Would You Press the Button?

     There is a big red button if front of you. If you press this button, cancer will be cured. Wars stop, and so does world hunger. Humans may still have some problems, but suffering for billions of people ceases. Plus, another cause specific to your preferences are solved. Maybe factory farming ends, or climate change, or racism. Take your pick. So, there is this big red button is in front of you, and if you press it, a lot of really, really good things happen. Things that you could by no means accomplish in your lifetime, things so good that your decision to press the button will be the single most important and beneficial decision to humanity so far in human history. Don't overthink this and make excuses as to why maybe this wouldn't be a good thing (ex: well, if cancer wasn't a thing there would be overpopulation, etc.) No. I am telling you that it will be really, really good for the rest of the world if you press the button. However, there is a catch. If you press the button, you die. Instantly. Now, here comes the question.

Would you press the button?

    Contemplate this for a minute. This is an interesting question. It a personal question, one that reflects how much you truly value your life. However, I think there is a more important question. 

If you don't press the button, are you a horrible person? 

    Through your inaction, your refusal to make a sacrifice, billions will suffer around the world. You will maybe only enjoy another seventy or eighty years on the planet, yet you would choose this over the happiness and preferences of the entire world. Should we condemn you for being so selfish? Should we shun you, should doing such a selfish thing be considered worse than any crime you have heard of?

    If I was given a choice between my life and that of a family member, the decision is simple. If it meant one of my family members should live on, I would end my life without hesitation. Given the choice between my life and that of five strangers, I would pick my life. This is logically consistent with how I live my life, given all of the things that I fail to do for other people. Given the choice between my life and the lives of a thousand strangers, how should I choose? These questions matter. If utilitarianism is really a good moral guide, inaction is morally bad. Refusing to press the button is an objectively bad decision, and we should all be shamed for making the decision. It has been true for all of human history that martyrdom is noble. It is an act of heroism that should be celebrated. Giving up your life so that others may live is extremely honorable. But maybe, just maybe, it is actually required.