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'I'm no historian,' said Harry. 'But morals are morals. What's unethical here and now is unethical anywhere, anytime.' 'Kane, you're wrong. It is ethical to execute a man for theft?' 'Of course.' 'Did you know that there was once a vastly detailed science of rehabilitation for criminals? It was a branch of psychology, naturally, but it was by far the largest such branch. By the middle of century twenty-one, nearly two-thirds of all criminals could eventually be released as cured.' 'That's silly. Why go to all that trouble when the organ banks must have been crying for - Oh. I see. No organ banks.'

Larry Niven#19

About this quote

What does it mean?
Ethical standards evolve, and past practices like organ bank execution seem monstrous today.
In plain terms
Morals change; what was acceptable isn't now.
What can you take from it?
Current ethics may

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