Weapon development contract - moral objection?

[Dj_Jestar]

My sister did exactly this, working for MOD contracts designing new weapons. She left after just a few months because of this very question of morality.

A lot of them take solice in the fact that the better the weapon, the less people it will kill.

 

[Mucky_Pup]

"who cares, show me the money"

 

[Allnamestaken]

Sewer workers earn a lot OF MONEY!

 

[EvilOne]

My sister did exactly this, working for MOD contracts designing new weapons. She left after just a few months because of this very question of morality.

A lot of them take solice in the fact that the better the weapon, the less people it will kill.

Depends if the MOD sells it to both sides in a war... Wouldnt be the 1st time.

 

[Brian8bit]

A lot of them take solice in the fact that the better the weapon, the less people it will kill.

You wonder how did Oppenheimer sleep at night.

 

[Cosimo]

I wouldn’t have a problem with taking the job.

 

[Dj_Jestar]

Depends if the MOD sells it to both sides in a war... Wouldnt be the 1st time.

They were fully aware that their products were going to other nations as well as blighty. My latter comment simply meant that the better the weapon, the more accurate it is, thus the less collateral damage and wounded.

For example designing missiles/bombs that were so accurate, they only need a minimal charge to destroy its target and not raze a block.

 

[Thunderbolt]

Take the money and do it, if its really good money you could hand some over to a war charity. Which would be better then ignoring it, that would help no one.

This will hopefully be my line of work, I'm currently pushing my university to let me do a defence project as part of my M level study.

I usually don't bother with charities as I think they're generally corrupt, however when I am earning, and if on a defence project I will make an effort to research charities and donate to a relevant war charity, I think that's a really good idea.

On another note, its well known that the large quantity of spending and investment of money on defence projects and research aids civilian engineering projects. In fact there are great opportunities for someone like you to suggest how the defence technology can be used for civilian use.

 

[Mr Jack]

A lot of them take solice in the fact that the better the weapon, the less people it will kill.

Yeah, that's just not true though, is it? The asymmetry of warfare is what lets out boys slaughter thousands of Afghans and Iraqis for very little come back. If our equipment was matched by theirs, there would have been no war in either country.

 

[Participant]

My sister did exactly this, working for MOD contracts designing new weapons. She left after just a few months because of this very question of morality.

What changed between her accepting the job and subsequently deciding that her morals would not let her continue?

 

[Dunks]

What changed between her accepting the job and subsequently deciding that her morals would not let her continue?

Maybe she thought she'd get over her morals but it didn't happen?

 

[The Mad Rapper]

Would you work, for good money, on a defence contract that is basically a weapons system that can only be used offensively?

I would. I have used weapons, so have no moral grounds to object to working on a build contract.

 

[Judgeneo]

I think its a brilliant opportunity. If you don't research it, someone else will, and in the long run your work will become useful to the masses. Go for it!

 

[eggyoke]

Yes I would, and I'd find it quite interesting tbh.

I'm not the one pressing the button to murder. At the end of the day we live in a world where this **** goes on all the time. Its not like if I object to taking the work its suddenly going to stop happening. No it'll continue forever, but if I can make money (in tough financial times) in creating weapons, then yes I would. Either way someones going to take the job.

 

[platypus]

"I am become death, destroyer of worlds [sic]."

Hard to say really. If you can design weapons, should you also be able to use weapons? Could you kill someone in cold blood? In the heat of the moment? Difficult question without a simple answer.

 

[Abraham]

I would, and in fact applied for one recently, was too late to be considered unfortunately, looked a decent job, working for a good company, for a very decent rate.

 

[Gaijin]

I have a friend who works for a defence firm down here who have get a lot of stick from activists as they design missile/bomb release mechanisms for combat aircraft.

He refers to it as "the bomb factory" and has to deal with activists calling him every name under the sun everytime he enters or leaves the place. So I guess it doesn't bother him too much.

Coincidentally I work on the same team as a guy who lives with one of the ringleaders of the activists who allegedly smashed the the premises of the company up once.

Funnily enough, Thales, who are up in Crawley don't get half as much stick as his company. Life sucks when you are a stone's throw from two universities.

Happy days.

 

[Brian8bit]

Coincidentally I work on the same team as a guy who lives with one of the ringleaders of the activists who allegedly smashed the the premises of the company up once.

Happy days.

I hope you reported that domestic terrorist to the proper authorities.

 

[Participant]

Stupid soap dodgers should get a job.

 

[The Running Man]

Missiles will be launched from helicopters regardless of my input... so if I got involved and increased their accuracy by 2%, I could be saving lives (trying to stop ~collateral damage~ [awful term])...

thats what the treblinka guards said (in a paraphrased manner) because if 'i' wasnt the guardsman, or the executioner, well someone else would be wouldnt they...

but yes why not?