The financial industry, that benefited from direct bailouts of trillions of dollars, will continue to use the profits from their inequitable advantage to squash the dreams of impoverished and unemployed Americans.
Where is love in all of this? Sadly absent. Many ordinary people have been conditioned to think of love and business as separate. Yet the current state of selfishness defined as "virtuous" shows that the soul of money has been left out. Money has no soul or morality, but what we impose on it. If I am okay and you are not, will I help you or look the other way? If I make my living by taking yours, can I really feel I "earned" my lot?
The Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle defined "moral virtue" as habit. How have we as "morally self-righteous" people developed a habit of indifference to the suffering of others and mistaken it for virtue? If love is the concern for our fellow humanity, then why isn't it a fundamental value in business? Where would we be today if "love for one's neighbor" had been part of the core business model in the mortgage market?
Aristotle believed that the unlimited pursuit of wealth was both unnatural and a hindrance to real happiness. He believed that "money makers" focused on immediate pleasure and not on more weighty needs of the soul. The pursuit of wealth at the expense of the community would divide citizens and undermine the stability of society. The current state of the economy has proven the twenty-four hundred year old wisdom correct. (Politics. 1257)
Our "vicious circle" financial system, controlled by a small privileged percentage of the population, has completely abandoned large portions of society. They pull the strings of the economy like we are puppets without hearts or brains. This crisis has forced Middle Class America to its knees-all the more pie to divide up for the lucky few who dictate our lives behind the scenes.
A growing portion of American business, inspired by some of our European counterparts, is repeating the new mantra for the 21st century: doing well by doing good. More and more a growing consciousness among enlightened people comprehends the primitive nature of self-interest at the expense of our neighbors. It gets louder and louder and fills the moral vacuum with a revolution in social responsibility for a new generation of business minds. We believe in making money by making the world a better place.
Perhaps if we repeat it long enough, it will replace the economic brutality of the past.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).