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Indeed the whole point of principles is that you keep them when it isn't to your immediate benefit. That's why "Corporate Values" are so empty. They get tossed

Indeed the whole point of principles is that you keep them when it isn't to your immediate benefit. That's why "Corporate Values" are so empty. They get tossed as soon as they conflict with the profit motive. Google's "don't be evil" being the classic example.

lmilcin 5y ago
It is a universal law, known and understood subconsciously in many different ways. Here in Poland we have a saying "you get to know a real friend in bad (times)" (Prawdziwego przyjaciela poznaje się w biedzie). When you feel the values or friendship will not stand the test you will not invest yourself in it and it becomes empty words. Just as democratic values that are set aside when it doesn't exactly align with profit or power goals. People will not stand for something they believe to just be empty words and that's why things like Assange case are so damaging to democracy.
- justicezyx 5y ago
  Chinese has the same saying as "you get to know a real friend in bad (times)" "患难见真情" It's interesting when something almost identical appear in different cultures.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    And in the US "a friend in need is a friend indeed".
    - Wildgoose 5y ago
      And the UK also, although I think you need commas to make the meaning clear: A friend, in need, is a friend indeed.
  - nyokodo 5y ago
    Also the english term "fair-weather friend" for friends who aren't around when times are difficult.
  - toyg 5y ago
    Italian too, "gli amici si vedono nel momento del bisogno" - you see real friends in the hour of need.
  - natmaka 5y ago
    French (at least in France): "c'est dans le besoin que l'on reconnaît ses amis" (nearest well-known English saying: 'A friend in need is a friend indeed').
  - lmilcin 5y ago
    I spent time thinking about this. I think this is the closest to "absolute moral truths". People discover these because these are not some arbitrary rules, the are actually absolute, universal laws. People understand subconsciously, for example, than a person that does good for no reason expresses higher form of being good that a person that does good in exchange for some kind of benefit. It doesn't mean that mutually beneficial relations are not good, the society is basically built on spoken or unspoken contracts. But we understand that a person that does good altruistically, not expecting any benefit for it, is much more likely to be trustworthy in all situation. And a person that does good expecting benefits may (not must, just may) turn on you when they stop seeing benefits. And I think the same goes for countries. When we see US performing their foreign relations game but only ever putting their weight when we can later find they were expecting some kind of benefit, and almost never for countries that have nothing to offer, it becomes transparent to us that US is basically much less likely to be trustworthy than if it did its actions based on principles.
- sdoering 5y ago
  In Germany we have the same saying. > Einen guten Freund erkennt man in der Not (A good friend is recognized in times of need). Edit: Formatting

lmilcin 5y ago

It is a universal law, known and understood subconsciously in many different ways. Here in Poland we have a saying "you get to know a real friend in bad (times)" (Prawdziwego przyjaciela poznaje się w biedzie). When you feel the values or friendship will not stand the test you will not invest yourself in it and it becomes empty words. Just as democratic values that are set aside when it doesn't exactly align with profit or power goals. People will not stand for something they believe to just be empty words and that's why things like Assange case are so damaging to democracy.

justicezyx 5y ago
Chinese has the same saying as "you get to know a real friend in bad (times)" "患难见真情" It's interesting when something almost identical appear in different cultures.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  And in the US "a friend in need is a friend indeed".
  - Wildgoose 5y ago
    And the UK also, although I think you need commas to make the meaning clear: A friend, in need, is a friend indeed.
- nyokodo 5y ago
  Also the english term "fair-weather friend" for friends who aren't around when times are difficult.
- toyg 5y ago
  Italian too, "gli amici si vedono nel momento del bisogno" - you see real friends in the hour of need.
- natmaka 5y ago
  French (at least in France): "c'est dans le besoin que l'on reconnaît ses amis" (nearest well-known English saying: 'A friend in need is a friend indeed').
- lmilcin 5y ago
  I spent time thinking about this. I think this is the closest to "absolute moral truths". People discover these because these are not some arbitrary rules, the are actually absolute, universal laws. People understand subconsciously, for example, than a person that does good for no reason expresses higher form of being good that a person that does good in exchange for some kind of benefit. It doesn't mean that mutually beneficial relations are not good, the society is basically built on spoken or unspoken contracts. But we understand that a person that does good altruistically, not expecting any benefit for it, is much more likely to be trustworthy in all situation. And a person that does good expecting benefits may (not must, just may) turn on you when they stop seeing benefits. And I think the same goes for countries. When we see US performing their foreign relations game but only ever putting their weight when we can later find they were expecting some kind of benefit, and almost never for countries that have nothing to offer, it becomes transparent to us that US is basically much less likely to be trustworthy than if it did its actions based on principles.
sdoering 5y ago
In Germany we have the same saying. > Einen guten Freund erkennt man in der Not (A good friend is recognized in times of need). Edit: Formatting