Thinking about economics and philosophy
My response to a group friends when discussing the current economic situation, two economic theories and the claim of profit being the #1 goal of companies to increase jobs and standard of living.....sorry it's a typical JOEY response BOMB
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I understand and agree that profit is the main goal of a business... and with it comes jobs and increased standard of living BUT....I think in the 21st century there is and will be something more necessary in business and society than greed for the sake of shareholders.....
here me out....due to my youth, tannic tendencies, big ideas and explanations....I'm very much like a red wine...it may take some time to read what's below and you may need to breath deeply while reading but this increased oxygen to the brain hopefully will open up and soften the effect of my verbal tannins on the palate of your mind! Trust me I'll make a point through my rambling but for now focus on the aroma of my written bouquet.
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"If all men were well off, if poverty and disease had been reduced to their lowest possible point, there would still remain much to be done to produce a valuable society; and even in the existing world the goods of the mind are at least as important as the goods of the body. It is exclusively among the goods of the mind that the value of philosophy is to be found; and only those who are not indifferent to these goods can be persuaded that the study of philosophy is not a waste of time." - Bertrand Russell
I'm sorry but being a lover of philosophy and living during these "hard times" I believe we are in a moment a personal, cultural and global re-evaluation on what is "important", "necessary", "just", "fair", "right"....and on what to "value" in society, business and government. I'm sure most of us in this message thread would agree with this and I'd go so far as to say that a majority of the global population would agree as well. But some people view or see some of these issues as a re-evaluation from a philosophical perspective? My friends, these are fundamental questions of philosophy, of life, of what it means to be human and more importantly what it means to be a human among 6 billion other humans.
Am I the only one who thinks of philosophy and all of it's debates, disputes and discourses that has evolved through time along with man? Sometimes I feel like I'd have to say "yes" I am the only one. Now this is not to say that philosophy has the answers nor that I have them. Philosophy merely has the ability to ask and contemplate these questions we have for life, society, business and government. And yes, philosophy and it's philosophers can be meaningless or relative but then so can economics and it's economists. But here's why I think in these times we can value public discourse with a philosophical perspective.
As Bertrand Russell says in "The Value Of Philosophy":
"The value of philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty. The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation or consent of his deliberate reason. To such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected. As soon as we begin to philosophize, on the contrary, we find that even the most everyday things lead to problems to which only very incomplete answers can be given. Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never travelled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an unfamiliar aspect. "
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Do the talking heads on FoxNews and MSNBC, the voices on "____" liberal show or "____" conservative show, the opinions among far left friends and far right friends seem arrogant? Seem to talk about "common sense" ? Seem to never have travelled into the region of liberating doubt or better yet have travelled into the region of mutual understanding with an attitude of coming together vs. tearing apart?
Maybe this is due to a lack of philosophical perspective on what matters in society, business, government and life!?!?!
Instead of shouting at, yelling at, or demeaning each other with and from our "common sense" perspective, wouldn't it make sense to come together from an uncommon perspective that only philosophy can give us?
Wouldn't that be something if Glenn Beck, Bill O' Reily, Keith Olbermann, and Rachael Maddow could get together and throw away their political prejudices derived from their "common sense" for one day and talk about the role and values of people, business and government in society and in the world now that everything is in a global market? Would they be able to break free from the imprisonment of their habitual beliefs of his or her nation? Of his or her own mind?
Wouldn't that be something if we all could have a tea party (grande soy latte party for liberals) and remember what the role of tea and coffee is or was for centuries....that is to sit down together in shared space with others to nourish the body and warm the soul not only with a common, stimulating drink but with stimulating and uncommon conversation about this shared human experience. From the rugs and mint tea of Algeria to the famous cafe houses of Vienna, from the tatami and green tea of Japan to the corner tiendas with the best coffee of Colombia, from tea rooms and Earl Grey of England to the deli, coffee hut and dinner of everywhere U.S.A.
--
Anyways...what I'm getting to is this: Yes, profit is important and necessary for a business to "succeed" but at what cost does profit rule over the other roles of business in society and the world economies? Could it be necessary to move focus from shareholders to the stakeholders (i.e. customers, employees, local communities, supply chain, environment, and or course the shareholders)?
Some say that the common good is reached through enlightened self-interest and that greed is the result of unenlightened self-interest. Often times greed leads to corruption and corruption can hold down society and at times economic freedom. The enlightened self-interest may be idealistic or altruistic and the greed may be reality to many...but why do we give in to this and let it rule us? We all talk about and loosely throw around other idealistic and altruistic ideas such as freedom and we even fight to defend it. So why don’t we fight corruption and greed?
Yes, we can point to crooked politicians and governments for this BUT when it's the greed of corporations, industries and interest groups influencing those in "power"....it's hard to just keep going only with the almighty PROFIT for the shareholder as the means of a "better" life with more jobs and "standard of living"........is it not obvious in today's world where one job is created one or more are taken away somewhere else? Is it not obvious where one man's "standard of living" is increased one family is still held down and taken advantage for the benefit of PROFIT. When greed is the focus who really profits?
Don't get me wrong...I believe in Capitalism...I want it to work.....I believe most companies want to do the right thing BUT I think it is clear through life in a global economy that doing whatever is in "my best interest" to make profit for my company won't be sustainable.
The word is out, from the Harvard Business Review to the Davos World Economic Forum and from the future CEOs to the future employees around the world........times are a changin'.... like all things, we evolve, we improve, we find a way to understand and make life better.....maybe with a little philosophy and a little thought on what's important we can change to say:
"Let's do whatever is in OUR best interest as stakeholders in our business, community and world to make profit which reaches out beyond the bottom line of the balance sheet"
Maybe economics and philosophy can butt heads..... Economics depends upon the idea of man thinking "rationally" in a "rational" world...however the common man relying on common sense often, as Bertrand Russell said, "grows up without cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason".
Isn't our deliberate reason necessary to think and act rationally?????? Hmmm maybe economics and philosophy need each other?
Just a thought from an average Joe who believes a lil philosophy or thoughtful thinking can move us from the unenlightened to the enlightened self-interest side of life.
We don't need to be philosophers on economics but I'll let Bertrand Russell wrap it up:
"Thus, to sum up our discussion of the value of philosophy; Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good."
-
-
I understand and agree that profit is the main goal of a business... and with it comes jobs and increased standard of living BUT....I think in the 21st century there is and will be something more necessary in business and society than greed for the sake of shareholders.....
here me out....due to my youth, tannic tendencies, big ideas and explanations....I'm very much like a red wine...it may take some time to read what's below and you may need to breath deeply while reading but this increased oxygen to the brain hopefully will open up and soften the effect of my verbal tannins on the palate of your mind! Trust me I'll make a point through my rambling but for now focus on the aroma of my written bouquet.
---
"If all men were well off, if poverty and disease had been reduced to their lowest possible point, there would still remain much to be done to produce a valuable society; and even in the existing world the goods of the mind are at least as important as the goods of the body. It is exclusively among the goods of the mind that the value of philosophy is to be found; and only those who are not indifferent to these goods can be persuaded that the study of philosophy is not a waste of time." - Bertrand Russell
I'm sorry but being a lover of philosophy and living during these "hard times" I believe we are in a moment a personal, cultural and global re-evaluation on what is "important", "necessary", "just", "fair", "right"....and on what to "value" in society, business and government. I'm sure most of us in this message thread would agree with this and I'd go so far as to say that a majority of the global population would agree as well. But some people view or see some of these issues as a re-evaluation from a philosophical perspective? My friends, these are fundamental questions of philosophy, of life, of what it means to be human and more importantly what it means to be a human among 6 billion other humans.
Am I the only one who thinks of philosophy and all of it's debates, disputes and discourses that has evolved through time along with man? Sometimes I feel like I'd have to say "yes" I am the only one. Now this is not to say that philosophy has the answers nor that I have them. Philosophy merely has the ability to ask and contemplate these questions we have for life, society, business and government. And yes, philosophy and it's philosophers can be meaningless or relative but then so can economics and it's economists. But here's why I think in these times we can value public discourse with a philosophical perspective.
As Bertrand Russell says in "The Value Of Philosophy":
"The value of philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty. The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation or consent of his deliberate reason. To such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected. As soon as we begin to philosophize, on the contrary, we find that even the most everyday things lead to problems to which only very incomplete answers can be given. Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never travelled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an unfamiliar aspect. "
-
Do the talking heads on FoxNews and MSNBC, the voices on "____" liberal show or "____" conservative show, the opinions among far left friends and far right friends seem arrogant? Seem to talk about "common sense" ? Seem to never have travelled into the region of liberating doubt or better yet have travelled into the region of mutual understanding with an attitude of coming together vs. tearing apart?
Maybe this is due to a lack of philosophical perspective on what matters in society, business, government and life!?!?!
Instead of shouting at, yelling at, or demeaning each other with and from our "common sense" perspective, wouldn't it make sense to come together from an uncommon perspective that only philosophy can give us?
Wouldn't that be something if Glenn Beck, Bill O' Reily, Keith Olbermann, and Rachael Maddow could get together and throw away their political prejudices derived from their "common sense" for one day and talk about the role and values of people, business and government in society and in the world now that everything is in a global market? Would they be able to break free from the imprisonment of their habitual beliefs of his or her nation? Of his or her own mind?
Wouldn't that be something if we all could have a tea party (grande soy latte party for liberals) and remember what the role of tea and coffee is or was for centuries....that is to sit down together in shared space with others to nourish the body and warm the soul not only with a common, stimulating drink but with stimulating and uncommon conversation about this shared human experience. From the rugs and mint tea of Algeria to the famous cafe houses of Vienna, from the tatami and green tea of Japan to the corner tiendas with the best coffee of Colombia, from tea rooms and Earl Grey of England to the deli, coffee hut and dinner of everywhere U.S.A.
--
Anyways...what I'm getting to is this: Yes, profit is important and necessary for a business to "succeed" but at what cost does profit rule over the other roles of business in society and the world economies? Could it be necessary to move focus from shareholders to the stakeholders (i.e. customers, employees, local communities, supply chain, environment, and or course the shareholders)?
Some say that the common good is reached through enlightened self-interest and that greed is the result of unenlightened self-interest. Often times greed leads to corruption and corruption can hold down society and at times economic freedom. The enlightened self-interest may be idealistic or altruistic and the greed may be reality to many...but why do we give in to this and let it rule us? We all talk about and loosely throw around other idealistic and altruistic ideas such as freedom and we even fight to defend it. So why don’t we fight corruption and greed?
Yes, we can point to crooked politicians and governments for this BUT when it's the greed of corporations, industries and interest groups influencing those in "power"....it's hard to just keep going only with the almighty PROFIT for the shareholder as the means of a "better" life with more jobs and "standard of living"........is it not obvious in today's world where one job is created one or more are taken away somewhere else? Is it not obvious where one man's "standard of living" is increased one family is still held down and taken advantage for the benefit of PROFIT. When greed is the focus who really profits?
Don't get me wrong...I believe in Capitalism...I want it to work.....I believe most companies want to do the right thing BUT I think it is clear through life in a global economy that doing whatever is in "my best interest" to make profit for my company won't be sustainable.
The word is out, from the Harvard Business Review to the Davos World Economic Forum and from the future CEOs to the future employees around the world........times are a changin'.... like all things, we evolve, we improve, we find a way to understand and make life better.....maybe with a little philosophy and a little thought on what's important we can change to say:
"Let's do whatever is in OUR best interest as stakeholders in our business, community and world to make profit which reaches out beyond the bottom line of the balance sheet"
Maybe economics and philosophy can butt heads..... Economics depends upon the idea of man thinking "rationally" in a "rational" world...however the common man relying on common sense often, as Bertrand Russell said, "grows up without cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason".
Isn't our deliberate reason necessary to think and act rationally?????? Hmmm maybe economics and philosophy need each other?
Just a thought from an average Joe who believes a lil philosophy or thoughtful thinking can move us from the unenlightened to the enlightened self-interest side of life.
We don't need to be philosophers on economics but I'll let Bertrand Russell wrap it up:
"Thus, to sum up our discussion of the value of philosophy; Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good."
posted by Joe Latorre | 7:31 AM
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