Reference no: EM133318050

Case Study

Johan is a resident of a socialist country in Africa ruled by one state party, the United People's Party (PPR). The PPR and the state have an official ideology that demands unreserved trust in the PPR leadership for the sake of creating a new, happier society. Johan worked enthusiastically as a young journalist for the PPR newspaper. Rather coincidentally he came to a very remote area to make a report. It turned out that the area was threatened by acute famine: food supplies had run out completely, children in villages had begun to die. But what surprised Johan was that the local PPR leaders tried to cover up the catastrophe, even though they themselves were living a lavish life. When the report was submitted to the chief editor, it was said that the disaster should not be reported. When Johan kept insisting that assistance be taken, he was even threatened if he still dared to continue interfering in the matter. But Johan cannot forget his countrymen who are starving to death, who are being sacrificed by a political elite that is too corrupt. His eyes began to open to the moral corruption of the regime in his country. He still saw a way open to help them; send reports overseas. There the report will definitely be published. The publication will force the government to do something because the government is negotiating foreign loans that it will not get if the famine continues. So Johan is faced with a torturous question: to publish his report abroad and risk being accused of betraying his country, or of obeying the party's demands, of his superiors at his daily newspaper, of the appeals of his parents who are very afraid that their child is accused of being a traitor; obedient also to his own feelings which of course do not want to harm his country, as well as to the state ideology which demands unreserved obedience to party leaders, even though hundreds of thousands of people starve to death.

Question

What should Johan do based on Ethics theory and your own experience?