History Main / TheNeedsOfTheMany

** Rossiu ends up following this trope. In the village where he grew up, the priest was willing to keep to the strict population limit of 50 by any means necessary, even exiling people to almost certain death on the surface if they ended up with too many. After the TimeSkip, [[spoiler:Rossiu was willing to sentence his long-time friend Simon to death as a scapegoat to appease the masses, and take a small fraction of humanity into space and leave everyone else to die in order to avoid humanity's extinction]].

* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': Tony Stark is given the choice between undoing Thanos' rampage, saving billions of people, through time travel...or allowing the current timeline to remain, so his five-year-old daughter Morgan can remain alive. Notably, he chooses Morgan straight away, and never backs down on that: he says the only way he'll help is if Morgan's existence isn't threatened.

* Subverted and deconstructed in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. At different points, the heroes have the opportunity to stop Thanos' plan by sacrificing another character, but they either can't bring themselves to do it or hesitate too long. Indeed, the film goes out of its way to illustrate that anyone who could readily and easily go through with this would have to be an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]] [[TheSociopath sociopath]] like Thanos himself, whose plan to eradicate half the universe's population hinges on this rationale [[spoiler: and it's what motivates him to kill his beloved adopted daughter in order to obtain the Soul Stone.]] In case anyone's keeping score:

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', characters who acquire the "Cosmic Transcendence of Compassion" ability turn that compassion entirely towards the greater good, which allows -- and even obliges -- them to "sacrifice millions of lives to save billions more". Such people have to strain themselves to show compassion towards individuals if the act isn't a net gain for society as a whole.

* {{WebVideo/Shaun}}: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCRTgtpC-Go Dropping the Bomb: Hiroshima & Nagasaki]]'' explains that it is a constructed falsehood to present the choice to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese populace as a simple trolley problem, meant to prevent the larger loss of life a ground force invasion of the Empire of Japan would cause, since such an invasion had been almost entirely ruled out ''before the atom bombs were even on the table''. The side that was making choices on the presumption of an Allied invasion rather than continuation of arial bombardment was the Japanese.

Unfortunately [[spoiler: the enemy has orchestrated a XanatosGambit such that even if Chu saves the city it will look like Earth's navy attacked their own capital which in the current political climate could also be exploited to trigger a civil war.]] Less unfortunately [[spoiler: the Toughs have a SecretWeapon that allows them to TakeAThirdOption.]]

** Jesus Christ is basically this; see Real Life below.

** Of course, the solution to the trolley problem is to grab it as it goes past if you're careful the groceries won't spill out. What!? [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage You said it was a trolley]].

* A recurring theme in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'': Kaede, Kirumi, and Miu all attempt murders at least partially out of a desire to prevent an even greater amount of deaths.

* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' sees [[spoiler:Peter forced to decide if he should let scientists study the cure for the Devil's Breath, which would mean Aunt May would die, or give May the cure, which would doom many more to death. While in a moment of emotion, he nearly gives the cure to May, he ultimately chooses to let the cure by mass-produced and says his goodbyes to May.]]

** In "My Name is Oliver Queen", Felicity tries to get Roy to abandon his work on [[spoiler:an inoculant to the Alpha and Omega virus]] to save Oliver. Ray quite rightly refuses, pointing out that thousands will die if he stops. She insists ''again'' that he save Oliver instead, only for him to refuse again. [[spoiler:He then realizes that [[TakeAThirdOption he can work on the inoculant, and she can use his ATOM suit to save Oliver.]]]]

* From ''Literature/TheBible'', John 11:49-50: "And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not."
** Similarly, in ''Literature/TheBookOfMormon'', 1 Nephi 4:2: "It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief."
** Jesus Christ is basically this; see Real Life below.

'''Crewman:''' There are men in there!\\

* ''Series/{{V1983}}'': Julie says that, if they have to kill the humans held prisoner on the V motherships, it's what they'll do because they must weigh that against the billions more the Visitors might harm if they're not destroyed.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'', a flashback to [[spoiler:just before Ellie's surgery]] involves a discussion of this. [[spoiler:Marlene is reluctant to accept that Ellie has to die, but Jerry insists on it, although he's shaken when Marlene asks if he'd be willing to do the operation if it was for his daughter Abby. After Marlene leaves, Abby tells Jerry that if she was immune, she'd willingly consent to the procedure and give her life for the sake of humanity]].

* In ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and fellow [[ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}} Legionnaire]] Dev-Em argue because of her unwillingness to let one little girl die to protect their cover during a mission. Dev points out leaders often have to sacrifice a few lives to save a greater number of people.

* ''LightNovel/BeastTamerAndTheCatGirl'': The Fairy sisters Sora and Luna guard and maintain the barrier leading to their hidden Fairy village in the Lost Forest. When Luna is captured by a monster called a Shadow Knight, it tells Sora it will only free Luna if Sora removed the barrier protecting the village. Sora initially sought help from her fellow Fairies to save her sister, but her village's chieftain refused, prioritizing the safety of the many within the barrier rather than the one who was captured due to leaving it. Sora can understand the reasoning, but can not forgive it. It is for this reason that, once the Shadow Knight is defeated by Rain's group and the sisters are reunited, they decide to leave the forest for a while, ultimately joining and contracting with Rain.

** This is the justification that commanders use in this series when they sacrifice their troops (except for the ones that are just plain [[DirtyCoward Dirty Cowards]]).

** Wanda is forced to choose between killing her lover, Vision, or letting Thanos get the Mind Stone. Vision, for his part, chooses to die rather than let half the universe be destroyed. [[spoiler:Wanda destroys Vision after putting it off for as long as she can, but by that point, it doesn't help.]]

* ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'': In ''Mutiny'', the ship the 58th faces destruction by the chigs if they don't divert power from one section to get away. That section happens to be where the [=InVitro=]s are being stored, and the [=InVitro=] crewers refuse their orders. A mutiny occurs, but eventually they're persuaded to stand down because if they don't do this, ''everyone'' will die. In the end, they do it.

* ''Fanfic/JojosTimelyAdventure,'' revolves around [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppeli]] being [[EquivalentExchange swapped with Jotaro and Kakyoin]] in time, with the former two meeting the OlderAndWiser Joseph. The older Joseph is absolutely torn over whether or not to warn Caesar about his impending death for fear that it'll interfere with his romance with Suzi Q and [[RetGone erase Jotaro from existence.]]

* ''Fanfic/JojosTimelyAdventure,'' revolves around [[Anime/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppeli]] being [[EquivalentExchange swapped with Jotaro and Kakyoin]] in time, with the former two meeting the OlderAndWiser Joseph. The older Joseph is absolutely torn over whether or not to warn Caesar about his impending death for fear that it'll interfere with his romance with Suzi Q and [[RetGone erase Jotaro from existence.]]

In ethical philosophy, this is an important tenet of Utilitarianism (which is kind of present on this wiki as UsefulNotes/EthicalHedonism), which considers the best action as the one that maximizes well-being - if more information is required, please Website/{{Google}} J. S. Mill or see the "trolley problem" in the Real Life section below for an example of this.

* A recurring theme in many of Creator/GenUrobuchi's works:
** Discussed in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': [[spoiler:The Incubators defend their decisions to use [[PoweredByAForsakenChild the souls of magical girls tortured to the point of absolute despair]] to prevent [[ApocalypseHow Universal Entropy]] on the basis of humans similarly using cattle in order to eat. Also, the Incubators, by interfering in human affairs, [[AncientAstronauts have brought Civilization and technology]] to the human species at the expense of a few magical girls sacrificing themselves. In other words, the needs of both Humans and Incubators outweigh the needs of a Magical Girl. In the end, Madoka, while disgusted at the callousness of the Incubators, accepted their logic, and decided to ''[[MessianicArchetype sacrifice herself to absorb all Magical Girls' despair at every point in space and time]]'' in order to save them yet allowing the benefits given by the Incubators to influence humanity. A win-win scenario on the expense of Madoka's very own existence.]] [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Talk:Philosophical_Observations The Puella Magi Wiki]] provided an Analysis of ''Madoka'' and the Utilitarian philosophy.
** [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Shirou Emiya's]] father, [[AntiHero Kiritsugu]], possessed this principle and we get to see it in action in the prequel, ''Literature/FateZero''. The contradiction in this ideal is also exposed [[spoiler:by the corrupted Grail]] when he gets shown an illusion where he has to save either the many or the few until he has killed 498 people for his two most beloved people. His alternate solution was to get access to a perfect, omnipotent RealityWarper wish-granting artifact to save everyone. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for him, even if the Grail ''hadn't'' been corrupted, it wouldn't have helped because the Grail is a LiteralGenie that can only provide the power to the methodology of Kiritsugu's choice, not a perfect omnipotent thing with all the answers.]]
*** He is noted to have gone soft after joining the Einzbern family. Early in the War he bombs a hotel to kill an enemy Master but calls in a bomb threat first. In the past, he would have just killed everyone in the building to be absolutely certain his target died too. Civilian casualties weren't a concern for him, because so long as he killed his target he was saving more people in the long term.
** The Sibyl System in ''Anime/PsychoPass'' falls into this. [[spoiler:The Sibyl System consists of brains of criminally asymptomatic individuals that want to "perfect" society. The ideal society that the Sibyl System wanted to create involves an isolationist Japan where society is focused on pleasure and happiness. However, this involves the elimination of individuality and sacrificing undesirables from political critics, emotionally unstable individuals, students, teachers, and even farmers to create their perfect society. Akane does not like how the Sibyl System was operating (particularly the idea of ''killing'' people to protect others) once she found out the AwfulTruth, but she still continues to work with the system because she believes that there is a better alternative to maintaining society while bringing order ''and'' justice at the same time.]]
*** [[spoiler:However, according to Touma, he exposes the irony on the Sibyl System's beliefs, as their members highly value their own unique individuality over the average citizen as they believe that [[AboveGoodAndEvil they are morally, mentally, and philosophically superior to everyone else]], and thus they are more fit to rule society. Yet, for their value of uniqueness, they don't see the irony of being HiveMind, thus showing the irony that the Sibyl System only benefits their members and not everyone else]].
* Anime/SailorMoon's refusal to do this in the S series is what enraged Uranus and Neptune near the end, as Sailor Moon couldn't stand sacrificing Hotaru to save the world (she didn't have to, but the conflict of one person vs. the world was brought up at least somewhat).

* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':
** Using this trope as a mantra is why [[spoiler: Simon is happy with the series ending despite the heart-rendingly painful price he had to pay to save the universe. It perfectly shows how strong and heroic Simon has become.]] It's also extremely Japanese.
** Rossiu ends up following this trope. In the village where he grew up, the priest was willing to keep to the strict population limit of 50 by any means necesary, even exiling people to almost certain death on the surface if they ended up with too many. After the TimeSkip, [[spoiler:Rossiu was willing to sentence his long-time friend Simon to death as a scapegoat to appease the masses, and take a small fraction of humanity into space and leave everyone else to die in order to avoid humanity's extinction]].
* In ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya'', the Ainsworth family is willing to trade the life of [[spoiler:Miyu]] to save the human race. Interestingly, [[spoiler:Kiritsugu, who would sacrifice the few to save the many, Kuro, the wielder of the Archer card who carries Kiritsugu's beliefs, and Shirou, whose original philosophy was to save everyone,]] chose to save the ones they loved at the expense of others. Only [[spoiler:Illya]] decides that she wants to save everyone.

* ''LightNovel/BlackBullet'': Rentaro Satomi's ForHappiness ethics have an interesting variation of "The happiness for others outweigh the happiness of myself." [[spoiler:Apparently, this bites him in the ass when he was accused of murder in volumes 5 and 6.]]

* This was the basis of [[spoiler: Admiral Graham's]] plan in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs''. [[spoiler: He was going to freeze Hayate for all eternity to stop the cycle of the Book of Darkness destroying planets, despite the fact that she had never done anything wrong.]]
* Dr. Marcoh in ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'' is forced to work for the BigBad or they'll destroy the village he lives in. Envy mocks him afterwards over the fact they plan to wipe out the entire country so it would have been smarter for him to sacrifice the village.
* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''Manga/WorldTrigger'', between Chika and her mentor Reiji. At one point Reiji reveals that his father was a rescue worker, but died to save a child's life. Chika attempts to console him, stating that [[HeroicSacrifice he was able to get the child out alive,]] but Reiji points out that he could have saved more people if he had survived. His father even inspired Reiji to follow the ideal that rescuers who don't return alive fail.
* In ''Manga/VinlandSaga'', [[spoiler:Canute]] uses this trope as defense for his actions. By appropriating land by force, he gains wealth. Through wealth, he can attract Vikings. By attracting Vikings, he can select who they fight, or encourage them to settle his lands in peace. By directing and settling Vikings, he saves the rest of the world from their predations.
* In ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'', Kodama follows a particularly twisted form of this trope- to him, it's fine if 10,000 or more civilians die in his battle with the enemy robot as long as he wins, thereby saving all 10 billion people on the planet (with the bonus being that the property damage will create work for his father's company). The other pilots call him out on this, saying that every life has value (not to mention that most of the casualties were probably avoidable), but to no avail.
* ''LightNovel/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'': [[BigBad Fugil Arcadia]] believes in ruthlessly protecting the masses at the expense of individuals. He tells Lux that in trying to save Philuffy, who was turned part Abyss due to an experiment, he's putting the whole kingdom at risk of their enemies taking control of her and using her to destroy the country from within. [[spoiler:His adherence to this trope causes him to backstab Listelka, who only seeks political power at the expense of the world's citizens.]]

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun''. This is basically the backstory of Axl RO, a minor antagonist appearing early in the work. He was drafted into the army during the American Civil war and his mission consisted of being a lookout stationed in a tree at a remote town. His job was to light a lamp in order to warn the soldiers nearby of an incoming enemy troop. He, however, refused to do so fearing that the light would give away his position, possibly leading to his capture and execution at the hands of the enemy. The troops then marched and burned the town to the ground, killing all the civilians and soldiers stationed there. Since then, Axl has been trying to find a way to repent for his sins. This is reflected by the power of his stand, Civil War, which is able to transfer or unload sin and guilt via the attacks of hostile, ghostly representations of people and objects Axl or his targets harbor as having wronged or unfairly discarded.

* In ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', [[spoiler: Veidt]]'s final plan is to [[spoiler: kill millions of people in order to trick everyone else into world peace]].

* In the Creator/CrossGen graphic novel series ''ComicBook/TheFirst'', the gods of House Dexter live by this trope. Their creed is to place the needs of others before self.
* The titular heroine of ''ComicBook/AlbedoErmaFelnaEDF'' face a similar dilemma like [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Simon]], except the sacrifice [[UpToEleven was even bigger]]: [[spoiler:in the final part of the first StoryArc, Erma's homeworld is attacked by enemy forces (the ILR), while the ILR are ignoring they were part of a FalseFlagOperation from a member of Erma's own side, in this case her former boyfriend. Erma is forced to save her planet first from being destroyed while being unable to save her family, and also her actual boyfriend getting killed during the whole conflict, without mention she was exiled from her world after that as retaliation from both her ex and her own corrupt army in an attempt to get rid of her]].
* ''{{ComicBook/Transmetropolitan}}'': The Beast (aka the President of the United States) tells Spider in confidence that none of Spider's attacks against him really matter: as far as he's concerned, if 51% of America's population goes to bed with a full belly, he's done his job. His successor is even worse, barely keeping up the pretense of acting for the greater good.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'', with numerous references to (often morally dubious) actions being made "for the good of the Colony". This eventually gets thrown back in the villain's face when he tries to claim that [[spoiler: drowning the entire colony and murdering the Queen is for the good of the colony.]]

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' is the TropeNamer, specifically the scene where Spock explains his HeroicSacrifice.
** Explicitly averted in the ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' when Kirk [[spoiler: tells Spock that the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many (in this case, the Enterprise crew).]]
** Ironically reversed in ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'', where Picard argues against relocating 600 people from a planet so the Federation can harvest the planet's immortality-granting radiation to save billions of lives. However, the fact that they could already use the planet to save billions of lives without having to harvest it, and that the stated reason for resorting to said harvest is to save a specific group of people [[spoiler:even smaller in number than the Ba'ku from dying of what turns out to be old age]] supports Picard's case.
** In ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', Spock, The TropeNamer, tells the ''Enterprise'' to leave him to die in order to protect the ''Enterprise'' and uphold the [[AlienNonInterferenceClause Prime Directive]] during the prologue. [[spoiler:Kirk later sacrifices himself to save the ''Enterprise'']].
* ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'': As the damaged Nautilus is sinking to the bottom of the ocean, Captain Nemo must make a decision.
-->'''Crewman:''' Aft bulkhead open. Pump valves jammed!\\
'''Nemo:''' Seal it off!\\
'''Crewman:''' There are men in there!\\
'''Nemo:''' For the greater good, we must seal it!

* ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'': Neo is forced to make the choice of returning to The Source, and allowing the Matrix to be re-booted, saving the lives of everyone still jacked in, or leave and save Trinity from the Agent she's fighting while letting the Matrix crash, killing pretty much all that's left of humanity. He decides to TakeAThirdOption.
* The [[PolishMedia Polish]] short film ''Most''[[labelnote:translation]] "Bridge"[[/labelnote]], in which a man ends up sacrificing his son by lowering a drawbridge to prevent a train crash.
* Averted in ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic''. The data Johnny is carrying inside his head can save millions of lives. However, Johnny spends a significant portion of the movie putting his own life ahead of everybody else, as well as initially rejecting every proposal to retrieve the data because there is a chance that doing so could kill him or leave him with significant brain damage (even though he would die if he doesn't get the data out of his head, anyway). In the end, Johnny is convinced to go through with an attempt at removing the data from his head NOT because he'd be helping millions of other lives but because it's pointed out to him that there being a chance that retrieving the data would kill him would also mean there is a chance he'd survive, whereas Johnny's other possible fate leaves him no such chance.
* Spoken word for word by Sentinel Prime in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''. [[spoiler: This time, though, it's in a much more sinister context. Essentially, Sentinel uses this as justification for enslaving mankind to rebuild Cybertron (by "the many" he means all Cybertronians; he couldn't care less about humanity).]] Doubles as an ActorAllusion, since Sentinel is voiced by Creator/LeonardNimoy.
* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'':
** This is part of [[spoiler: HYDRA's]] rationale, culminating in a plan to institute world peace at the barrel of a gun... with twenty million lives as the first cost.
** Steve himself ends up having to fight his brainwashed, tortured best friend to save the lives of ''millions'' of people.
--->'''Steve:''' People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen. ''Please'' don't make me do this.

* This is the message of ''Film/TheSchoolgirlsDiary'', in which Su-ryeon learns not to resent her father for spending virtually his entire life at work because Dad is working for the benefit of the state. The state being UsefulNotes/NorthKorea.
* ''Film/WildRiver'': Not spelled out in dialogue but an obvious theme of the film. The Tennessee Valley Authority will be a boon to the whole region, creating jobs, bringing electricity (one of the farmhands gapes with delight at the electric light in his cottage), and saving lives and property by ending the uncontrolled flooding of the river. But for this to happen, people like Ella Garth have to give up their river land, to allow for the construction of dams.
* ''Film/{{Kapo}}'': A group of prisoners are plotting to break out of a Nazi slave labor camp, helped by Nicole, a "kapo" (prison trusty guard). The plan for the prison breakout has already been made and is about to go forward when the Russians plotting their escape find out that cutting the power to the electrified fence will set off an alarm siren. That means that whoever cuts the power is doomed to be caught by the guards and immediately shot to death--and that's Nicole's job. A horrified Sasha has a hurried debate with another Russian who insists that Nicole can't be told.

* ''Film/IrrationalMan'': This is Abe's motive for murdering the judge, saying the world will be a better place if he's not in it.

* ''Film/TheAssignment2016'': Dr. Rachel Jane says her experiments on homeless people were for this, to advance medical knowledge which would benefit millions. Their lives, in comparison, meant nothing to her.

* ''Film/HotFuzz'': The townsfolk will excuse anything, ''especially'' murder, [[WindmillCrusader if it means]] [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans getting Sandford named Village of the Year]].
-->'''Det. Nicholas Angel''': How can this be for the greater good?!\\
'''Neighbourhood Watch Alliance''': [[IronicEcho The greater good]]--\\
'''Det. Nicholas Angel''': [[BigShutUp SHUT IT!]]
* ''Film/MrJones2019'': Duranty blandly defends the Soviet Union's policies this way, saying "You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs".

* ''Film/HarrisonBergeron'': Administrator Klaxon claims handicapping is best for all, arguing the world's destructive conflicts in the past were caused by envy and hate over differences. He admits that it's hard and sad, but nonetheless claims he'd shoot Beethoven himself if it meant things such as World War One never occurred again.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' gives us at least three subversions where the main protagonist refuses to put the many ahead of the few.
** First in ''Literature/GravePeril'' Harry [[spoiler: rescues Susan from Red Court vampires,]] even knowing that his actions will trigger a war with the Red Court.
** A second time is in ''Literature/DeadBeat'' when [[spoiler:Wardens of the White Council stop their attack to prevent a necromancer from setting off a powerful ritual to get trick-or-treating children to safety]] despite knowing the dire consequences of failure.
** Harry does it again in ''{{Literature/Changes}}'' when [[spoiler:his daughter is kidnapped by the Red Court during a cease-fire.]] This time around someone directly asks him to consider the needs of the many, but Harry makes it clear he'll let the entire world burn before letting [[spoiler:the vamps hurt his daughter.]]

* In the third ''Literature/{{Pendragon}}'' novel, Bobby has to choose between [[spoiler: letting the Hindenburg burn, killing a few dozen people, or saving it and letting Germany win WWII]]. He almost makes the wrong choice, sending him into a temporary HeroicBSOD.
* In ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Crown of Slaves]]'' Berry Zilwicki risks her life to save the occupants of a captured slave ship, reasoning that one life against several thousand is "no contest, the way I see things."
* ''Literature/TheOnesWhoWalkAwayFromOmelas'' almost (?) poses this as a question: If you lived in a {{Utopia}} that bought the happiness of the Many with the [[PoweredByAForsakenChild utter suffering of one child]], [[WasItReallyWorthIt would you accept it, or walk away]]? The story has been used in at least one ethics class.
* In the ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' novel ''The Needs of the Many'', when Data is revived inside of his brother B-4, he comes to the conclusion that his resurrection should not come at the cost of his brother's and proceeded to create a program to erase himself, effectively committing suicide. However, when B-4, in an attempt to persuade Data to stop at Geordi La Forge's insistence, comes to realize that Data's survival would mean the survival of numerous Federation citizens, he pulls a HeroicSuicide by taking over Data's program and deleting himself. Data's not happy over this and neither is Geordi when he finds out that neither Starfleet nor the Soong Foundation actively cares about trying to restore B-4 now that Data's back.
** The ''Star Trek'' novel "More Beautiful than Death" (set in the alternate reality of [[Film/StarTrek2009 the 2009 film]]) sees [[spoiler:a warped inversion of this, as T'Pring risks the life of Sarek's diplomatic party to try and transfer the ''katra'' of her lost lover into Spock's body, all other parties aware of her plan making it clear that she is deluded at best and outright insane at worst]].

* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]], mocked and shown a middle finger by ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' universe. One of the main running themes of the books is that the every day, basic human decency is ''always'' more important than the grand political ideas and 'the greater good'. Several of the main villains are [[WellIntentionedExtremist trying to save the world]] by sacrificing [[TheChosenOne Ciri]] and everything is set in a [[WarIsHell continental-scale war]] fought for petty ideological reasons with numerous atrocities committed by [[EvilVersusEvil every single side]].
-->'''Geralt:''' If you have to save the world [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil like]] [[ParentalIncest this]], this world would be better off disappearing. Believe me, [[spoiler:Duny]]. It would be better to perish.
* In ''Literature/TheMachineriesOfEmpire'', Cheris has to sacrifice hundreds of her soldiers in a blatantly suicidal plan (one that involves them killing themselves, no less) for the sake of saving the Hexarchate. Understandably, she doesn't take it well.

* ''Literature/TheCityOfBrass'': Deconstructed with King Ghassan, whose dedication to Daevabad's security leads him to keep [[HalfBreedDiscrimination a third]] of the population beaten down out of fear that they might rebel, conduct brutal [[AndYourLittleDogToo punishments by proxy]] for any perceived rebellion, and cruelly coerce his own family into going along with him -- all without considering whether he's even the best person to gauge the needs of the many, to the point that it tips over into DespotismJustifiesTheMeans.

* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': The main villains of the series ([[TheEmpire The Imperial Order]]) use this to justify the murder of entire cities full of people. They reason that they are [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans creating the perfect world]], and that anybody who disagrees with them has no place in it. More broadly, they believe anyone in need should be served by the rest (although they're [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocrites]] about much of it).
* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': This is the reason that stronger [[SupernaturalMartialArts sacred artists]] generally don't solve problems for weaker ones; there is always something more important that they can be doing. At the highest level, the [[PhysicalGod Monarchs]] could solve almost all the problems their subjects face, but that would require stepping away from much larger problems--like attacks from other Monarchs. At one point, the Monarch Akura Malice saves the Blackflame Empire by driving off an approaching [[GodOfEvil Dreadgod]]; despite saving millions of lives, there is much discussion that she might have actually lost more than she saved, as the dragon Monarch used the opportunity to grab valuable border cities. In later books, Lindon and Yerin become important enough that Monarchs ''are'' willing to intervene to save them--they still lose cities in the process, but those two are personally more valuable than all those millions of lives. Lindon and Yerin are more than a little disturbed.

* ''Series/{{Fortitude}}'': In the second season, Vladek, the Sami shaman, refuses to use his magic to cure Freya's ALS, saying he must save his power to defeat the demon he believes is threatening the village.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** When asked where his allegiances lie, Varys says he serves the ''realm'', not the ruler. This is his justification for going along with the plan to assassinate Daenerys, for trying to prevent Littlefinger from gaining even more power, and most likely his reason for selling out Tyrion despite obviously having no desire to do so.
** A key element of Stannis' storyline. He's prepared to do terrible things and make sacrifices, such as killing Renly and Gendry, in order to save the realm. In the books, Melisandre justifies this by saying that any sacrifices he refuses to make would be killed anyway when the end of the world comes. This is finally taken to an extreme when he allows Melisandre to burn Shireen so that his own men won't freeze or starve to death before reaching Winterfell.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has had a lot of fun examining this trope every which way over time:
** In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "The City On The Edge of Forever", Kirk had to let Edith Keeler die to save his own timeline, because her peace efforts would have prevented the US from entering what would be World War II when they needed to, and cause Hitler and Nazism to conquer the world by developing the atomic bomb first. To save all those of their future, Kirk must stop Dr. [=McCoy=] from saving Edith from getting killed in a car accident. Kirk can't speak when Bones exclaims: "Jim! I could have saved her...do you know what you just did." Spock can only reply: "He knows, Doctor. Soon you will too. For what once was...now IS again." In Creator/JamesBlish's transcript in "The Star Trek Reader", Spock also comes across as trying to help Kirk rectify this. "No, you acted. Because no woman was ever loved so much, Jim. Because no woman was ever offered the universe for love."
** In "The Conscience of the King", Kodos the Executioner was originally the governor of an Earth Colony that had its food supply wiped out by a fungal outbreak. Facing mass starvation, Kodos decided that the only way they could survive until relief ships arrived was by killing half of the colony's population, massacring some 4,000 colonists in total. But after carrying out the deed, [[ShootTheShaggyDog the relief ships reached the colony earlier than expected.]] Twenty years later, Kodos claims to Kirk that if that hadn't happened, he would've been hailed as a hero for saving the colony. Kirk--a survivor of the massacre--doesn't see it that way.
*** Here though, Kodos isn't reviled for the massacre per se - the reason he is considered an incorrigible villain than just a commander who made the wrong call is that instead of selecting survivors by something like a lottery system, he used his own eugenic ideals to choose who deserves to live and who doesn't.
** A very dramatic version in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "In The Pale Moonlight", when Sisko enlists Garak in coming up with a scheme to draw the Romulans into the Dominion War on the side of the Federation. Garak succeeds but has to assassinate a Romulan official in the process, along with the criminal who forged the recording they are using to fool the Romulans into thinking the Dominion was planning to attack them. When Sisko confronts him over this, Garak points out that they might have just secured a Federation victory in the war, saving not only the Federation, but the Klingons, and eventually the Romulans and the rest of the Alpha quadrant from Dominion domination -- "and all it cost was the life of one Romulan Senator, one criminal, and the [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone self-respect of one Starfleet officer]]. I don't know about you, [[NecessarilyEvil but I'd call that a bargain.]]" At the end of the episode, Sisko admits to himself that it was [[IDidWhatIHadToDo a sacrifice worth making]] and that he'd do it again if he had to.
** Played with in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Thine Own Self". Troi is applying to become a Commander. One of her exams is a scenario where the ship suffers a critical malfunction that will destroy it, and the repair teams cannot fix the damage without perishing. It's presented as an engineering problem, but it's actually a SecretTestOfCharacter. The solution is to order Geordi to do it anyway, knowing that he'll definitely die. Having passed the test after realizing that, Troi confesses she may not be cut out to be a Commander.
*** In "Yesterday's Enterprise", a temporal anomaly throws the USS ''Enterprise''-C from [[HeroicSacrifice its fateful battle]] at Narendra III to a Bad Future where the Klingon Empire and the Federation have been waging war for over 20 years, and this timeline's Picard tells ''Enterprise''-C Captain Rachel Garrett that Starfleet Command will likely surrender within 6 months.
---->'''Picard:''' One more ship will make no difference in the here and now. But 22 years ago, one ship could have stopped this war before it started.
** Referenced (if not explicitly displayed) in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' finale "Endgame"; although the crew has a chance to go home, Janeway is reluctant to take it as it would result in them sparing a Borg transwarp hub, one of the key tools the Borg use to assimilate other worlds. Janeway begins to reconsider the idea of getting home when she learns that Tuvok is suffering from a degenerative neurological condition that can only be cured in the Alpha Quadrant, but when she asks why he didn't support the plan for them to go home now, Tuvok quotes Spock to justify him putting his own needs second to the wider concerns.
** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' runs with this theme in the second season, with [[WideEyedIdealist Captain Christopher Pike]] taking command and finding his own Starfleet ideals clashing with the more underhanded methods of [[WellIntentionedExtremist Section 31]], personified by Pike's [[WeUsedToBeFriends former comrade]] [[SmugSnake Captain Leland]]. Notably Section 31's agents use this trope as justification for some ''very'' questionable ethical calls, while Pike and his crew will use the same reasoning to violate Starfleet protocols in their mission to save the Federation [[spoiler: and, as it turns out, all sentient life in the galaxy.]]
** In the third season of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', the crew is tasked with saving Earth from being destroyed by the Xindi. By the end of the season, the ship has lost more than 20% of personnel while fighting the Xindi and other threats. After Corporal Hawkins is killed in action, Malcolm laments that they're getting too comfortable losing people. T'Pol tells him a certain Vulcan axiom and says that Hawkins (and, in effect, the other casualties) died honorably for putting the well-being of others first.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** This occurs in in the season 2 finale "Becoming part 2". The BigBad, Angelus opens a "swallow the Earth into Hell" vortex. The only way to close it is with the lifeblood of the one who opened it. Just before Buffy is about to deliver the needed deathblow. Plan B is executed by Willow too late, returning his soul and reverting him back to good-natured Angel. After delivering an "I love you" speech, Buffy thrusts a sword in him anyway for the greater good, tossing his into said vortex to close it. She then sends herself on a bus between seasons and the first episode of season 3.
** Giles attempts to invoke this trope but Buffy defies it at the end of Season 5 when Giles tries to persuade Buffy to go along with this trope and kill her not-really-sister Dawn if that's what it takes to save the world. Buffy is completely unwilling and threatens anyone who attempts it that she will kill them. It was a very compelling case because if the world ended Dawn would have died anyway. In the end [[spoiler: it does come down to that, but Buffy finds a way to TakeAThirdOption]]. Discussing her previous actions a couple of seasons later, Buffy tells Giles she feels differently and probably would be willing to kill any one person to save the world at that point.
** In the same episode, Giles actually does invoke this trope, as the BigBad, Glory, was forced by being battered by the gang into changing into a badly-injured Ben (a relatively-innocent human with whom she was forced to share a body). Ben being human, Buffy doesn't kill him, but Giles does, knowing if he hadn't that Glory would continue to terrorize the world.

* In ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue'' an early episode has Carter, the Red Ranger, forced to put out a fire instead of saving a child from getting injured by falling debris, under orders from his superior. At first, he is angry but eventually it is revealed that if the fire had not been put out, it would've reached a flammable liquid, causing an explosion that would kill everyone in the area rather than injuring just one person.
* Averted in ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' in the episode "Reese's Party". The morning after, the party guests refuse to leave and have kept the large Craig to torment. Malcolm, Reese, and Francis want to just hide out at Craig's house until their parents return, with Francis using the quote "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the guy that can't run fast." Dewey had been having fun with Craig all weekend, so he refuses to leave the poor guy behind, and tattles to the guests' mothers to force them to leave.
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'':
** In one episode, [[spoiler: Jack (under emotional stress) agrees to sacrifice his grandson to save the 10% of Earth's children who would be subject to a FateWorseThanDeath otherwise.]] This is especially jarring as the entire season leading up to that point had portrayed sacrificing a few to save the many as an unacceptable evil that the protagonists were willing to do anything to prevent.
** In ''Small Worlds'', Jack turns over a little girl to the [[TheFairFolk fairies]], knowing that they are willing to kill mercilessly and excessively if their Chosen One is taken or harmed and that he has no way of stopping them. [[DownerEnding The mother is distraught, and the team refuse to so much as look at Jack as they leave]].
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In ''The Evil of the Daleks'' the Second Doctor is willing to sacrifice himself, his companion, and a few others in his plan to stop the Daleks infecting humanity with the Dalek Factor. Jamie calls him out on this.
** The Doctor has had to deal with this decision quite a few times. Typically, for the Doctor it's "the needs of the entire planet/universe outweigh the needs of the many", though:
*** Detonating Vesuvius and destroying Pompeii to stop the Pyroviles from taking over the world.
*** Ending the Time War by destroying the Daleks and the Time Lords, to prevent the use of the Final Sanction which would destroy all of creation.
** In ''The Day of the Doctor'', Kate Stewart (daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and new holder of [[TheBrigadier the title]]) is prepared to destroy London to prevent the Zygons from using the technology in the Black Archive to take over the world.
** Sometimes, though, the Doctor ''doesn't'' do this - more than once he's passed up the chance to stop the Daleks once and for all because it was between that and saving the world. It's eventually revealed, though, that some of his darker actions are because of his guilt over the things villains he ''didn't'' stop by [[IDidWhatIHadToDo any means necessary]] went on to do.
* In ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', [[spoiler:the team finds out that they can use the [[MacGuffin Greatest Treasure in the Universe]] to RetGone the [[TheEmpire Zangyack Empire]], but doing so will also RetGone the Franchise/SuperSentai. After debating whether they have the right to make that kind of decision (including [[Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger one former Ranger]] encouraging them to do it), the team eventually decides that the Super Sentai's legacy of inspiring hope, courage, and strength in humanity is too important to throw away.]]

-->'''Delenn''': We had to choose between the deaths of millions and the deaths of ''billions''--of ''entire planets''.

* In the second season finale of ''Series/{{Primeval}}'', Lester is just about to bring Leek's plans to a stop. Leek however still has Cutter captured and threatens to have him killed if Lester does not back down. Lester refuses but does show some regret over it.
* ''Series/{{Attila}}'': Desperately needing an alliance with the Visigoths to take on Atilla and his Huns, Flavius Aetius agrees to have his Roman-raised daughter, who was sired by King Theodoric (both Aetius and Theodoric were once married to the same [[TheLostLenore late woman]]), handed over to the Visigoths. Aetius looks dead inside when it happens, and he ensures that Theodoric is killed in the course of the battle in retaliation.
* Parodied in ''Series/{{Quark}}'' when The Head and Dr Palindrome decide to send Quark on a suicide mission to stop a NegativeSpaceWedgie from wiping out the system.
-->'''The Head:''' This is a tough one, Palindrome. But as you know, one of the responsibilities of those in charge is to order the sacrifice of the few, for the sake of the many.\\
'''Palindrome:''' Yes, sir.\\
'''The Head:''' Particularly when those in charge, are among the many.
* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'':
** Chidi gives Eleanor a lecture about utilitarianism, and the issues which it faces, such as if torturing one person to death so a hundred more are saved is moral. Jason puts in his own more selfish scenario-framing an innocent person who would otherwise break up a band and cause more (supposed) unhappiness.
** In season 3, we get a negative example in [[spoiler:Doug Forcett]], who has become so focused on The Needs of the Many that he has lived a miserable life, becoming a "happiness pump". At one point, another character maliciously asks for his shoe, which he gives because it will make the character happy... in tormenting him.
** Another Season 3 episode involves Chidi teaching Michael ethics and utilitarianism using the Trolley Problem (described in ''Real Life'' below). [[spoiler:(It is believed that if Michael, a demon/denizen of the Bad Place learned ethics, he'd stand a better chance of getting into the Good Place with the main human cast.)]] Unfortunately, Michael decides to re-create various scenarios with himself and the humans on board a real runaway trolley, horrifying them (Chidi in particular).
* ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'': In ''Mutiny'', the ship the 58th faces destruction by the chigs if they don't divert power from one section to get away. That section happens to be where the [=InVitro=]s are being stored, and the [=InVitro=] crewers refuse their orders. A mutiny occurs, but eventually they're persuaded to stand down because if they don't do this, ''everyone'' will die. In the end, they do it.
* ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale'': Fred justifies what the Republic of Gilead does based on this, saying they wanted to make the world better, but that never means better for everyone -- it's always worse for some.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
** In "Streets of Fire" Oliver is briefly torn between escorting Laurel to safety or [[spoiler:getting the cure to the Mirakuru serum]], which he will need to stop Slade. To make matters worse, the two goals are in opposite directions. She makes the choice for him:
-->'''Laurel:''' I don't need you right now. Everyone else does. So go. Go save the city.
** In "My Name is Oliver Queen", Felicity tries to get Roy to abandon his work on [[spoiler:an inoculant to the Alpha and Omega virus]] to save Oliver. Ray quite rightly refuses, pointing out that thousands will die if he stops. She insists ''again'' that he save Oliver instead, only for him to refuse again. [[spoiler:He then realizes that [[TakeAThirdOption he can work on the inoculant, and she can use his ATOM suit to save Oliver.]]]]

* ''{{Series/Elementary}}'': Odin Reichenbach justifies the vigilante killings he orders with this principle, saying it saves far more lives as the people killed would have murdered thousands. He even has a number of major intelligence and police officials behind him, since they agree. [[spoiler: It turns out he's a hypocrite however, as some of the killings are just to eliminate obstacles in his corporate acquisitions, which he covers up by claiming the victims were also plotting murders.]]

* As in Literature/TheBible, The High Priest Caiaphas in Theater/JesusChristSuperstar suggests that "for the sake of the nation, this Jesus Must Die."

** Tau: Their main philosophy, the so-called "Greater Good", is essentially this. All Tau are expected to act in benefit to as many of their kind as possible, and screwing over others to benefit yourself is seen as one of the greatest sins you could commit. [[BlueAndOrangeMorality While personal ambition is a sin, ambition on a galaxy-wide scale is considered a virtue.]] Curiously, the idea of sacrificing yourself to achieve victory isn't seen as a virtue either - a commander who lets the situation degrade into a last stand clearly wasn't very competent to begin with, and one who invokes WeHaveReserves clearly doesn't give a crap about the Greater Good of helping his many subordinates.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', characters who acquire the "Cosmic Transcendence of Compassion" ability turn that compassion entirely towards the greater good, which allows -- and even obliges -- them to "sacrifice millions of lives to save billions more". Such people have to strain themselves to show compassion towards individuals if the act isn't a net gain for society as a whole.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'''s ''Arrival'' DLC has Commander Shepard [[spoiler:ram an asteroid into a Mass Relay. The resultant explosion wipes out the entire system it's in, obliterating 305,000 colonists and [[ZeroApprovalGambit Shepard will be put on trial for his/her actions]]. Justification? It delays a [[EldritchAbomination Reaper]] invasion, which would have wiped out all sentient life in ''the entire galaxy''.]]
** A recurring theme in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'': If the galaxy is to survive, nobody can afford to stand by their own grudges (and there are ''many'' grudges, going back a thousand years or more) Also subverted multiple times: several leaders are forced to flee from battle, often leaving their own troops to die without them, because their leadership is needed by their people as a whole. At one point Shepard can be [[SadisticChoice forced to choose which of two entire alien races is more worth saving]]. [[spoiler:(Though if a [[OldSaveBonus save from the previous games in which certain choices were made is imported]] Shepard can convince both sides to lay down their arms and make peace.)]]
** The same reveals that this is the ultimate "logic" behind [[spoiler: the Reaper cycle. The Catalyst eventually decided that, since organics and synthetics cannot be made to get along, it is better to harvest all sufficiently intelligent species every 50000 years to prevent a RobotWar that could result in destruction so great that no life would survive it.]]
** This is also Shepard's logic for saving Admiral Koris over [[TheMenFirst his men]], arguing that Koris's survival is the only hope to get the quarian fleet out intact.
** Garrus Vakarian makes reference to this as he can convey to Shepard during quiet moments, as he has become an advisor to the Turian Primarch about what to do when Palevan comes under attack by the Reapers.
-->'''Garrus:''' Suppose that's what it's going to take, Shepard: the ruthless calculus of war. Ten billion people over here die so twenty billion over there can live.
* In ''VideoGame/InFamous'' Cole is faced with the sadists choice of saving the one or the many; [[spoiler: his girlfriend Trish or half a dozen doctors who could save many lives themselves.]] It's a Karma-Moment, so the player gets to decide and is rewarded good or evil karma for a selfless or selfish decision respectively. Of course, [[spoiler: it's programmed so she's doomed no matter what you choose, to prove a lesson either way. If you go after the doctors, which brings good karma, then it turns out Kessler told the truth and Trish really ''is'' the girl in the opposite tower, and she dies. Kessler congratulates you for making the selfless choice. But if you choose to save Trish and earn evil karma, then it turns out Kessler lied and the girl you save was just some random civilian; Trish was actually one of the doctors, and they all die. Then Kessler berates you for being selfish and putting your happiness above potentially several lives.]]

* A recurring theme in ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}''. In one level the player plays a member of a Russian special forces team trying to prevent a nuclear attack in Paris. The team at the beginning discusses that they may come into a firefight with French police, but that it's far more important to stop the nuclear attack than worry about the fate of a few police. Later playing as an American forces they come under fire by Russian military who are basically after the same thing but fight back due to no other choice, the player character later says he held nothing against the Russians and doesn't consider them his enemy despite them killing much of his squad. Near the end of the game, it comes in full force when the player character [[spoiler: guns down his commanding officer to allow a Russian special forces soldier to escape as the only hope of preventing a nuclear attack.]]
* The TropeNamer phrase is quoted word for word in the scrolling text on the intro screen to ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}''. Rather appropriate, as the gameplay involves sacrificing the smallest number of Lemmings as possible so the rest can reach the exit.

* ''VideoGame/TheTuringTest'': [[spoiler:TOM is willing to sacrifice the entire crew to protect the rest of humanity back on Earth.]]

* This was the logic behind creating the [[SuperSoldier SPARTAN-II program]] in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''. Faced with a galaxy-wide civil war that threatened to completely destabilize the UNSC and fighting terrorists who were willing to [[NukeEm use nukes in populated areas]] to achieve their goals, which would result in millions, if not ''billions'' dead, ONI authorized Dr. Catherine Halsey to create a fighting force that could stop them. Said process involved taking kidnapping 75 children around 6 to 7 years old, subjecting them to TrainingFromHell, giving them physical augmentations that ''killed'' or crippled at least half of them, and committing them to a lifetime of battle. Noticeably, while the survivors were a resounding success against the Insurrection and would become humanity's best hope against the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Covenant]], Halsey always carried a great deal of guilt about the process and resolved to do right by them as best as she could. As she told Cortana herself [[Literature/HaloFirstStrike once]]:
-->"I'm tired of sacrificing others for the 'greater good.' It never stops, Cortana...and we're running out of people to sacrifice."
* ''VideoGame/SpiderManEdgeOfTime'': This is the primary source of conflict between Spider-Man 2099 and the present day Spider-Man. Miguel is only concerned with the grand scheme of things and stopping [[BigBad Walker Sloan]] from ruining the future, while Peter is [[ChronicHeroSyndrome obsessed with the human cost of his actions]] and refuses to abandon innocent people no matter what. At one point, the two end up in each other's time periods, and when Peter finds out that [[LoveInterest Mary Jane]] is destined to die that night, Miguel initially refuses to save her, stating he's got "enough to deal with," and only goes along with it when Peter outright begs him to do so. Even so, it doesn't stop him from snarking about it.
-->'''O'Hara:''' Hope the universe doesn't end while I'm trying to save one person.
* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' sees [[spoiler:Peter forced to decide if he should let scientists study the cure for the Devil's Breath, which would mean Aunt May would die, or give May the cure, which would doom many more to death. While in a moment of emotion, he nearly gives the cure to May, he ultimately chooses to let the cure by mass-produced and says his goodbyes to May.]]
* ''VideoGame/Fallout76'' has the quest "A Personal Moment", in which you learn that the Overseer for Vault 76 learned of the "Societal Preservation Program" -- Vault-Tec's plans to use the majority of the Vaults as testbeds for extreme social engineering projects, which turned most of the Vaults into miniature hells that doomed the people they were supposed to save. She could have taken this information to the news media and perhaps stopped the atrocities from happening... instead, she covered it up, because she genuinely believed that the program was for the greater good; they weren't going to be able to save everyone anyway, so why not use these tests to make sure that the absolute best was done to handle that crucial minority. Though unconfirmed, the implication exists that Vault 76 was exempted from these experiments as a reward for her loyalty to Vault-Tec.

* In the DLC missions of ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'', Matias Torres, the captain of the submarine ''Alicorn'', justifies his plan to nuke Osean capital Oured with this. He and his crew strongly believe that killing one million people in their attack would end the ongoing war, which could otherwise cause ten million to die...[[spoiler:or, so he would have his crew and the rest of the world believe. In reality, he is a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist BloodKnight whose ''true'' goal is killing the million people at a ''peace rally'' using the nuke as part of his [[NightmareFetishist fetishistic]] obsession with death, and doesn't really care about whether or not it will end the war, as long as he gets what he wants.]]
-->'''Torres''': The world shall be horrified by the number of lives we will take. Only then will they let go of their weapons... Weapons that would have taken the lives of ten million!
* A conversation between Joel and Ellie in ''Videogame/TheLastOfUs'' deals with this. Ellie finds a dead body outside the Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone, and Joel explains that the military would kill people that they couldn't let in because dead people can't catch the Cordyceps infection and sacrificing the few would save the many. Ellie comments on how shitty that is and Joel, who lost his daughter to a trigger-happy soldier maintaining the quarantine, seems to agree. [[spoiler:This conversation foreshadows the ending of the game. When Joel and Ellie finally find the Fireflies, Marlene explains to Joel that the process of creating a vaccine for the infection will result in Ellie's death, as they need to cut up her brain to remove the mutated fungus. Marlene is Ellie's surrogate mother, but she is willing to sacrifice Ellie if it means curing the infection and saving what's left of humanity. Joel, on the other hand, is not. And let's just say that Joel brutally wins that battle.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'', a flashback to [[spoiler:just before Ellie's surgery]] involves a discussion of this. [[spoiler:Marlene is reluctant to accept that Ellie has to die, but Jerry insists on it, although he's shaken when Marlene asks if he'd be willing to do the operation if it was for his daughter Abby. After Marlene leaves, Abby tells Jerry that if she was immune, she'd willingly consent to the procedure and give her life for the sake of humanity]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Singularity}}'': The game has three endings based on how you want to use time travel: listen to mission control for the 'supposed' greater good of rewriting history to stop a BadFuture, join with the BigBad and work on improving the present, or TakeAThirdOption. [[spoiler:Rewriting history for the greater good means inadvertently betraying your country to support the rise of a semi-benevolent Russian regime. Joining the BigBad inevitably starts a second civil war. Taking A third option means refusing to let others tell you what to do, killing everyone involved, and leaving to forge your own destiny.]] The achievements are also named after this trope: 'The needs of the Many', 'The needs of the few', or 'The needs of One'.
* This is a ''constant'' theme in ''VideoGame/DyingLight'', which continually brings Kyle Crane into conflict with his superiors. He wants to help the survivors still trapped within the quarantined city of Harran as much as possible, while his superiors have deemed said survivors to be completely expendable where it comes to saving the rest of the world. To quote just one of many examples:
--> '''Crane:''' There are still hundreds of innocent people in here! Maybe thousands!
--> '''GRE:''' Irrelevant. We're doing this to protect ''billions'' of lives. Surely you can understand that!

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', A recurring theme and character flaw of Ironwood's is that he is willing to make any sacrifice for the sake of protecting the people of Remnant, even his own personal safety.[[spoiler: This is deconstructed however come Volume 7, by demonstrating Ironwood doesn't know when he's gone too far. In his quest to stop Salem and protect Remnant, Ironwood's actions have negatively affected the people of Mantle as he continues to rationalize it as necessary. Jaune and Nora however, both point out that his actions only hurt his cause, with the people of Remnant distrusting him for his embargo and the people of Mantle despising him for his military presence negatively affecting them. Eventually, he even begins to see Salem's lack of humanity as an asset and wishes he too could sacrifice his humanity, requiring Oscar trying to keep him grounded and make sure he doesn't do anything he'd end up regretting. When he realizes Cinder is in the city and Salem is on her way in person, he concludes that it's now impossible to save both Mantle and Atlas; he decides to save Atlas with a plan to send the city high enough into the sky to outfly the Grimm, abandoning Mantle and its remaining, un-evacuated citizens, to their deaths. His argument is that, if he tries to complete the evacuation of Mantle, Salem will destroy the entire kingdom, obtain both Relics and the Winter Maiden and then be able to conquer the rest of Remnant. By dooming Mantle, he believes Atlas and the rest of Remnant can be saved. It triggers a terrible in-universe schism as the protagonists split into two factions: those who agree with Ironwood's assessment and those who don't. During their final argument in the Atlas Vault, Oscar even points out that he would technically only be saving a handful of lives with raising one single city out of reach while Salem will slaughter the millions of others left on Remnant.]]

* On ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', Stan quotes it to his father, claiming it's "[[AsTheGoodBookSays from a little book called The Bible]]." Kyle then corrects him and tells him it's from ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Wrath of Khan]]''.

* The ultimate reason why the lower levels of warfare must always be subordinated to the higher levels - [[StrategyVersusTactics tactics to operations, operations to strategy, and strategy to Grand Strategy]] - to avoid disaster.

* On a debatably positive note, this is part of the 'logic' behind assassinating a tyrant - kill one obviously evil person (and those loyal to him) so that thousands or even millions may live free of his oppression.