'cause Kitty gotta eat. Last time I checked, stores that sell cat food insist on some form of cash. Students who choose to hire someone to write their papers have a choice. They could do the work and buy cat food or they could hire someone and not buy cat food.

Is this kind of write-for-hire unethical? Might be. Might not be. Ethics are a personal matter.

Ethics are wonderful, great and a needed stabilizing force in the world. Ethics don't pay rent, insurance premiums or the light bill. Money does.

Gotta find a balance in there.

Kitty gotta eat.

ONE LAST THING

If you are a student looking for someone to write a paper for you, shoot me a message. I know someone, not me, who does it. Whether or not it is ethical is up to you.