While traveling in a developing country, I hired a tour guide who was kind but not very good. He has since texted repeatedly, asking for a five-star review, which he relies on for income. Is it ethical to give a glowing review to avoid harming him, even if it misleads future travelers? —Lance Tukell, Brooklyn
You know this man. You don’t know the travelers you would mislead by misrepresenting his skills. So I understand the temptation to do your acquaintance a favor. But you would be wronging other travelers. You would also be wronging other guides in his country who, like him, depend on this work for their livelihood and who, unlike him, do it well, whether because they’re better suited to the task or have taken more trouble to become good at it. If you want to help him, you could try to explain to him how he could have earned a five-star review. That might be awkward. Still, it’s assistance that doesn’t involve disadvantaging others.
—Adapted from “The Ethicist” in The New York Times Magazine