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A briefer version: If Goldman-Sachs or the NSA would do it, I won't.
by beloch 13y ago
A briefer version:
If Goldman-Sachs or the NSA would do it, I won't.
- gjm11 13y agoI don't like this sort of reverse-what-the-bad-guys-do approach to ethics. Goldman Sachs have allegedly given something like $1.6B to charities over the last 5 years or so. Should you avoid charitable giving? They pay their employees very generously. Should you, if you run a company, be sure to pay below market rates? The NSA solves hard problems by combining very clever people with powerful computers. Should you avoid doing that? If you make the principle something more like "If only shady entities like Goldman Sachs or the NSA would do it, I won't" then it becomes much easier to accept -- but then the real work is being done by "others wouldn't do it" rather than by "Goldman Sachs or the NSA would do it".
- adamnemecek 13y agoitwasajoke.jpg
- beloch 13y agoIt was a half-joke. Obviously, even evil companies do some things that are sensible, or even laudable. Nevertheless, there's little question that the world would be better off without Goldman-sachs in it. We're talking about a company that has happily speculated on third-world crop futures and started a famine just to line their pockets! I'd be honestly surprised if their charitable donations exceeded the optimum amount for tax deductions.