Helping Orphans

From Randy Cohen via Crookedtimber, “real virtue lies not in heroically saving poor orphans from burning buildings but in steadfastly working for a world where orphans are not poor and buildings have decent fire codes.”

I disagree. Heroically saving poor orphans from burning buildings requires one to pay a large personal cost. In contrast, it's easy to advocate against poverty or for decent fire codes. Plus, stronger building codes increase the cost of housing and so may increase homelessness among orphans. Orphans are probably better off living in dangerous buildings than on the street. Stronger fire codes, therefore, can actually hurt orphans.