Lifeboat Ethics is a metaphor by Garrett Hardin published in 1974; there Hardin takes the example of a lifeboat with 50 people but only has space for ten. In the excerpt, and in the text in general, Hardin points out that there are not enough resources for all the people who need them, particularly when he points out that two thirds of the nations are desperately poor while the other third is extremely rich. At the end, he reinforces the idea by mentioning that it is necessary to "recognize the limited capacity of a lifeboat."
