On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 9:04 AM, William Conger <[email protected]>wrote:
> ...The Founding Fathers valued > Virtue as the highest good. For them it meant self-deprecation and > service for > the greater good: putting the other fellow's need above self-interest. > Some > actually tried to follow that principle and they certainly framed a > Constitution > that aimed at embodying it. > > But isn't virtue more valued in aristocratic systems where citizens (and the elite) are encouraged to work for the system? In our meritocratic system, doesn't everyone (especially the elite) feel that, rather than work for the system (by getting a paycheck), that they should strive to get the system to work for them by accumulating enough wealth from making investments? Considering that investments can go bad, doesn't the capitalist system encourage everyone to think in terms of gaining advantages by taking gambles?: - For the merchant, even honesty is a financial speculation. (Baudelaire) So much for honesty and virtue in the meritocratic/capitalistic system.
