The Problem with the Buttons, the Trolley, and other Morality Hypotheticals
The trolley problem has existed for a long time. The button problem has existed for.... awhile. And I think ultimately, what both of these and other hypotheticals have taught us is... these games are no way to actually discuss morality or come together as a group.
Discussions of these problems don't actually advance our understanding of morality, or how to apply morality in society, because they are impossible situations. There is never going to be a scenario in which the buttons happen, there is never going to be a real world trolley problem. Not one that exists in a vacuum like the problem suggests. And I think these problems are tempting and fun to argue about, because there is no real world consequences for arguing with strangers about how to deal with an impossible, useless scenario. Nobody learns anything. Instead, we both yell at each other, call each other stupid, and sow division and encourage tribalism over something useless. We don't actually learn how to deal with the problems we are facing in this world.
Before the button problem, I hated the trolley problem. Because, there is no nuance, and no sense. Who is tying people to train tracks? Where would this scenario every apply in real life? It encourages people to decide who deserves to be deprioritized instead of questioning the systems that require someone to suffer at the expense of others in the first place.
I may be a red buttoner, but at the end of the day, blue buttoners aren't my enemy. I disagree with them, sure, but this is nothing more than a game. A silly game, that doesn't prepare any of use for actual moral concerns or help us collaborate on making the world a better place. It's easier to play these games than to try to improve the world. And, while there is nothing wrong with playing these games, we shouldn't mistake them for actual discussions of morality, ethics, and harm reduction. The real world is a lot more complicated than a button.