Portfolio Assignment

SUS1501 – Sustainability and Greed

Student Number: 32768664
Date: 09 May 2023
Teaching Assistant Name:

Declaration:

By submitting this portfolio, I implicitly declare that this is my own work except for the
“Introduction” which was kindly written for me by my lecturer.

I am aware that if ANY unacknowledged copying is detected in ANY answer, I will get 0 (zero)
for the entire assignment.

Instructions:

• Please read the instructions on myUnisa carefully.

• Please download the most up-to-date version of this template from the additional resources
tool on myUnisa.

• Go through the MCQs again, and record your current choice in the template (we suggest that
you don’t look at your original choices before you have been through all questions)

• For each question, record your original choice in assignment 1.

• Write a note of AT LEAST 100 words for each of the five (5) questions that are written in red.

• Write a note of AT LEAST 100 words each for any other five (5) questions of your choice.

• Write your conclusion of AT LEAST 500 words

• Somewhere within your notes and/or conclusion there must be references to the major theories
that we covered (deontology, consequentialism, distributive justice, virtue ethics and
environmental ethics).

• Your notes and conclusion should also make reference to discussions with fellow students that
you found meaningful.
 • Save the file as a Word document with a short name (myUnisa will reject files with long names).

• Submit this file into the Assignments tool on myUnisa.

• Take a screen grab of the final submission acknowledgement on myUnisa and save this
somewhere safe in case of any disputes.

• Check under the Assignments tool that there is a date in the “Processed” cell for the SUS1501
Portfolio.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST – i.e. if you do not fulfill ALL of these you will NOT pass this
portfolio:

1. Correct template version used

2. All 20 multiple choice question original answers captured

3. All 20 multiple choice question answers now captured

4. Notes for the five (5) questions in red

5. Notes for AT LEAST five (5) other questions of your choice

6. Each note AT LEAST 100 words long

7. Conclusion present

8. Conclusion AT LEAST 500 words long

 Introduction

My aim in compiling this portfolio was to reflect on the things that have struck me throughout
this crazy module.

My starting point for doing this was to revisit my opinions to the multiple choice questions
which were presented in the Crossroads assignment. I present these current opinions, together
with my original opinions, and some brief notes in the section entitled: “Back at the
Crossroads!”

Once I have done this, I draw some key conclusions about this crazy module and about the
things that did indeed strike me.

Back at the Crossroads!

1. (YOU MUST WRITE NOTES ON THIS QUESTION) "The wealth of the few depends upon the poverty
of many." My personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. So long as I am amongst the few I don't care

b. This is just not true – the rich are simply more “diligent, intelligent, and above all frugal”.

c. This is just not true – if it were not for the generous wealthy, the poor would be even poorer
than they are.

d. This is absolutely true – there is only so much wealth in the world at any one moment so if
one person has more than their share someone else has to have less than their share.

e. This is absolutely true and given how much poverty there is we ought to do something
about it.

Choice now: E

Choice in assignment 1: D

Notes: With our limited resources other people will want acquire more wealth at the expense of
others. Those who are currently wealthy are not satisfied with what they have already have but will
want to acquire more wealth. The so-called wealthy people don’t care about the well-being of those
who are poor. My ideally situation is that there should be a way to redistribute the wealth equal
amongst all people. The wealthy people should contribute half of their wealth to the needy. People
should stop to be greedy and start sharing with the others for the betterment of the society.

2. (YOU MUST WRITE NOTES ON THIS QUESTION) "Save the rhino!!" My personal opinion on this
statement is most closely described by:

a. Who cares?

b. Let the people who want to use this resource pay to protect it.

c. We have bigger problems than worrying about rhinos.

d. We must save the rhinos for our children.

e. We must save the rhinos because it is the right thing to do.

Choice now: E

Choice in assignment 1: E

Notes: Rhinos are one of the species that we are sharing the earth with. If we don’t take necessary
steps to protect the rhinos, we are heading to a situation where all the species are at risk of being
extinct and the question will be what next? Once we are done with the animals then logically the
existence of humankind will be at risk as well. We are the only ones who can protect other fellow
species and we should do what is necessary to save them from being extinct.

3. (YOU MUST WRITE NOTES ON THIS QUESTION) “In order to have the continued opportunity to
express their ‘generosity,’ the oppressors must perpetuate injustice as well.” (Paulo Freire) My
personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. This is crazy ‘commie’ nonsense from Freire – it’s a disgrace that Unisa allows this rubbish to
appear in its official study material.

b. This is rubbish - if it were not for the essential goodness of the wealthy, the lives of the poor
would be so much worse than they already are.

c. So let me get this straight – Freire is saying that in order for some to continue being
generous (like Bill Gates), wealth AND poverty need to be sustained? I’m going to have to
think about this.

d. Freire is absolutely right - all this ‘generosity’ just makes rich people look like the heroes
when actually they are the villains.

e. How can you possibly say something as ungrateful as option d?

Choice now: D

Choice in assignment 1: D

Notes: Freire is absolutely right, the so-called charity contributions by the rich people is nothing but
spitting into the face of the poor. Poor people need to be uplifted from their current situation they are
in not the act or ‘generosity’ which the rich people are performing. It is better to teach a man to fish
rather than to feed him so that he will not depend on your ‘generosity’ at all times. It is wrong for the
rich to play Father Christmas instead of whereas they can make a different by sharing their wealth
with the poor.

4. (YOU MUST WRITE NOTES ON THIS QUESTION) “In capitalism, profit happens when the capitalist
pays labour x for their labour which is worth x+p. p then is profit.” My personal opinion on this
statement is most closely described by:

a. So what you are saying is that profit is the result of expropriation without compensation? I
can see the truth in this when I look at who gets rich and who gets poor.

b. That is a really interesting perspective which I hadn’t thought about before.

c. Rubbish.

d. Rubbish. Profit comes from innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit, and intense hard work by
the capitalist class.

e. This is fine - without profit there is no capitalism and it is capitalism that bring wealth to
humanity as a whole.

Choice now: E

Choice in assignment 1: E

Notes: Capitalism is by nature about employing resources to make a profit. We can’t talk of capitalism
without a profit. The capitalists will always try to maximus the profit paying less for other factors of
production. Profit is the main reason why capitalists’ venture into the business in the first place.
Capitalists, most of the times they tend to exploit labour to make a profit.

5. (YOU MUST WRITE NOTES ON THIS QUESTION) “Even before COVID, one out of every five South
Africans lived below the food poverty line.” My personal opinion on this statement is most closely
described by:

a. Who cares?

b. If population growth rates of the poor were not so high they wouldn’t be so poor.
 c. If they worked harder, they wouldn't be so poor.

d. This is sad, but to be honest, it is not going to stop me from focusing on my own wellbeing
first.

e. I think that we must all strive to eliminate poverty together.

Choice now: E

Choice in assignment 1: E

Notes: Poverty is one of the major social issues that is affecting our country. The main reason is that
our resources are owned by the few people whose objectives is to make profit at any cost without
worrying about the well being of the poor people. The state should play its role by making sure all
people have at least received a social income if they fell below the minimum standard of being define
as being poor. All people should be able to afford their basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing.

6. “Investment under neo-colonialism increases rather than decreases the gap between rich and poor
countries.” (Kwame Nkrumah) My personal opinion on this statement, is most closely described by:

a. Get over colonialism now!!!!

b. It’s irresponsible messages like these that frighten foreign investors away from Africa.

c. Colonialism died off decades ago. Why are you still talking about this.

d. Absolutely. As Thomas Sankara said: “debt is a cleverly managed re-conquest of Africa”

e. This is all managed through ratings agencies who have much more say in the decisions a
government takes than the citizens of the country.

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

7. “60% of the world’s cobalt is mined in the DRC. Significant amounts of this is mined under appalling
conditions often by child labourers.” My personal opinion on this statement is most closely
described by:

a. What’s cobalt got to do with to me?

b. The DRC is a long way from where I live so I don’t really care.
 c. This is just a fact of global supply chains and necessary for global economic growth, which is
in everyone’s best interest.

d. I wonder who is profiting out of this?

e. It breaks my heart to see children exploited. This is morally wrong and must not be allowed.

Choice now: E

Choice in assignment 1: E

Notes: Exploitation of children for profit makes me extremely angry. Cobalt mining might be good for
economic growth, but it does not mean that children right have to be violated to achieve in order to
achieve it. DRC might be depending in the mining of cobalt, which is benefitting their country’s
economy, but they have a duty to protect their children from being exploited for the sake of the
economy. Other countries that are using cobalt should stop purchasing cobalt from DRC until they
stop using children to mine.

8. “Of the top 10 wealthiest people (all men), seven are tech billionaires. Their net worth is US$ 847
billion or ZAR 13 trillion!” My personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. I think that such wealth is utterly immoral when there is so much poverty and suffering in
the world and so active steps should be taken to correct this.

b. These billionaires are all tech visionaries and deserve every cent of their wealth because of
their brilliance.

c. Why would anyone want or need that amount of money?

d. These are my heroes. I aspire to be like them.

e. Bill Gates is one of them and look at how much money he is giving to the poor through the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes: Why would a normal person thought that having billions is okay whereas most of the
population are struggling just to buy a mere bread? Yes, people supposed to be rewarded for their
efforts, but they should be a balance between the rich and the poor. Personal individual wealth
should be governed to balance the equation between the rich and the poor. Remember if you have
more than the others that means you have taken from someone else which is totally wrong.
9. “Show me a great fortune and I’ll show you a great crime.” (a translation from Honoré de Balzac)
My personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. Clearly Balzac had taken too much hashish when he wrote that!

b. It is completely possible to make a fortune by legal means – in fact this is what I intend to do
in my life.

c. I don't care - watch out Elon Musk, here I come!

d. I think that this is absolutely true.

e. Even if great fortunes are acquired in a technically legal way, they are always morally
problematic.

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

10. “It is estimated that humans are consuming natural resource at a rate that is 30% above the renewal
rate. If we continue to consume in this way we are likely to suffer dire consequences which could
include extinction.” My personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast, but I don’t think this is a problem as there
is plenty of time to find technological solutions to problems that emerge

b. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast. The first priority in solving this is to put the
brakes on human population growth.

c. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast. The first priority in solving this is for rich
people to reduce their consumption significantly.

d. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast. And frankly I don’t see any solution
because increasing consumption is the basis of our economic growth.

e. I don’t believe this tale of doom.

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

11. “Imagine you find out that some students get together, buy good assignments from previous years
and submit them as their own.” My personal opinion about this practice is most closely described
by:
 a. I have heard that Unisa might be using sophisticated plagiarism detecting software like
Turnitin and, if this is the case, the chances of getting caught are just too great. I don't want
to get into trouble.

b. Not only will I participate, I am going to be the one who sells assignments next year for cash.

c. I am not sure what the rules say but if this is against the rules I won’t do it.

d. I am not sure what is the right thing to do here or what is expected of me now that I know
this?

e. The problem with cheating is that it undermines everyone's qualification, not just those who
are participating

f. Someone needs to report this because it is intellectual fraud, and that someone is going to
be me.

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes: Cheating is morally wrong. Students are supposed to tackle their assignment based on their
understanding of the subject matter does not present someone else work as their own as this will lead
to have other students’ hard work be taken for granted. The practice of cheating is not only bad for
the individual who is doing but for the other students who are honestly doing their work delicately.
This practice should be discouraged as other the reputation of the institution is at stake. Students
should be encourage to be honest and present their original work in order to protect not only
themselves but their fellow students as well as the institution.

12. “It’s a fact! You cannot expect to have economic growth when there is the threat of expropriation
without compensation.” (van der Merwe) My personal opinion on this statement is most closely
described by:

a. Obviously!

b. I don’t know about economic growth, but those who wrote the Constitution of South Africa
knew what they were doing so private property is sacred and must be respected at all cost.

c. The notion of private property is a western individualist notion.

d. Hmmmm …. you have to admit that the economies of the north grew very handsomely on
the basis of expropriation without compensation? So this is not an immutable natural law.
It's just how the rules are currently structured right?

Choice now:
Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

13. “If the present growth trends in world population, industrialization, pollution, food production, and
resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached
sometime within the next one hundred years. The most probable result will be a rather sudden and
uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity.” (The Limits to Growth, 1972) My
personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. I don’t believe this tale of doom.

b. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast, but I don’t think this is a problem as there
is plenty of time to find technological solutions to problems that emerge

c. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast. The first priority in solving this is to put the
brakes on human population growth.

d. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast. The first priority in solving this is for rich
people to reduce their consumption significantly.

e. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast. The first priority is for poor people to not
have more kids than they can afford.

f. Yes we are consuming natural resources too fast. And frankly I don’t see any solution
because increasing consumption is the basis of our economic growth.

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

14. “Every day some 20,000 children die prematurely from poverty related causes, mostly treatable
diseases.” My personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. Who cares?

b. It’s hard to say it, but given the rising human population, perhaps this is a blessing in
disguise for the human species as a whole

c. It’s hard to say it, but this just means less people competing with me for scarce
opportunities and resources.

d. This is morally wrong, but practically, I think that it would cost too much money to solve
 e. It is morally unacceptable for a single child to die of a preventable disease and we should
collectively fix this irrespective of the cost.

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes: Children are the future, and all efforts should be done in order to protect them. There is no
price that should be attached to the life of a child. If we don’t care of our children, the future of the
humankind is doomed. No matter how rich you are, but you can’t live forever, and the children are
the future regardless of if they were born from the rich or poor people. It is morally wrong to sacrifice
the lives of the children for the sake of the others.

15. “In the 2018/2019 financial year, Bob van Dijk, the CEO of Naspers earned a total remuneration
(salary, incentives and options) of R 1.9 billion.” My personal opinion on this statement is most
closely described by:

a. Good for him – he worked hard to earn this.

b. The only problem I have with this is that this money is in van Dijk’s bank account and not in
mine.

c. No problem with this. I'm sure van Dijk donates huge amounts to charity.

d. I think that it is morally wrong for anyone to earn that much money.

e. I think that active steps should be taken to correct such immoral executive remuneration
practices

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

16. “Why do some people have to be miserably poor in order that others can be extravagantly rich? I
speak for all the children in the world who don't even have a piece of bread.” (Fidel Castro) My
personal opinion on this statement, is most closely described by:

a. Who cares what Castro said? He was an ideological dinosaur anyway.

b. Wealth and poverty are unrelated phenomena.

c. Well perhaps the rich should just stop all their charity and we’ll see where this leaves the
ungrateful poor.
 d. Well on a simple technical level, the answer to this is because poverty and wealth are both
relative so it’s just not possible for there to be someone rich without someone who is
relatively poor.

e. I think this is the wrong question. The right question is: “How do we prevent people being
extravagantly rich while others are miserably poor?”

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

17. “Unless fossil-fuel use slows dramatically, the earth’s average temperature could rise by six degrees
Celsius in the next 100 years.” My personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. Who cares?

b. I don’t believe this climate change nonsense

c. Six degrees will make winters much more bearable to me personally

d. I’m a bit concerned about this, but there is nothing that I can do about it

e. I’m a bit concerned about this, but why should I invest my personal time, effort or money in
solving a general social problem

f. I think that individually we can and should strive to solve this problem for the greater good

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

18. “If arctic ice melting continues, we are likely to see the loss of two thirds of the world's polar bear
population within 50 years.” My personal opinion on this statement is most closely described by:

a. Why should we worry?

b. If it boils down to choosing between driving a luxury SUV and worrying about polar bears I’ll
take the car any day.
 c. While this is sad, polar bears aren’t really very important to my personal welfare which is my
primary concern.

d. While this is sad, polar bears aren’t really very important to general human social welfare.

e. I don’t think polar bears are all that important to human welfare. However, their plight is a
symptom of climate change which is a big problem to future human welfare.

f. I think it is morally unacceptable for humans to put their interests ahead of the rights of
other species like polar bears.

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

19. “Austerity: the billionaires in business have convinced the millionaires in government that the
working poor are the root cause of all problems ” My personal opinion of what should be done, is
most closely described by:

a. As Julius Malema says: “Bloody agents”

b. And then the Houses of Parliament get burned down because ‘the root cause of all
problems’ was solved by the millionaires in government’ retrenching security guards.

c. And then the billionaires in business declare the millionaires in government incompetent
when the Houses of Parliament get burned down.

d. This is typical labour union clap-trap.

e. As Bill Gates says: “If you were born poor it’s not your mistake. But if you die poor it’s your
mistake.”

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes:

20. “Greed is good” (Gordon Gekko) My personal opinion of what should be done, is most closely
described by:

a. It’s not good or bad. It’s just how things are.

b. Absolutely! If it wasn’t for greed we would never achieve anything.

c. I’m not sure. Sometimes I think that it’s good. At other times I think that it’s bad.
 d. It depends on how you define “greed”.

e. Absolutely not! Greed is bad. It leads to much pain and suffering.

Choice now:

Choice in assignment 1:

Notes: Greedy is the root of the problem that the humankind is currently facing. People should strive
to go by with they have, rather wants to amass wealth they don’t actual wants. If every person could
do what they currently have, the world would be a better place for everyone. What is a use for an
individual to have a property costing a lot of money whereas others don’t have even a shelter above
their heads? People should be satisfied with what they have and must not want to acquire which they
not necessary needs.

<NB Note: If your inclination here is to say that having done this module you have decided that greed is
indeed good, then by all means go ahead and defend this. However, if you tell us that the course
material has told you that greed is good, then you are very likely to fail this module. The course material
implicitly states that greed is not good. If you think that the material says otherwise, then you need to
go and read the material again.>

Summary
Number unchanged: <Insert number of questions where the answers were the same here>

Number changed: <Insert number of questions where the answers were different here>

Conclusion

To conclude, looking at the preceding sections of this portfolio, the most important things which I
learned in this module were: <complete this in a few paragraphs.

NB: This should be the most substantial comment in this portfolio and must give us a clear indication
whether you have thought deeply about this module. It should be at least 500 words long. >
What I have learnt in this module is that as much as we are all human but looks at things differently. It
has shown that our opinions are not the same, but we are thinking that our views are correct. We have a
morally duty to make sure that we coexist harmonist with each other for the sake of others and other
species that we are sharing this earth.

Wealth does not mean anything if your fellow human beings as well as other species are being put at
risks by your actions. Collective as human we should strive to protect each, and we must make sure we
are willing and able to share our resources with each as our existence depends on others welfare.

Our environment is important, and we must make sure that we protect and we anything to preserve it
so that the future generation is able to survive.

Others may think that being greedy is good, but it is important that we sustain our planets for the
future. Our actions should not be at expense of other species as well as our fellow human beings.

In my conclusion I believe that the wealth of any nation should be distributed equal to all the people in
order to avoid exploitation of others.