Commentary: Guidelines for rationing resemble process of family decision making

摘要

The origin of the verb "to ration" conies from the Latin ratio to reason. Rationing, or providing guidelines for the use of resources, is a profoundly human activity, arising from our capacity to reason, especially our capacity to reason with an eye to the future and plan accordingly. Because rationing is a human act, it participates in the moral character of all such acts. Therefore the effort to ration resources can be unjust, morally neutral, or a virtue, depending on the motives of those rationing, the qualities of the item to be rationed, and the goals and purposes of providing a plan for allocating resources. In all three instances, rationing arouses the most complex concerns about being fair to others with whom we live in community.