Re: [unrev-II] Breaking the Vicious Economic Cycle

From: Eric Armstrong (eric.armstrong@eng.sun.com)
Date: Fri Jun 23 2000 - 18:36:52 PDT

  • Next message: Eric Armstrong: "Re: [unrev-II] Augment + categories = OHS v0.1"

    Bill Bearden wrote:
    >
    > But isn't the Free Enterprise system really a wonderful example of a
    > Chaordic Organization? It is millions (billions?) of people working
    > together. I find this irony exquisite: common good is achieved in the
    > name of self-interest.
    >
    That, in a nutshell, is the prime virtue of a free economic system.
    Glad you pointed it out.

     
    > ...I believe we will be ready for a new
    > system when all people (not just us ;-) are motivated more by the
    > common good than by self-interest...
    >
    Hmmm. I'm more a beliver in "enlightened self-interest", myself. I'm
    interested in protecting the ecology and improving the quality of life
    mostly as a matter of the good it does me. Fortunately, those goals
    would seem to benefit others, as well, so we all win -- which means that
    hopefully we can move forward with minimal conflict -- he said...

    Side note: One of interesting results of acquiring a belief in
    reincarnation (or one kind or another) is that you really do not know
    where you'll land next. As a matter of "enlightened self-interest" then,
    it become desirable to make sure that all cultures are well-fed, all
    families happy and well-off, etc...

    > If we achieve common good in the name of self-interest, what
    > could we achieve in the name of common good?
    >
    I think that with the majority of economic needs satisfied, the game
    shifts to acquiring reputation and respect. So, as a matter of
    self-interest, we still strive to achieve that which others consider
    good. The material person strives to acquire things that others value,
    for him/herself. The educator/philanthropist strive to give to others
    what *they* value -- an education or opportunity they can use to their
    lives better in some way.

    Conclusion:
    None. My mind is rambling. I just finished the encoding source in XML
    document, which I'm about to post. Took all day. Yikes...

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    IT Professionals: Match your unique skills with the best IT projects at
    http://click.egroups.com/1/3381/5/_/444287/_/961810543/
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Community email addresses:
      Post message: unrev-II@onelist.com
      Subscribe: unrev-II-subscribe@onelist.com
      Unsubscribe: unrev-II-unsubscribe@onelist.com
      List owner: unrev-II-owner@onelist.com

    Shortcut URL to this page:
      http://www.onelist.com/community/unrev-II



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 23 2000 - 18:44:07 PDT