First, evaluate how much I need the money. Take as much as much as necessary but return everything else.
Well, Tsukubus, you're sort of on the extreme side— doing whatever the hell you want as long as you're sure you won't get in trouble. But I think that without any laws or moral guidelines, this world would be a mess. Even if there are people that ignore those laws, it's better than if we didn't even had them. For example, pretty much everyone violates traffic laws. It's just too easy. But if we didn't even have traffic laws, people might still drive carefully to be safe. But some irresponsible people will say, "Oh, hey, I can drive however I want and I won't get in trouble!" and then thirty car pileups start to become a common sight. Traffic would be a hell lot more confusing, at the very least. Personal loyalty vs. the law (ex: lying to authorities to keep friends out of jail, etc) is probably too off topic. See [1].
As for bending the rules to one's own benefit, there is definitely a shady area between "acceptable to all but the Knight Templars" and "moral abomination". Tsukubis gives me the impression that (s)he believes this distinction is useless. It has always seemed to me that it is what keeps a society from descending into total chaos. From my understanding, that's anarchy. Society can function well enough with discreet infractions, but the felons should be kept to a minimum. Therefore, we do need laws.
Sorry if I'm not very clear or if I repeated something already said. I'll try to explain further if necessary. And this probably wasn't the best way to put things, but I got the point across.
edited 24th Jan '11 11:20:40 PM by snowfoxofdeath
Warm hugs and morally questionable advice given here. Prosey BitchfestBut the thing about traffic laws is that people actually do follow them. I know it seems like they're being broken 24-7, and that's true of things like stop signs and speed limits, but most people do follow laws that tell them to stay on their side of the road, for example, or to stop at red lights, just for their own safety. Traffic rules are one of the types of laws that primarily aren't put in place to deter bad people, they're put in place to organize and regulate good people for their own benefit.
"War doesn't prove who's right, only who's left." "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."Incidentally, in Jamaica they don't have traffic rules. By common convention, everyone leans on their horn when approaching an intersection, and if you hear another person's horn, you stop. But they probably have very few cars on the road.
If I'm asking for advice on a story idea, don't tell me it can't be done.

About the wallet scenario: I'd like to think I would return it in full, but it depends on how desperate my situation is whether or not I take a small "finder's fee". I hope I'll never have a need to take a stranger's money to eat/get clothing/get shelter, but it might happen. However, I'm pretty sure that even in such a situation, I wouldn't actively steal someone's wallet, whether or not anyone else would know.
Tsu, it must be a very exhausting double life you live. I know I couldn't handle that sort of stress. It's said that a bad person has to be a lot smarter and tougher than a good one to have even a fraction of the latter's mental health. Now I see why.
"War doesn't prove who's right, only who's left." "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."