Ends and Means

One of the ethical questions that is explored in "The Sheep Look Up" is the question of whether it is acceptable to act in a way that might not normally be moral, if the ultimate intention is for a greater good. For example, the character Hugh Pettingill is willing to assist in the kidnapping of his cousin, Hector, and hold him hostage in exchange for Hector's father supplying water purifiers to the people of California. Hugh's intentions appear worthy on the surface. He wants a large number of people to have free access to clean water. The means he chooses to bring about that end is kidnapping and extortion, however, which are illegal and result in the victim, Hector Bamberley, in becoming seriously ill.

A similar ethical question exists in the larger theme of the novel, which charts the terrible descent of the United States into...