Greater Good

It was for the greater good.

He turned over the next page, looking at the lists. Pig farmers, dairy farmers, sheep herders. They'd all done what they'd been ordered. They'd all opened their gates and walked away. everyone had agreed that it was the right thing to do.

They would find other work - even though this had been all they'd done their whole life. Even though some of them owned land that had only been suitable for pastoral farming. The sheep herders especially. All that upland space - hardly supporting grass. But what was material wealth and worth in the grand scheme of things? Why should human life be more valuable that that of an animal? If one child starved to death, why was that worth more than the life of a lamb?

People understood. It was for the greater good. All around the world, people acted for the greater good. And rejoiced in it.