Excerpt from The Golden Mean* by Dale Lugenbehl:

Killing is an interesting and difficult example to use in connection with the golden mean.  Could we say that Hitler, Ted Bundy, and Charles Manson killed too much?  Could we say that the reason they behaved badly is that  killing people simply because they are Jewish or because they are female and have long hair is killing in excess?  Is there a "right amount" of killing?  Could someone behave wrongly because they did not kill ENOUGH?  Is there such a thing as behaving wrongly because one's killing is deficient?
        

What might a case of "deficient killing" look like?  If the only way I can prevent an extremely violent person from killing me and my family is to kill them, would it be wrong of me NOT to kill and as a consequence allow the preventable deaths of innocent people?  Would this be a wrongful act because it was "too little" in the way of killing on my part?  Other examples might be euthanasia for a hopelessly ill person in extreme pain, using dynamite to save 19 people suffocating in a cave but killing the 20th person stuck in the mouth of the cave (who would suffocate anyway) , pulling up a plant (thus killing it) and eating it when it is the only food available, killing termites when it is the only way to prevent them from destroying your house....    According to the doctrine of the mean, our behavior in regard to killing in these cases might be viewed as deficient (too little) and thus to NOT kill under these circumstances might well be wrong.
        

Additional cases on the side of "excess killing" might be killing cows, pigs, and chickens for food in our culture when we could be just as well nourished without killing them, and our killing them for food in this way causes them great suffering and does great damage to the environment.   Something similar might be said of killing nonhuman animals for sport, or for clothing when we could easily meet our clothing and entertainment needs without killing.
        

The killing that happens during an abortion is a difficult case for this doctrine.  Could the golden mean be used to make a determination in cases of abortion?
        

Consumption (buying, using, having) is also an interesting example of behavior to explore using the golden mean.  How much in the way of possessions and wealth is "enough?"
        

Closely related to consumption is the issue of working at a job in order to make money.  If I am unemployed and canít pay my basic living expenses, my working is deficient.  But many people work 40, 50, 60, and 70+ hours per week to pay for fancier cars, houses, clothing, and vacations, and their  working so much introduces high levels of stress into their lives and leaves little time for anything else.    How much work is really enough?