Moral Thinkers & Philosophers

The “end” is the goal, the destination. The “means” are the resources and preparation you use to get there. The means-ends debate is a paramount ethical dilemma. On one hand, there are proponents of consequentialism and utilitarianism who are in favour of ends over means, on the other hand, there are proponents of virtue ethics and deontology who believe in the importance of means over ends. The abovementioned quote is of Mahatma Gandhi stressing on the importance of means over ends.

Difference Between Means And Ends

Means Vs Ends In Politics

1. For “we the people of India”, the goal in politics and governance is practice “Democracy”. To realise this ‘end’, Election is an important ‘mean’.
2. According to the ADR report, in the 2019 general elections, 43% of the MPs with criminal records were elected for Lok sabha as compared to 2014 where 34% of elected MPs were criminal.
3. ‘Means’ of Money and Muscle power is being used to reach the ‘end’ that is democracy. Unless we cleanse the ‘means’ we will not be able to take the ‘end’ of democracy till the last person in the strata of society.

Means Vs Ends In Economy

1. Development and modernisation are the goals of every economic entity. But to achieve these ‘ends’, toxic ‘means’ of exploitation of natural resources are being taken by putting the environment at risk.
2. It is not only harming the climate and biodiversity but also puts the future of humanity in danger.
3. Unless we adopt sustainable ‘means’ of development, no amount of modernisation and technological developments will be able to save the globe from disastrous ‘ends’.

Means Vs Ends In Administration

1. The Food Security Act aims to eradicate hunger from India. While millions of people go hungry every day, hundreds of tonnes of food grains rot in the godowns of India.
2. Recently a woman died in Odisha due to hunger, she was denied ration because she was not able to produce Adhaar Card, a mandatory document required to avail the benefit.
3. Similarly, establishing law and order, eradicating rape and violence against women are the ‘ends’ to be reached, and ‘means’ adopted for it are simply not registering the cases. No FIRs means no crime..!

Why Methods/Means Alone Matter; Why Not The Ends?

1. Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” This quote implies that it is the means, that is planning and its execution, that defines the ends, merely fixing the high targets and dreaming will not lead to success.
2. Gandhi’s life is the best case study for all of us. He always focussed on “means” irrespective of “ends”. Be it his works in South Africa or India, he chose the paths of Ahimsa and Satyagraha. His means were always morally correct and properly planned irrespective of the concern for failure or success at the end.
3. During the Indian National Movement, Gandhi called off the non-cooperation movement due to the incident of Chauri Chaura. For movement, he adopted the ‘means’ of non-violence. When ‘means’ turned violent he called off the movement because violence can never result in peaceful ‘ends’.
4. Jinnah’s aim was the partition of India. To reach this end he and his supporters followed the path of violence. They successfully achieved their goals, but at the cost of hundreds of broken families and blood of millions of innocent people. People on both the sides of the border are still suffering due to Jinnah’s priority of ‘ends’ over ‘means’.

When the means justify the ends, ethical consideration focuses on what you do, not the consequences of what you’ve done. Gandhi observed that “Noble Goals can be achieved only through Noble Means”. His Seven Sins philosophy also emphasises on the Importance of Means. For example, in the list of sins – Politics without Principles, Wealth without Work, Worship without Sacrifice, etc, the former are the ends whereas the latter symbolises means which imply that Ends are of lesser value without the desired means. Therefore with all the above arguments and observations, we can say that to reach the wishes of the people, we must follow moral and just means.