My evaluation of Robin Hood’s action of stealing from the rich and giving away the
wealth he has stolen to the poor is the moral aspect of his intentions. Although his intentions
were unethical, his reasons may have been necessary. There are different theories that show
different aspects of how the situation can be assessed, divine command theory, utilitarianism,
and egoism.
Divine command theory claims, that good actions are the will of God, while bad actions
are contrary to the will of God. This theory states, it is not the will of God to steal, however, his
actions were merely to provide help to the poor, making his actions morally and ethically
excusable. Even though, the source of choice comes from stealing, I believe it is God’s will for
Robin Hood to give to the poor. Given that, he committed an action that is unethical, he was
full of good intentions therefore, should not be held accountable regarding what he stole. By
any means necessary, stealing is never the answer, given the circumstances, it was a matter of
helping those who needed it the most.
The theory of utilitarianism is based solely on the greatest good. In other words, whichever
decision one makes is only right if it benefits the greater good and the amount of people
considered. Robin Hood’s ethical action to steal from the rich and give to the poor, emerge as a
utilitarian approach. His effort may not be intrinsically morally correct action. However, the
result of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor does create a positive outcome. In Act
utilitarianism, the principle should be applied, without rules, to any given situation, ensuring
the greatest good for the greatest number. Again, this presents the issue that it allows any
erroneous action to take place. Given, in Robin Hood’s time and place, there would have been
many individuals benefitting from his actions rather than rich people suffering from it.
Therefore, Hood’s actions make him utilitarian because he was providing aid to those that need
it more.
Further, the egoism theory does not apply to Robin Hood’s case. Egoism is the theory that