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> Anybody with any sort of ambition will display those in some shape There's an important difference between ambition for selfish gain and ambition to better h

> Anybody with any sort of ambition will display those in some shape There's an important difference between ambition for selfish gain and ambition to better help others. > but toxic/fake positivity is not helpful in a competitve env That's why I counsel real positivity that comes from having tuned one's moral compass towards compassion, or at least trying to. As to competitive environs, we would be much less wasteful and destructive if we cooperated instead of competing. > sales is just lying/over promising Merlin explained in Excalibur that honesty is the most important virtue via, "When a man lies, he murders some part of the world."

WalterBright 2y ago
> As to competitive environs, we would be much less wasteful and destructive if we cooperated instead of competing. The communist countries have some of the most polluted areas on the planet. > There's an important difference between ambition for selfish gain and ambition to better help others. Everybody is selfish. The beauty of the free market is it enables selfish behavior to help others. All attempts at creating selfless societies have resulted in misery and poverty.
- MrMcCall 2y ago
  > The communist countries have some of the most polluted areas on the planet. They were not cooperating, my friend, they were manifesting a ruling class that was above the law and pillaged the land for personal gain and sometimes even for the state. > Everybody is selfish. We are only as selfish as we choose to be, likewise our sense of ethics is only as developed as the virtues we embrace. Yes, we begin life selfish and most of our cultures are selfishly oriented towards others, but these are all the result of the citizens' choices. And, yes, our beliefs are chosen as well, and are as adaptable as we like. > The beauty of the free market is it enables selfish behavior to help others. I would say, rather, that the free market is good at letting people act selfishly, for either good or ill. That's why I like my capitalism with fetters, plenty of fetters. But, yeah, capitalism that doesn't destroy the powerless is the best path forward. > All attempts at creating selfless societies have resulted in misery and poverty. No, most humans that say they're creating selfless societies are really just grifters who want to be the new royalty. Selfishness always results in misery on some level, for some person or persons. We can develop systems that reward those who innovate and improve our life on Earth, without jeopardizing our environment and the peace among people. We could choose that, my friend. The problem is that most people don't care enough about others to be generous. We could each choose to learn how to be virtuous and then dedicate ourselves to helping implement a compassionate, sensible, and sustainable world society. All that's holding us back is our unwillingness to admit we each have the ability to be a part of the solution, as opposed to our currently sadass status quo.
  - WalterBright 2y ago
    Name an unselfish person, and I'll show you a selfish person.
    - bdangubic 2y ago
      Mother Theresa
      - WalterBright 2y ago
        Some quotes from the Wikipedia article on her https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa > "I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith." > Chatterjee criticized her for promoting a "cult of suffering" and a distorted, negative image of Calcutta, exaggerating work done by her mission and misusing funds and privileges at her disposal. > Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, mayor of Calcutta from 2005 to 2010, said that "she had no significant impact on the poor of this city", glorified illness instead of treating it and misrepresented the city: "No doubt there was poverty in Calcutta, but it was never a city of lepers and beggars, as Mother Teresa presented it." While I am not a confidante of hers (and neither are you) I expect her selfish reward was the satisfaction in her work, the gratitude of those she helped, and the approbation from others. Selfish desires are not only about money.
        MrMcCall 2y ago
        Yeah, I don't think the reports about her after her death were kind to the Church's claims of her having had a loving nature. It's possible my father was an Altar Boy in Pennsylvania. Some real monsters found a place to stay in those Parishes. My theory is that that's why PA is the home of some of the best wrestlers in the world. PA's report on CC sexual abuse of children was, IIUC, 800 pages long. And, to keep those collection baskets full, they covered it all up. I like how Robin Wiliams said it, "It's not just a sin, it's a felony!" We must treasure all children, and protect them with the most stringent consequences for the monsters of this world.

WalterBright 2y ago

> As to competitive environs, we would be much less wasteful and destructive if we cooperated instead of competing. The communist countries have some of the most polluted areas on the planet. > There's an important difference between ambition for selfish gain and ambition to better help others. Everybody is selfish. The beauty of the free market is it enables selfish behavior to help others. All attempts at creating selfless societies have resulted in misery and poverty.

MrMcCall 2y ago
> The communist countries have some of the most polluted areas on the planet. They were not cooperating, my friend, they were manifesting a ruling class that was above the law and pillaged the land for personal gain and sometimes even for the state. > Everybody is selfish. We are only as selfish as we choose to be, likewise our sense of ethics is only as developed as the virtues we embrace. Yes, we begin life selfish and most of our cultures are selfishly oriented towards others, but these are all the result of the citizens' choices. And, yes, our beliefs are chosen as well, and are as adaptable as we like. > The beauty of the free market is it enables selfish behavior to help others. I would say, rather, that the free market is good at letting people act selfishly, for either good or ill. That's why I like my capitalism with fetters, plenty of fetters. But, yeah, capitalism that doesn't destroy the powerless is the best path forward. > All attempts at creating selfless societies have resulted in misery and poverty. No, most humans that say they're creating selfless societies are really just grifters who want to be the new royalty. Selfishness always results in misery on some level, for some person or persons. We can develop systems that reward those who innovate and improve our life on Earth, without jeopardizing our environment and the peace among people. We could choose that, my friend. The problem is that most people don't care enough about others to be generous. We could each choose to learn how to be virtuous and then dedicate ourselves to helping implement a compassionate, sensible, and sustainable world society. All that's holding us back is our unwillingness to admit we each have the ability to be a part of the solution, as opposed to our currently sadass status quo.
- WalterBright 2y ago
  Name an unselfish person, and I'll show you a selfish person.
  - bdangubic 2y ago
    Mother Theresa
    - WalterBright 2y ago
      Some quotes from the Wikipedia article on her https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa > "I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith." > Chatterjee criticized her for promoting a "cult of suffering" and a distorted, negative image of Calcutta, exaggerating work done by her mission and misusing funds and privileges at her disposal. > Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, mayor of Calcutta from 2005 to 2010, said that "she had no significant impact on the poor of this city", glorified illness instead of treating it and misrepresented the city: "No doubt there was poverty in Calcutta, but it was never a city of lepers and beggars, as Mother Teresa presented it." While I am not a confidante of hers (and neither are you) I expect her selfish reward was the satisfaction in her work, the gratitude of those she helped, and the approbation from others. Selfish desires are not only about money.
      - MrMcCall 2y ago
        Yeah, I don't think the reports about her after her death were kind to the Church's claims of her having had a loving nature. It's possible my father was an Altar Boy in Pennsylvania. Some real monsters found a place to stay in those Parishes. My theory is that that's why PA is the home of some of the best wrestlers in the world. PA's report on CC sexual abuse of children was, IIUC, 800 pages long. And, to keep those collection baskets full, they covered it all up. I like how Robin Wiliams said it, "It's not just a sin, it's a felony!" We must treasure all children, and protect them with the most stringent consequences for the monsters of this world.