I could not agree with you more. Now picture a situation in which a low-income, divorced mom, with 2 kids received an offer for a holiday for 2 weeks to one of those small islands near the coast of Cuba. She hasn't been on a holiday for quite some time now and she really needs a break. The offer says that she doesn't need to pay one dime for the holiday, but when she returns she should not only give up her privacy by providing the travel agency (or whatever) with everything she can tell about herself, but she also has to be available for people who want to make the same trip and need information about it. Under the "pressure" from her kids (who can come with her, of course) she takes the holiday and loves it. when she comes home there are already 20 phonecalls from people that want to have information.
This is a phenomenon called "the outsourcing of time". Letting people with hands-on experience tel other people about that experience, saving the travel agency time.
In the end the mother wished she had never engaged in the transaction, for she spends at least one hour a day for the last half a year now explaining people how incredible the island was. When she quits, it would be a breach of contract and the travel agency would sue her for more than she has got.
Is this "not thinking of the consequences" or as I would call it in these cases "temporary insanity" morally justifiable? and I don't mean thinking rationally of the results of engaging in the transaction, but more in the sense being overwhelmed by the opportunity and not wanting to pass this one up, be it only for her children.
Of course the travel agency can get away with it legally, but what is morally wrong with this picture?
Thanks!
Ralf
