It only makes sense to speak of whether or not the ends justify the means. "Break a few eggs to make an omelette." ENDS JUSTIFY MEANS "Cut off your nose to spite your face." ENDS DON'T JUSTIFY MEANS

It varies on whether it is seen from an individual's viewpoint or a collective viewpoint ..and also the time span required for the end to be 'seen'...and how profound the sense of altruism is for the future.

END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS -- "The Greek playwright Sophocles wrote in Electra (c 409 B.C.), 'The end excuses any evil,' a thought later rendered by the Roman poet Ovid as 'The result justifies the deed' in 'Heroides' (c. 10 B.C.)." From "Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993). Another source explains the phrase as meaning: "Anything is acceptable if it leads to a successful result." First use in the United States: "Diary" (1657) by Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705), American clergyman and poet. "The means justify the end" is a variation. From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996). http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/44/messages/22.html Cf. [Ovid Heroides ii. 85] exitus acta probat, the outcome justifies the deeds. The negative of this is also often asserted. The ende good, doeth not by and by make the meanes good. [1583 G. Babington Exposition of Commandments 260] The End must justify the Means: He only Sins who Ill intends. [1718 M. Prior Literary Works (1971) I. 186] ‘The police don't like to have their bodies moved.’‥‘In this case the end justifies the means.’ [1941 ‘H. Bailey’ Smiling Corpse 238] The conservatives' war on drugs is an example of good intentions that have had unfortunate consequences. As often happens with noble causes, the end justifies the means, and the means of the drug war are inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution and our civil liberties. [2001 Washington Times 2 Aug. A16] A good outcome excuses any wrongs committed to attain it. For example, He's campaigning with illegal funds on the theory that if he wins the election the end will justify the means, or The officer tricked her into admitting her guilt--the end sometimes justifies the means. This proverbial (and controversial) observation dates from ancient times, but in English it was first recorded only in 1583. http://www.answers.com/topic/the-ends-justify-the-means In ethics, consequentialist doctrines are those which judge actions by their effects (or, sometimes, their intended effects) rather than by their conformance to rules, rights, or obligations. Consequentialist ethics are normally contrasted with deontological moral arguments (from the Greek deontos, meaning duty), which have been the overwhelmingly predominant form of moral judgements for most of human history. The most important tradition of consequentialist ethics is utilitarianism. In ethics, the doctrine that actions should be judged right or wrong on the basis of their consequences. The simplest form of consequentialism is classical (or hedonistic) utilitarianism, which asserts that an action is right or wrong according to whether it maximizes the net balance of pleasure over pain in the universe. The consequentialism of G.E. Moore, known as "ideal utilitarianism," recognizes beauty and friendship, as well as pleasure, as intrinsic goods that one's actions should aim to maximize. According to the "preference utilitarianism" of R.M. Hare (1919 – 2002), actions are right if they maximize the satisfaction of preferences or desires, no matter what the preferences may be for. Consequentialists also differ over whether each individual action should be judged on the basis of its consequences or whether instead general rules of conduct should be judged in this way and individual actions judged only by whether they accord with a general rule. The former group are known as "act-utilitarians" and the latter as "rule-utilitarians. http://www.search.com/search?q=consequentialism

You've got it right :D