[user104658]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

The dilemma is definitely all strangers

In that case, the right moral choice would be to kill the one person, but most people won't do it.

You can amplify the effect the more you remove the person from the death... e.g, you're sat at a table opposite a stranger. In front of you, there's a gun, a document and a pen. You're given the choice to either sign the document - which will kill 5000 random strangers across the world (you'll never find out who they were or how they died) OR you can shoot the stranger in the room in the head. If you do nothing, you all die (the 5000, the stranger AND you).

Vast majority of people sign the document. That's just how our instincts work, really... people aren't "really real" until you're looking them in the eye.

Basically, that's how a lot of politicians operate every day. They'll sign a piece of paper that they know will kill thousands of people, but few could stomach looking one person in the eye and murdering them.