I guess that makes me stage zero or stage seven depending upon your opinion of moral relativity.

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In so far as the word "knowledge" has any meaning, the world is knowable;
but it is interpretable otherwise,
it has no meaning behind it, but countless meanings.
-Nietzsche

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The problem with 5 is that $2000 for what costs around $200 isn't necessarily fair compensation. As for "others may need the medicine just as badly," he's not necessarily preventing others from having the cure. Clearly paying ~$200 would be enough to fund what he took.
So the fix is to steal the medicine and leave an actual compensation (or even the thousand).

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I agree with this.

I think the best fit for me is stage six. Saving a human life is far more important but I think the doctor should be paid at least the $200 so others can have access to the medicine as well. He'd need the $200 that it cost to make it plus I think he should be paid a little extra that could actually be considered income. Even if human life is valuable, other people still need to live. It wouldn't be much different than saying that a doctor should care for his patients without payment.

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"Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar."
On one issue at least, men and women agree; they both distrust women.

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Quote: from blufindr at 8:28 am on June 17, 2011

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I'm okay with compensating them for their time as well, but if this pharmacist won't even let the guy pay it off in instalments then he's a class-A dick.

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and we aren't dicks for living the way we do when so many children are dying for want of clean water?

just how much lawlessness are you willing to tolerate in the name of preserving life? if all starving people everywhere rioted and looted the property of their richer neighbours, would this be just and good? would the world function better once the dust had settled?

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As far as the chaos of every poor person stealing from the rich, a moral government should ideally facilitate. That is, if there are a significant number of poor and a low number of rich (as is generally the case), a change in government should work to fix the problem. This example doesn't really give context, so who's to say the situation isn't "Everyone else in the country votes that the scientist lower his price" instead of "nobody but the involved parties care."

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Trust me, I'm a scientist.