Is lying more or less unethical than stealing?
 

If you steal something, you take physical objects that don't belong to you. If you lie, you don't necessarily "take" anything. But you do create a mindset in another person that could manipulate him to do something that you want -- something that he might not otherwise do, and might not be in his best interests.

Can there ever be a good theft ("he'd harm himself with it if I hadn't taken it"), or a good lie ("it's for his own good.")? Or not?

It depends on the lie and the theft. If I stole a loaf of bread that would have been thrown away minutes later anyway to give to my starving child is that worse than if I tell the KKK chasing a runaway slave that he/she isn't in my basement when, in fact, they are? Of course not. There are "good" lies and "bad" ones.

When told/done in a harmful manner, both are equal.

When told/done in a good manner, both are equal.

When one is for harm, and one is for good, only the harmful one is more unethical.

unethical to whom, pray tell?

I have to chime in on "the intention is everything" principle. Your intention is the true barometer of positive vs negative.

The actual act is secondary.

Lots of people have good intentsions when committing horrible acts, going to war, ect.

Hitler had good intentions.
All he wanted to do was to improve the quality of the human race.

As it happens, he had poor judgment with regards to what constituted "quality" when it comes to humans, and with regards to the acceptable means to accuire his end.

Ultimately he was doing what he believed was right.

Similar argument could be made about Osama Bin Laden. He was just doing God's wishes.

So, to sum it all up in three words..."Ethics is relative".

Anyone disagree?

I believe that both lying and stealing are both methods of depriving and/or taking truth. If you take the (now cliche'd) loaf of bread for your family, you're depriving the truth of what commerce (as an establishment) is to the merchant. If you lie to get the loaf, the same result occurs. I don't believe there is a good or noble lie or act of stealing. They both are acts of some form of cowardice, no matter how small thy may seem. I'm most certainly not without guilt in this, but I think that a 'good' lie or a 'good reason' to steal is just a matter of justification inside you're own head, you know? If you convince yourself that said cause is worthy, from stealing to feed your starving family or self (when you could go to a food pantry), to telling your boss that your car won't start (when you could've got out of bed earlier), then you can turn that feeling of nobility and justification into a reasonable act. I don't mean to be redundant, but that 's how it is. You lie you lie, you steal you steal... I can't see much of a grey area, no matter how one justifies the acts. Interesting question!

Severity, all of it.

If they both share the same severity I would say its the same crime, even.

You are stealing information and knowlege in once sense, and that steals from the mind.
Stealing material steals from the body.

Its the same crime, in the end.

It's all perspective.

Lying and truth. Viewpoints, not absolutes.

Truth is convention or collective memory, which are highly contaminable sources.