This is a sidetrack off of my psychology posts to touch on something that I was discussing earlier today.
Personal ambition is more important to a person than the common good. To each of us, the importance of our personal desires and needs far outweighs the importance of the wants and needs of the many. This bias has manifested itself into the design of our entire society.
There is no "common good".
There is no real effort from those in positions of power to produce outcomes that would be the most beneficial to the most beings - they only do what is beneficial for themselves. Consider big corporations: they claim to be the backbone of our economy, but their bottom line is profit - not the common good. Consider political office bearers: they claim to want to use their positions to improve the lives of many - but they end up doing the bare minimum, not addressing or discussing solutions to relevant issues, protecting themselves and those who pay their salaries (corporations), and putting their ambition in front of really making an effort to make a change. Consider lobbyists: the only ones who survive their business are the ones who work for the corporations, the others who address real issues and solutions are steamrolled. Consider governments: they claim to act only in the interests of the citizens of their country, yet they allow pollution, violence, starvation, inadequate housing, inadequate education - all because those people in the government are more interested in their own positions, their personal power, their personal wealth. Making substantial changes that would improve quality of life on a large scale would require the complete re-structuring of our society and system - there are simply too many powerful people and entities with too much to lose.
Corporations will never fund a movement that would make the minimum wage high enough to give people a decent life - it would diminish their own profit too much. Corporations will never fund a movement to clean up the planet and stop all future pollution - it would cost too much. Corporations will never change their structures and goals to be oriented toward doing only what is best for all beings - there would be no profit in that.
We ask ourselves the questions: What is money when it comes to life?
We have answered that question every time we justify a minimum wage that does not adequately sustain a decent lifestyle. We answer that question every time we justify or "forget about" people living in squalor. We answer that question every time a person suffers or dies because they could not afford decent healthcare. We answer that question every time we justify an education system that does not educate children. We answer this question every time we accept our corrupt and self-serving governments' existences.
What is money when it comes to life? - Everything.
What is life when it comes to money? - Nothing.
There is no common good. It is a fiction, a fantasy we use to make ourselves feel better.
There is only my own good and your own good. Everyone wants to profit, everyone wants to gain - but at what price?
Personal ambition is more important to a person than the common good. To each of us, the importance of our personal desires and needs far outweighs the importance of the wants and needs of the many. This bias has manifested itself into the design of our entire society.
There is no "common good".
There is no real effort from those in positions of power to produce outcomes that would be the most beneficial to the most beings - they only do what is beneficial for themselves. Consider big corporations: they claim to be the backbone of our economy, but their bottom line is profit - not the common good. Consider political office bearers: they claim to want to use their positions to improve the lives of many - but they end up doing the bare minimum, not addressing or discussing solutions to relevant issues, protecting themselves and those who pay their salaries (corporations), and putting their ambition in front of really making an effort to make a change. Consider lobbyists: the only ones who survive their business are the ones who work for the corporations, the others who address real issues and solutions are steamrolled. Consider governments: they claim to act only in the interests of the citizens of their country, yet they allow pollution, violence, starvation, inadequate housing, inadequate education - all because those people in the government are more interested in their own positions, their personal power, their personal wealth. Making substantial changes that would improve quality of life on a large scale would require the complete re-structuring of our society and system - there are simply too many powerful people and entities with too much to lose.
Corporations will never fund a movement that would make the minimum wage high enough to give people a decent life - it would diminish their own profit too much. Corporations will never fund a movement to clean up the planet and stop all future pollution - it would cost too much. Corporations will never change their structures and goals to be oriented toward doing only what is best for all beings - there would be no profit in that.
We ask ourselves the questions: What is money when it comes to life?
We have answered that question every time we justify a minimum wage that does not adequately sustain a decent lifestyle. We answer that question every time we justify or "forget about" people living in squalor. We answer that question every time a person suffers or dies because they could not afford decent healthcare. We answer that question every time we justify an education system that does not educate children. We answer this question every time we accept our corrupt and self-serving governments' existences.
What is money when it comes to life? - Everything.
What is life when it comes to money? - Nothing.
There is no common good. It is a fiction, a fantasy we use to make ourselves feel better.
There is only my own good and your own good. Everyone wants to profit, everyone wants to gain - but at what price?
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