Explain the historical background of the concept lifeboat ethics and state which of the basic ethical systems for making decisions was used by the crew at sea

The case is the sinking of the ship William Brown—not enough lifeboats—during which a social utility system was created based on the value of families and the duty to protect women and children. During the court phase, this was determined to be unjust, given that each life is equal. The court ruled that the only fair system would have been a random selection, such as a lottery.