[MD] Altruism: Play The Greed

[ian glendinning]

Mike you said
"Their end was to maximize profit.  That everyone benefited
was only a means to that end, not the aim itself."

Why can't people just accept that that is a virtuous circle ...
neither is end nor means ... there is no chicken or egg here, just an
interconnected dynamic whole.

(You use the past tense in "benefited" then call it the "means to an
end" ... illogical ... which is a good sign of the truth, quality,
reality lurking in there.)

Ian

On 9/27/06, Mike Craghead <mike at humboldtmusic.com> wrote:
> Craig Said,"Rand's industrialists were not altruistic, even by your
> definition.  Their end was to maximize profit.  That everyone benefited
> was only a means to that end, not the aim itself."
>
> Mike replies:
> I think this is key to creating social, economic, ecological change.
> Business is hardly ever altruistic just to do good; only to appear to do
> good, which is more important to business. The true altruist doesn't
> need publicity. As soon as your name is on the plaque or is read between
> shows on public radio or TV, you're really  just buying your advertising
> from a different ad rep. Of course it can be argued that it's much
> better to spend advertising dollars on something that benefits others,
> just like it's better not to drive a Hummer, but to call it altruistic
> is a bit of a stretch.
>
> But my question is, so what?
>
> We can't realistically expect everyone to truly come together on the
> same page and work toward quality, both because quality is subjective
> and because a lot of folks aren't too keen on change anyway. It's the
> ultimate act of subversion to work a system into changing according to
> its own laws. Railing for change from the outside (preaching to the
> converted) works as therapy for those involved, but doesn't work toward
> common ground; it's divisive. Why not figure out ways to make change
> profitable? Does that somehow invalidate positive change? I don't think
> so, as long as we don't fall into "ends justifying means"
> rationalizations of moral impropriety.  ..
>
> Below are the lyrics to one of my favorite "protest" songs. I find it
> vastly superior to other such offerings, because it's practical; it
> doesn't just rant about how bad things are, and it's not divisive. It's
> perspective is pragmatic, and maybe has it's own brand of altruism...
> manipulative altruism? Perhaps I'm endorsing the Manipulative Altruist:
> "Hell, when change comes Let's let 'em take the credit..."
>
> ******************************
> "Play The Greed"
> Dar Williams
>
> I finally learned that the market's righteous holler
> Comes from a pale face on a paper dollar
> And I betcha got few bucks in your hemp wallet
> So throw a tiny wrench in the fiber optic wires
> Morals are cheap and you can be the buyers
> We can let 'em poison and pillage foreign lands
> Or we can play the greed right into our hands
>
> Everybody says it can't happen here
> Everybody says it can't happen here
> Things'll turn around just as sure as they said it
> Hell, things change and they all take credit
>
> So ask why there's only forty songs on stations
> And ask your cafe about their coffee's plantations
> And why is it Arizona hasn't gone solar?
> And tell your print shop that hemp grows faster
> And it doesn't mean a back room clear cut disaster
> The market doesn't care but it wants to understand
> And you can play the greed right into your hands
>
> Smiling man says it can't happen here
> Channel 4 says it can't happen here
> Things'll turn around just as sure as they said it
> Hell, the change comes and they all take credit
>
> So roll up your pennies and do your battle
> The chairman will start quoting Chief Seattle and
> Put little tree frogs on their letterhead
> 'Cause the market resists and the market absorbs
> With a five-pointed leaf on the cover of Forbes
> The very same people turned valleys to dams
> These are the ones that drain prairies to sand
> And they'd just as soon you didn't know this land is your land
> But we can play the world back into our hands
>
> Malcom's gonna say it can't happen here
> Rupert's gonna say it can't happen here
> Things'll turn around just as sure as they said it
> Hell, things change and they'll always take the credit
>
> Hell when change comes
> Let's let 'em take the credit
>
> ******************************
>
> Mike Craghead
>
> humboldtmusic.com
> humboldtmusic.com/mc
> humboldtmusic.com/sarimike
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