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Would you rather that they compete over who has the largest yacht or the most jets? Think of it as a positive form of conspicuous consumption. Just as a busines

by paul 14y ago

Would you rather that they compete over who has the largest yacht or the most jets? Think of it as a positive form of conspicuous consumption. Just as a business can be good for both the owner and the customer, charity can be beneficial for both the givers and the recipients.

zmitri 14y ago
I definitely agree. Do you think there's some value in making it easier for companies to promote a "positive form of conspicuous consumption"? Or do you think the action is more of a means in itself? For example, if AZ said "Hey users of instagram (or users of AZ product that just sold), we're going to let you decide which cause some of this money goes to," would that create a delta in value from the original proposition?
larrys 14y ago
"positive form of conspicuous consumption" I don't see spending money on yachts or jets as negative and somehow the fact that "charity" is mentioned that's automatically positive. People earn a living staffing yachts and jets, they are built by companies employing people. That money circulates further in the economy and provides benefits and is paying for someone's health care and college education. So to answer your question "Would you rather that they compete..." I would rather they do whatever they want to do with the money they have earned without some kind of movement played out in the press which makes it looks like donating 1/2 to charity is the noble choice to make.
- lincolnq 14y ago
  No. Just no. Where do you think money GOES when it is donated to charity? It doesn't disappear. Are you seriously making the argument that it's better for the world that $X is used to purchase an expensive unnecessary item, than actually spending it on things that matter in the world? "charity" is not some bullshit phrase that means "wasted money". There are a lot of people in the world who make really compelling cases for certain charity money being better spent, in terms of global well being, than almost anything else. See http://www.givewell.org http://www.givewell.org and http://www.givingwhatwecan.org http://www.givingwhatwecan.org.
jacoblyles 14y ago
I would rather have them compete over who can pull off the most awesome technological breakthroughs (asteroid mining, cheap space flight, life extension, genetic therapy, artificial biology, vanquishing diseases). But honestly, how many of them were going to do that with the money, anyway? I agree that charity is better than conspicuous consumption.

by paul 14y ago

zmitri 14y ago

I definitely agree. Do you think there's some value in making it easier for companies to promote a "positive form of conspicuous consumption"? Or do you think the action is more of a means in itself? For example, if AZ said "Hey users of instagram (or users of AZ product that just sold), we're going to let you decide which cause some of this money goes to," would that create a delta in value from the original proposition?

larrys 14y ago

"positive form of conspicuous consumption" I don't see spending money on yachts or jets as negative and somehow the fact that "charity" is mentioned that's automatically positive. People earn a living staffing yachts and jets, they are built by companies employing people. That money circulates further in the economy and provides benefits and is paying for someone's health care and college education. So to answer your question "Would you rather that they compete..." I would rather they do whatever they want to do with the money they have earned without some kind of movement played out in the press which makes it looks like donating 1/2 to charity is the noble choice to make.

lincolnq 14y ago
No. Just no. Where do you think money GOES when it is donated to charity? It doesn't disappear. Are you seriously making the argument that it's better for the world that $X is used to purchase an expensive unnecessary item, than actually spending it on things that matter in the world? "charity" is not some bullshit phrase that means "wasted money". There are a lot of people in the world who make really compelling cases for certain charity money being better spent, in terms of global well being, than almost anything else. See http://www.givewell.org http://www.givewell.org and http://www.givingwhatwecan.org http://www.givingwhatwecan.org.

jacoblyles 14y ago

I would rather have them compete over who can pull off the most awesome technological breakthroughs (asteroid mining, cheap space flight, life extension, genetic therapy, artificial biology, vanquishing diseases). But honestly, how many of them were going to do that with the money, anyway? I agree that charity is better than conspicuous consumption.