Following the aftermath of the Katrina Hurricane in New Orleans, there seems to be a lot of articles going around trying to justify or castigate the looting, as seen on a TV channel near you. Roger Cohen wrote an interesting article in today's International Herald Tribune, entitled "Prerogative of the poor, or a sign of the times". Most ethicists always exclude survival cases from the debate. Many people would agree that stealing food and water was OK, but might draw the line at other things like electrical goods (not necessary for survival). Cohen cites Mark Bernstein, a professor of applied ethics at Purdue University, who sums it up by saying that obligations to family members take precedence over obligations to property owners in certain circumstances. The key here is the "certain circumstances". There are voices being raised that claim that stealing TV's is permissible because some people see others who are more affluent and want the same things. Prof Bernstein calls this a fraying of moral responsibility. The French of course see it differently... Alain Finkielkraut, a French philosopher, says that wehn an oppressed people have a revolting reaction, we (the French) are incapable of saying that. All we say is that they react that way because they are oppressed.