SUS1501
Assignment 5 Semester 2 2024
Detailed Solutions, References & Explanations
Unique number:
Due Date: 16 September 2024
1. BACKGROUND FACTS
• “In the first 6 months of 2024, the six wealthiest men in South Africa gained on average R77 million
per day each.”
• “60% of the world’s cobalt is mined in the DRC. Significant amounts of this is mined under appalling
conditions often by child labourers.”
• “Of the top 10 wealthiest people (all men), seven are tech billionaires. Their net worth is US$ 847
billion or ZAR 13 trillion!”
2. INTRODUCTION (written for me by Prof Eccles)
In assignments 2, 3 and 4 we have, as a group, reflected on the facts above. We debated whether it was ok for
wealthiest six South Africans to earn on average R 77 million a day for the first six months of 2024. Some of us thought
this was a reflection of their business brilliance. Some of us thought that this was morally outrageous.
We then debated the issue children working in appalling conditions in cobalt mines in the DRC. Although most of us
thought that this was a problem, we saw how other ethical interpretations were possible.
And in the final analysis we considered the possibility that these two scenarios – great wealth and great poverty –
might in fact be linked. On the basis of this, we debated whether the whole picture looked ok. I think it is safe to say
that most of us were left feeling a bit uneasy about things.
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