People delegate to proxy agents partly to avoid bearing moral responsibility for harmful acts.
Evidence
In many spheres of functioning, however, people do not have direct control over conditions that affect their lives. They rely on socially mediated proxy agency by influencing others who have the resources, knowledge, and means to act on their behalf to gain the outcomes they desire. Children work through parents to get what they want, marital partners through spouses, employees through labor unions, companies through outsources, and the general public through elected officials. However, people often turn to proxy agents even in realms of life where they can exercise direct control. They choose not to for a number of reasons. Perhaps they have failed to develop the required competencies to manage certain activities on their own. They believe others can do it better. They do not want to saddle themselves with heavy task demands and stressors. Or they do not want to bear the moral responsibility for harmful activities they perform. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 127
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- SEED: Angle: the ethics of delegation — how outsourcing moral responsibility to proxies (votes, managers, contractors) is a core mechanism of harm without guilt. Connects to Milgram-style diffused responsibility.