tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/greed-4475/articlesGreed – The Conversation2023-03-31T13:55:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2030292023-03-31T13:55:23Z2023-03-31T13:55:23ZSuccession season 4: powerhouse ensemble drama masterfully sets up series finale in first episode<p><em><strong>Note: there are mild spoilers in this piece</strong></em></p>
<p>News just in at Waystar Royco: the stakes have been raised among the warring Roys as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/aug/02/succession-review-brilliant-dissection-mega-rich-family-jesse-armstrong">Succession</a> returns for its final series. </p>
<p>The highly anticipated fourth season of HBO’s hugely popular drama opened with a sombre episode. Creator Jesse Armstrong has confirmed that season four is the last, setting up much speculation about the details of the denouement.</p>
<p>Tonally, the story of the Roy family and the media conglomerate they control, is a cross between <a href="https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/greek-tragedy-an-introduction/">Greek tragedy</a> and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/sunday-reading-the-power-of-political-satire">political satire</a>. This kind of <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780429425622-5/counterpoint-mike-fleming">dramatic counterpoint</a> is an integral feature of the storytelling: it is not unusual for the story to oscillate between black comedy and the profoundly dark stuff of human drama.</p>
<p>This is evident in the season opener at Logan’s birthday party, which sets up socially awkward Cousin Greg on a hilariously misjudged date, and ends with a bleak scene presaging the breakdown of Shiv and Tom’s marriage. </p>
<p>This first episode expertly seeds the plot points that will unravel throughout the final season and culminate in a finale that resolves the core storyline: who will succeed Logan Roy as CEO? One of his deeply flawed “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/dec/22/nepo-babies-what-are-they-and-why-is-gen-z-only-just-discovering-them">nepo-babies</a>” or one of the extended family such as Cousin Greg or son-in-law Tom? Who will survive the bloodletting that is sure to ensue?</p>
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<h2>Going round in circles</h2>
<p>A powerhouse example of ensemble drama, this large cast of characters, each with their own motivations, affords a satisfying narrative complexity. The story is moving to inexorable resolution, demonstrating a willingness to play with the deferral of who will take over from ruthless father and Waystar Royco CEO Logan Roy (Brian Cox).</p>
<p>Over the past three seasons the plot has been going round in circles: Logan promising to appoint a successor and then demurring. Wavering indecision has become an integral part of the story structure. These are people who “talk about talking” (as son Kendall said to siblings Shiv and Roman in season four’s opening episode) – <a href="https://psychcentral.com/lib/machiavellianism-cognition-and-emotion-understanding-how-the-machiavellian-thinks-feels-and-thrives#What-is-a-Machiavellian-personality?">Machiavellian characters</a> who pointedly refuse to say exactly what they are thinking because they believe it to be a sign of weakness.</p>
<p>Snappy exchanges between characters crack along at a pace sometimes hard to take in on first viewing. Dialogue is typically savage and brutal – a marker of the Roys’ dysfunctional family background.</p>
<p>Logan’s children Kendall, Shiv and Roman are each in their own way so toxic that they routinely deploy sexual innuendo to describe power games within the family – there is endless talk of “cocks being sucked”. The dialogue is relentlessly explicit and hints at underlying trauma. </p>
<p>The old man’s birthday party should be a joyous occasion but instead is peopled with acquaintances of little consequence. Some familiar faces do appear – Tom and Cousin Greg dominate, and Connor (Logan’s “number 1” son) and his fiancée are there, but overall the impression is of a sad, empty affair.</p>
<p>The “rats” (Logan’s term for Shiv, Roman and Kendall) are elsewhere, plotting. His wife Marcia is in Milan shopping “forever”. It is so depressing that Logan takes off for a walk in the park with his bodyguard.</p>
<p>A familiar <a href="https://www.skillshare.com/en/blog/the-narrative-technique-guide-25-examples-and-explanations-thatll-make-you-a-better-reader-and-writer/">narrative technique</a> is then deployed: a swift pivot to “the rats” plotting on the west coast in a spectacular clifftop house. They have come up with an apparently revolutionary news outlet, featuring the 100 best commentators in various fields. But it already feels somehow behind the curve – can they make it on their own? This is a core theme throughout Succession. Logan thinks not, and has humiliated his children throughout the previous three seasons.</p>
<h2>Daddy’s approval</h2>
<p>When they are given the opportunity to shine, they invariably disappoint. The public staging of their respective inadequacies – the corporate high drama – is really a vehicle for the exploration of the deep human drama which is a story of a deeply <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-dysfunctional-family-5194681">dysfunctional family</a>. Each of the children desperately wants their father’s approval, a story that resonates with many viewers. </p>
<p>Things have progressed for Shiv and Tom. Tom’s disloyalty in season three’s finale, when he tells Logan that his children are making moves to remove him from Waystar Royco, has led to estrangement. Now they are talking about divorce. Typical of both, and symptomatic of their flaws, this deeply personal development is first expressed as a corporate move – first by Tom to Logan, followed by Shiv to Nan Pierce, CEO of Waystar Royco’s rival media company PGM.</p>
<p>Could they be reconciled? Might the finale resolve their conflict or can they both move on to more fulfilling relationships? What makes Shiv and Tom such compelling characters is their misery. In the final scene in the apartment, the sterile set design underscores the bleak state of their relationship.</p>
<h2>The vultures are circling</h2>
<p>So are we any closer to finding out who will be taking over Waystar Royco? Teasing the remaining story development, episode one seems to suggest that Tom, who appears now to have Logan’s ear, is poised to take over from his father-in-law. A measure of his growing stature is Logan conferring a petname: Tom is now “Tommy”. Perhaps the most revealing development, however, is that Tom has taken on some of Logan’s mannerisms; he is becoming Logan. This seems significant.</p>
<p>If Tom does take the top job then it will provide satisfying closure on a story not short of dramatic irony: he’s vulnerable yet grasping, but somehow likeable despite his flaws. He has already demonstrated ruthlessness in his willingness to do a deal with the devil, but can he live with the consequences of his actions? </p>
<p>And what of the others? Can Logan’s “rats” overcome their own inadequacies or will they finally succumb in the family bear pit? The <a href="https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-are-the-characteristics-of-the-tragedy-genre.htm">conventions of tragedy</a> demand that characters must pay for their failings – which makes for delicious Sunday night drama. But as ever, like Logan’s children, prepare to be wrong footed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gill Jamieson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The season opener expertly seeds the plot points that will unravel throughout the final series, culminating in the resolution of the core storyline: who will succeed Logan Roy as CEO?Gill Jamieson, Senior Lecturer in Film, Television & Cultural Studies, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1597772021-04-27T16:50:57Z2021-04-27T16:50:57ZTop football stars: famous because they’re rich, or rich because they’re famous?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397334/original/file-20210427-21-jgiq8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C135%2C5313%2C3388&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">On the occasion of a 2011 match between Portugal and Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi (right) show off a pair of high-end watches. The riches have only continued to flow in. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Cristiano_Ronaldo_(L),_Lionel_Messi_(R)_%E2%80%93_Portugal_vs._Argentina,_9th_February_2011_(1).jpg">Fanny Schertzer/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Football (known as soccer in the United States) is the most popular sport worldwide with <a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-most-popular-sports-in-the-world.html">4 billion fans</a>, who consider it a passion and sometimes even a religion. In terms of quality and tradition of the game, Europe is considered by many as the most attractive location for talents, sponsors, investors, and fans. Such success is reflected in the total revenue generated by the top-five European football Leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain) that reached, in 2020-21, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/261218/big-five-european-soccer-leagues-revenue/">18.1 billion euros</a>.</p>
<p>All that glitters is not gold, however. This upward trend has produced an inflationary effect on salaries of professional players who, contrary to their counterparts in some US professional sports, benefit from the absence of a salary cap. One representative example that recently caused a mix of admiration and outrage was the most recent four-year contract of the football star Lionel Messi, who signed in 2017 an agreement for the huge sum of <a href="https://www.marca.com/futbol/barcelona/2021/01/31/6015dd7446163fab378b45e8.html">555 million euros</a>. The costs that professional football clubs must cope with are therefore strongly challenging the sustainability business model.</p>
<p>Given the astronomic salaries of some stars, a question that many observers and fans is ask again and again: do professional football players really deserve what they’re paid?</p>
<h2>Popularity and performance</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://management-aims.com/index.php/mgmt/article/view/4511">March 2021 study</a>, carried with the co-authors Alessandro Piazza (Rice University, United States), Fabrizio Castellucci (Bocconi University, Italy) and Cyrus Mohadjer (IESEG School of Management, France), we sought to shed new light on this topic by exploring the existence of potential mismatches between players’ performance and their salaries that are generated by their level of celebrity and status.</p>
<p>Based on a dataset of 471 players from the top-five Football European Leagues during two consecutive years (2015–16 and 2016–2017), our study shows that celebrity (measured via counting and logging how many “likes” each player received by fans on their official public Facebook page) and status (measured via the number of appearances in their national team) have an impact on the relationship between players’ salaries and performance (measured by the score available on the website <a href="https://fr.whoscored.com/">Whoscored</a>). More specifically, the results show that for average performers, being popular (figure 1) and having a high status (figure 2) leads to higher salaries for the same levels of performance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1. Interaction effect between player celebrity and performance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Giangreco et al., 2021</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2. Interaction effect between player status and performance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Giangreco et al., 2021</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This suggests that, to maximise their salary, players may try to increase the interest of their profile and popularity through, for example, social media and the press. Indeed, popularity does not depend necessarily on players’ performance, but might be determined by their “public” lifestyle, which increases their visibility. These findings on celebrity are particularly relevant not for the best “performers”, who can still obtain high levels of compensation and visibility, but for more “average” players who, through the professional management of their social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) could obtain higher compensation. Furthermore, higher visibility for these players might translate in higher revenues for the club (for example through merchandising, advertising and broadcasting rights) and clubs take into consideration not only players’ performance, but also their capacity, as a celebrity, to generate economic revenues in determining salary levels.</p>
<p>Furthermore, our results show that having a higher status might “shield” certain footballers from variations in performance. For example:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>High-status players (playing regularly for their national team) appear to be less exposed to scrutiny (by fans and journalists for example).</p></li>
<li><p>Once status is acquired, it tends to remain stable, even in the face of declining quality or performance.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Our study shows, therefore, that a player’s compensation is less determined by performance when he plays regularly for the national side, as in indicator of status.</p>
<p>This result is particularly relevant for players who, at the twilight of their career, might expect a decline in their performance, or experience diminished motivation, and therefore, can benefit from a higher salary based on the quality of past performance. Players such as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo offer a level of performance that guarantees their level of salary, so that they are celebrity and have high status because they are top performers, although we may expect that in the last part of their career, their performances will be less scrutinised. </p>
<p>The results of our study suggest that this does not necessarily happen for average performers, who by becoming more famous (through social media and by having played for their national team), then might become richer.</p>
<h2>Resources and rationality</h2>
<p>Our results provide insights for the debate about a more rational use of the decreasing resources available in the football industry, an issue that became of global interest in relation to the recent failed attempt of 12 top clubs to create an alternative European Super League. The lack of resources has been recently acknowledged by UEFA that has suspended the application of the “financial fair play” for the current season, given the effect of the pandemic on the revenues of professional clubs. Observers, however, <a href="https://myfootballmaniac.com/top-10-european-clubs-with-the-biggest-debt/">argued</a> that the debts of many professional football clubs, such as Manchester United, Atlético Madrid, Galatasaray or Juventus, were at a worrying level even before the pandemic.</p>
<p>Our conclusions could also be relevant for other different contexts and sectors that are exposed to high levels of public attention, such as CEOs in different business settings, creative directors in industries such as film and fashion, or chefs. Since the public profile is not always linked to actors’ “job-related performance”, organisations should be aware that actors considered for their celebrity might be hired for the attention and publicity that they might bring to the organisation. This, in turn, might result in higher revenues for organisations which may be willing to pay higher salaries to actors who do not necessarily directly affect organisational results through their individual performance.</p>
<p>A notable example is what happened when Chiara Ferragni, an entrepreneur and fashion influencer, <a href="https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Share-price-for-tod-s-flies-after-chiara-ferragni-joins-board,1293751.html">joined the board of Tods</a>, an Italian Fashion company. Tod’s share price, which was earlier capped, saw an increase of 12%, reaching the value of €32.24, the highest since March 2020.</p>
<p>Thus, even in the upper reaches of the sports world, the centuries-old question remains: do clothes make the (wo)man?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>A new study explores the how the celebrity and status of professional footballers in the “Big Five” European leagues can affect both performance and pay.Antonio Giangreco, Full Professor in HRM & OB, IÉSEG School of ManagementBarbara Slavich, Professor of Management, IÉSEG School of ManagementLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1434932020-11-02T21:49:28Z2020-11-02T21:49:28ZShakespeare’s ‘Timon of Athens,’ penned in plague-time, shows money corrupts but can also heal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357783/original/file-20200913-24-1havtx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C350%2C5649%2C3071&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Shakespeare did an excellent job of depicting the real nature of money, Karl Marx believed. A £2 coin issued in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In his <em><a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/power.htm">Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844</a></em>,
Karl Marx used Shakespeare’s work to examine money and its impact. The text was <em>Timon of Athens</em>, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.13128/JEMS-2279-7149-18090">tragedy written by Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton</a>. </p>
<p>“Shakespeare,” Marx said, “excellently depicts the real nature of money.” Marx thought <em>Timon of Athens</em> shows perfectly how money both funds the miraculous fulfilment of all our wishes — and also robs us of friendship, love and our very humanity.</p>
<p>As philosopher <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137324580_7">Margherita Pascucci</a> as well as the editors of the <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/timon-of-athens-9781903436974/">Arden Shakespeare third edition of <em>Timon of Athens</em></a> argue, Marx gets a great deal right about money in the play. I think that the play’s case against money is even more sinister than Marx does, but also, that the play shows how money can be used for the public good.</p>
<h2>Spreading the wealth</h2>
<p>Super-rich Timon loves to spread his wealth around. His supposed friends give <em>him</em> gifts in expectation of returns on investment. <a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/timon/timon.2.1.html">“If I want gold,” says one senator, “steal but a beggar’s dog / And give it Timon, why, the dog coins gold.”</a></p>
<p>Timon thinks money is simply the thing he and his “friends” use to celebrate their friendship. <a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/timon/timon.1.2.html">“O,” Timon tells his greedy guests, “what a precious comfort ‘tis to have so many like brothers commanding one another’s fortunes.”</a></p>
<p>But Marx, like Shakespeare and unlike Timon, finds that money makes us powerful and lovable precisely <a href="http://prometheusbooks.com/books/9780879754464">by alienating us from ourselves</a>. Marx builds his case against money on Timon’s diatribe against gold, which comes pouring out of him when all his “brothers” deny him money when he is most in need. </p>
<p>For Timon, gold is revealed as a “<a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/timon/timon.4.3.html">visible god</a>” with the power to make the ugly beautiful, the evil good and able to conjure what passes for love between people.
Timon comes to understand how money replaces human relations with monetary ones. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1027246635888398341"}"></div></p>
<h2>Written in plague-time</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.rsc.org.uk/timon-of-athens/past-productions/simon-godwin-2018-production/the-plot">1605-6, when the play was likely written</a>, Middleton was coming off a string of brilliant satires about money-grubbing and seeking status. Shakespeare had, over the previous few years, written his great tragedies, including <em>Othello</em>, <em>King Lear</em> and <em>Macbeth</em>. In these early years of the reign of King James, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09770-8_5">the royal court was a hotbed of self-display by courtiers on the make and self-promoting gift-giving</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://archives.history.ac.uk/cmh/epitwig.html">plague had also swept through England in 1603</a>, when about 25 per cent <a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/blogs/sovereign-and-sick-city-1603/">of the population of London died</a>. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/24/shakespeares-great-escape-plague-1606--james-shapiro">Plague struck again in 1606</a>, which is why <a href="https://www.rsc.org.uk/timon-of-athens/about-the-play/dates-and-sources">the play seems never to have been performed in Shakespeare’s lifetime</a>. </p>
<p>The London playhouses were ordered closed. The churches, however, stayed open; congregants could hear about how <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A19678.0001.001">plague came from God as a punishment for their sins</a>.</p>
<h2>Money as disease</h2>
<p>Against this background of courtly profligacy and plague, it should come as no surprise that money in <em>Timon of Athens</em> isn’t merely an instrument of both empowerment and alienation. Money is a disease whose serpent-like winding from person to person swells into a pandemic large enough to annihilate humankind.</p>
<p>When Timon storms out of Athens, he curses the city: </p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/timon/timon.4.1.html">“Breath, infect breath</a></p>
<p>at their society, as their friendship, may</p>
<p>Be merely poison!”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Alone in the woods, he digs for roots, but finds instead a fortune in gold. He gives gold to the soldier Alcibiades to bankroll an attack on Athens. Alcibiades had been banished from the city by the arrogant, unjust senators. Timon encourages him to slaughter everyone, down to the babies with “dimpled smiles”:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/timon/timon.4.3.html">Put up thy gold: go on — here’s gold — go on;</a>.</p>
<p>Be as a planetary plague, when Jove</p>
<p>Will o'er some high-viced city hang his poison</p>
<p>In the sick air …”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Sharing money</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360063/original/file-20200925-14-l3ewrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man turns away from two women and a solidier." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360063/original/file-20200925-14-l3ewrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360063/original/file-20200925-14-l3ewrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360063/original/file-20200925-14-l3ewrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360063/original/file-20200925-14-l3ewrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360063/original/file-20200925-14-l3ewrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360063/original/file-20200925-14-l3ewrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360063/original/file-20200925-14-l3ewrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Timon, on the left, giving gold to Phrynia and Timandra; scene from ‘Timon of Athens’ (Act 4, Scene 3). Cropped detail from mounted etching and engraving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">(1299363001/The Trustees of the British Museum)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We moderns are informed by scientists, but we would do well to think with these Renaissance playwrights about about how the desire for money, and the power and pre-eminence money can buy, has led us to exploit the natural world and create gross global disparities in wealth.</p>
<p>Might money itself might have helpful or healing properties in the face of both the inequities that have become apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic and the planetary <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-change-wont-stop-for-the-coronavirus-pandemic">climate crisis</a>? </p>
<p>The play suggests two ways money can save us. Near the play’s end, Timon’s steward Flavius and his former servants gather to say farewell. Flavius makes the other men take a share of the money he has saved through his employment. <a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/timon/timon.4.2.html">“Nay, put out all your hands,” he says, “not one word more.”</a> </p>
<p>What we see is a group of people whose hunger and desire for shelter are addressed by the simple sharing of money — as Marx wrote (<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-each-according-to-ability-to-each-according-to-need-tracing-the-biblical-roots-of-socialisms-enduring-slogan-138365">or at least popularized</a>), <a href="http://doi.org/10.13169/jglobfaul.4.2.0095">to each according to his needs</a>. </p>
<p>Surely today, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-throne-speech-must-blaze-a-bold-new-path-including-imposing-a-wealth-tax-145747">less hoarding of wealth and fairer systemic distribution of resources</a> could help mitigate some of the worst impacts of the virus on communities that have been hardest hit. Similarly so when we look at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/un-ruling-could-be-a-game-changer-for-climate-refugees-and-climate-action-130532">disproportionate impacts of climate change on the Global South</a>.</p>
<h2>Money upholding law</h2>
<p>The play also shows us how money might help to uphold the law and undo corruption. </p>
<p>With Timon’s gold, Alcibiades is able to bring an army to the gates of Athens. Instead of putting the city to the sword, he uses the threat of the sword to enforce the good laws of Athens and to purge the corruption of the Athenian senators, who <a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/timon/timon.5.4.html">“with all licentious measure,” make their “wills / The scope of justice.”</a> Alcibiades honours “the stream / Of regular justice … and public laws.”</p>
<p>We can put aside the spectre of righteous armies at the gates of our cities. Violence cannot create a just world. But money could serve to give the law teeth. Money could fund a lawful path toward a just world. </p>
<p>Imagine how we might scale up from Alcibiades’ honouring of “the stream of regular justice.” Money could fund a transnational movement able to transform into law in every nation a document like the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris climate agreement</a>, a pact which even the <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/11/5/20947289/paris-climate-agreement-2020s-breakdown-trump">signatory governments now can simply nod at and ignore</a>.</p>
<p>Groups championing a <a href="https://ecojustice.ca/">better Earth</a> show us some ways it can be done. To make the Paris agreement into law across all nations would be to turn the world and the “visible god” of money toward what really matters and to give humankind a fighting chance of survival. </p>
<p>As Shakespeare understood, our fate depends on our ability to foster the humility and fellow feeling that will dethrone our god of money and transform it into a thing we use to advance our good and the good of others.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Yachnin has received funding from SSHRC, the CFI, and FQRSC. </span></em></p>Shakespeare understood that our fate depends on fostering the humility and empathy that dethrones money and transforms it into something we use to advance the common good.Paul Yachnin, Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1346412020-04-07T12:06:26Z2020-04-07T12:06:26ZHoarding during the coronavirus isn’t just unnecessary, it’s ethically wrong<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325874/original/file-20200406-104477-yz1gw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C15%2C5223%2C3482&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Long lines at a grocery store in Spring, Texas, as people rush to stockpile.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Virus-Outbreak/96cce38e00f245fbaa3c5f2893f2d5bf/4/0">AP Photo/David J. Phillip</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As people rush to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/coronavirus-stockpile-emergency-list-food-hand-sanitiser-panic-buying-a9373061.html">stockpile provisions</a> in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, stores have placed restrictions on the purchase of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/18/business/supermarkets-rationing-coronavirus/index.html">basic goods</a> and <a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200325/cvs-moves-to-prevent-stockpiling-of-drugs">medicines</a>. </p>
<p>When supply chains are vulnerable to spikes in demand, one person’s stockpiling can mean another person’s shortage.</p>
<p>As a philosopher who has <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315678443/chapters/10.4324/9781315678443-10">studied</a> ethical action in difficult circumstances, I know that when many people fail to act ethically, it can seem that each individual has less of an obligation to act well.</p>
<p>At this time, American political philosopher John Rawls’ theory of justice can offer useful moral guidance.</p>
<h2>Ethics for difficult times</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674000780&content=toc">John Rawls famously argued</a> that in a fully just society, two circumstances are in place: everyone upholds the just society, and conditions of life are reasonably favorable. </p>
<p>When society is not fully just, people don’t necessarily have to follow the rules. Rawls argued that if there was systemic injustice, <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674000780&content=toc">civil disobedience can be justified</a>. For example, when a minority group is denied the vote, protesters are permitted to disrupt business and stage sit-ins.</p>
<p>Other scholars, following this kind of argument, have said that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2265252?seq=1">it can be ethical to lie</a>, when doing so thwarts others’ evil plans.</p>
<p>In other words, individuals are allowed to deviate from the cooperative norms that underpin a fully just society, under certain circumstances. Nevertheless, scholars also argue that there are some lines one must not cross, even when others act badly and conditions are difficult.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674000780&content=toc">For Rawls</a>, a particularly significant set of requirements include the “natural duties.”</p>
<p>These apply to all people and hold in virtually all circumstances. They include refraining from causing unnecessary suffering and harm to innocents, and not aggravating injustice, when possible.</p>
<h2>Stockpiling can cause harm</h2>
<p>The warning against harming innocent others or increasing the risk of harm, is relevant to most forms of stockpiling.</p>
<p>Consumers stocking up on medical grade face masks <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/3/20/21188369/face-masks-short-supply-coronavirus-donations">contribute to shortages</a> of supplies for health care workers, which is not ethically permissible.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html">buying up hand sanitizer</a> to sell at premium rates depletes the supply of what has come to be an essential good, not out of need but out of greed. It, too, unnecessarily puts others in harm’s way.</p>
<p>There are less obvious ways in which our shopping behavior can perpetrate harms, or risk of harms, on innocent third parties.</p>
<p>Consider the effects on <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/can-you-get-coronavirus-grocery-store/608659/">grocery store workers</a>. Frequent trips to the store may pose a risk to low-wage workers who have virtually no pandemic preparedness training. It increases their vulnerability to infection. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325362/original/file-20200403-74225-1tpuznh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=68%2C7%2C5022%2C3137&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325362/original/file-20200403-74225-1tpuznh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325362/original/file-20200403-74225-1tpuznh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325362/original/file-20200403-74225-1tpuznh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325362/original/file-20200403-74225-1tpuznh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325362/original/file-20200403-74225-1tpuznh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325362/original/file-20200403-74225-1tpuznh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stockpiling can leave some families without medicines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak-Illinois/e7bfdb7255d64bbfabee150ac43c4a89/1/0">AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Venturing to the grocery store to buy only what is needed, and less often, is a more ethical solution.</p>
<h2>Stockpiling can aggravate injustice</h2>
<p>Amassing goods during short-term shortages can increase the <a href="http://bostonreview.net/politics-philosophy-religion/samuel-scheffler-rawlsian-diagnosis-donald-trump">economic disadvantages</a> that many people already suffer.</p>
<p>Consider those who cannot afford to stockpile. Hoarding makes it more difficult for those who are less privileged to get what they need when they do shop.</p>
<p>Stockpiling can also turn people against each other. Other shoppers could transform from fellow members of our community, into obstacles to survival and well-being. </p>
<p>This view of others <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674000780&content=toc">undermines the very possibility</a> of social cooperation, which is a precondition of a just society.</p>
<h2>Some exceptions</h2>
<p>Still, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3504695?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">one is permitted to protect one’s life</a>.</p>
<p>Some people have a genuine need for drugs to manage asthma, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/health/coronavirus-drug-shortages.html">for example</a>. Securing the drug supply that one will predictably need is warranted. If limited supply means that not all asthma sufferers can get drugs, then <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-rawls-lexicon/circumstances-of-justice/DC283065F46547AF87FA332AC96DC94E">no just resolution</a> is possible.</p>
<p>But importantly, this concern will not apply to most people, for most goods. <a href="https://slate.com/business/2020/03/grocery-stores-hoarding-supply-chain.html">No evidence</a> supports the view that food supply chains are dangerously vulnerable right now, for instance.</p>
<p>Stockpiling can perpetrate harm and threaten the social cohesion that is foundational to a well-ordered society. Even when others stockpile, one has the obligations to do no harm and to do what one can to support social cooperation. </p>
<p>These priorities are important to keep in mind as new and difficult ethical problems emerge during this pandemic.</p>
<p>[<em>You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-help">Read The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134641/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaime Ahlberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One person’s stockpiling can mean another one’s shortage. A philosopher reminds us of our social and moral obligations at this time.Jaime Ahlberg, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1136162019-04-03T10:49:03Z2019-04-03T10:49:03ZWhat causes greed and how can we deal with it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266865/original/file-20190401-177190-1tvepqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Human beings want more even if it comes at the expense of others.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-hands-counting-100-dollar-bills-1061140922">svershinsky/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent news stories have highlighted unethical and even lawless actions taken by people and corporations that were motivated primarily by greed. </p>
<p>Federal prosecutors, for example, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-uncover-massive-college-entrance-exam-cheating-plot-n982136">charged 33 wealthy parents, some of whom were celebrities,</a> with paying bribes to get their children into top colleges. In another case, lawyer Michael Avenatti <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-avenatti-stormy-daniels-lawyer-arrested-on-fraud-charges">was accused of trying to extort millions</a> from Nike, the sports company. </p>
<p>Allegations of greed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/lawsuit-claims-sackler-family-disregarded-safety-opioid-addiction-in-purdue-push-to-profit-from-oxycontin/2019/02/01/5d29e072-2660-11e9-90cd-dedb0c92dc17_story.html?utm_term=.2d695cdc0d66">are listed in the lawsuit filed against members of Sackler family</a>, the owners of Purdue Pharma, accused of pushing powerful painkillers as well as the treatment for addiction. </p>
<p>In all of these cases, individuals or companies seemingly had wealth and status to spare, yet they allegedly took actions to gain even further advantage. Why would such successful people or corporations allegedly commit crimes to get more? </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/religion/about-us/directory/laura-alexander.php">scholar</a> of <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Meaning_of_My_Neighbor_s_Faith.html?id=ThqNuwEACAAJ">comparative religious ethics</a>, I frequently teach basic principles of moral thought in diverse religious traditions. </p>
<p>Religious thought can help us understand human nature and provide ethical guidance, including in cases of greed like the ones mentioned here.</p>
<h2>Anxiety and injustice</h2>
<p>The work of the 20th-century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr on human anxiety offers one possible explanation for what might drive people to seek more than they already have or need. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reinhold Niebuhr.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Domestic-News-United-States-DR-/bf0246aa60e5da11af9f0014c2589dfb/2/0">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Niebuhr was arguably the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/11/a-man-for-all-reasons/306337/">most famous</a> theologian of his time. He was a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/02/archives/reinhold-niebuhr-is-dead-protestant-theologian-78-reinhold-niebuhr.html">mentor to several public figures</a>. These included <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/washington/01schlesinger.html">Arthur Schlesinger Jr.</a>, a historian who served in the Kennedy White House, and <a href="https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/short-history/kennan">George F. Kennan</a>, a diplomat and an adviser on Soviet affairs. Niebuhr also came to have a deep influence on former President <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/opinion/26brooks.html">Barack Obama</a>.</p>
<p>Niebuhr said the human tendency to perpetuate injustice is the result of a deep sense of existential anxiety, which is part of the human condition. In his work <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Nature_and_Destiny_of_Man.html?id=6leCJZJYXm8C">“The Nature and Destiny of Man,”</a> Niebuhr described human beings as creatures of both “spirit” and “nature.” </p>
<p>As “spirit,” human beings have consciousness, which allows them to rise above the sensory experiences they have in any given moment. </p>
<p>Yet, at the same time, he said, human beings do have physical bodies, senses and instincts, like any other animal. They are part of the natural world and are subject to the risks and vulnerabilities of mortality, including death.</p>
<p>Together, these traits mean that human beings are not just mortal, but also conscious of that mortality. This juxtaposition leads to a deeply felt anxiety, which, according to Niebuhr, is the <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Nature_and_Destiny_of_Man.html?id=6leCJZJYXm8C">“inevitable spiritual state of man.”</a></p>
<p>To deal with the anxiety of knowing they will die, Niebuhr says, human beings are tempted to – and often do – grasp at whatever means of security seem within their reach, such as knowledge, material goods or prestige.</p>
<p>In other words, people seek certainty in things that are inherently uncertain. </p>
<h2>Hurting others</h2>
<p>This is a fruitless task by definition, but the bigger problem is that the quest for certainty in one’s own life almost always harms others. As <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Nature_and_Destiny_of_Man.html?id=6leCJZJYXm8C">Niebuhr writes</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Man is, like the animals, involved in the necessities and contingencies of nature; but unlike the animals he sees this situation and anticipates its perils. He seeks to protect himself against nature’s contingencies; but he cannot do so without transgressing the limits which have been set for his life. Therefore all human life is involved in the sin of seeking security at the expense of other life.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The case of parents who may have <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-uncover-massive-college-entrance-exam-cheating-plot-n982136">committed fraud</a> to gain coveted spots for their children at prestigious colleges offers an example of trying to find some of this certainty. That comes at the expense of others, who cannot gain admission to a college because another child has gotten in via illegitimate means. </p>
<p>As other research has shown, such anxiety may be more acute in those with higher social status. The fear of loss, among other things, could well <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-rich-parents-are-more-likely-to-be-unethical-113605">drive such actions</a>.</p>
<h2>What we can learn from the Buddha</h2>
<p>While Niebuhr’s analysis can help many of us understand the motivations behind greed, other religious traditions might offer further suggestions on how to deal with it.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Head of the Buddha from Hadda, Central Asia, Gandhara art, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buddha_Victoria_%26_Albert.jpg">Michel wal</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Several centuries ago, the Buddha said that human beings have a tendency to attach themselves to “things” – sometimes material objects, sometimes “possessions” like prestige or reputation.</p>
<p>Scholar <a href="https://www.gold.ac.uk/history/staff/d-keown/">Damien Keown</a> explains in his book on <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Buddhist_Ethics_A_Very_Short_Introductio.html?id=WXtYad4PTLcC">Buddhist ethics</a> that in Buddhist thought, the whole universe is interconnected and ever-changing. People perceive material things as stable and permanent, and we desire and try to hold onto them.</p>
<p>But since loss is inevitable, our desire for things causes us to suffer. Our response to that suffering is often to <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-indian-buddhism/">grasp at things</a> more and more tightly. But we end up harming others in our quest to make ourselves feel better.</p>
<p>Taken together, these thinkers provide insight into acts of greed committed by those who already have so much. At the same time, the teachings of the Buddha suggest that our most strenuous efforts to keep things for ourselves cannot overcome their impermanence. In the end, we will always lose what we are trying to grasp.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113616/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura E. Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some parents were recently charged with paying bribes for their children’s admission to top colleges. Religious thought can help us understand what drives such greed and also provide ethical guidance.Laura E. Alexander, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1080072018-12-09T17:21:40Z2018-12-09T17:21:40Z‘Start-up nation’: a symptom, but of what?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248198/original/file-20181130-194941-1adhfws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C1500%2C866&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Under pressure, young entrepreneurs would tend to forget to take into account the effects of their ambitions on their surroundings. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Just dance/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, becoming a “start-up nation” is a public policy objective in virtually every country in the world, be it Morocco, Bangladesh, Mexico or Peru. They are all rushing to follow the nations that have led the way – the United States, China, South Korea, Israel, Canada. </p>
<p>France got off to a laborious start in the early 2000s, but has recently reactivated this goal. On October 10, 2018, President Emmanuel Macron addressed an audience of digital entrepreneurs at Station F, which calls itself the <a href="https://stationf.co/fr/">“biggest start-up campus in the world”</a>, and announced an ambitious roadmap to assist and promote entrepreneurs in France.</p>
<p>Everywhere, institutional pressure to transform young people into entrepreneurs is becoming an obsession. It’s a symptom, but of what? Can it not be seen as a sign of panic among politicians contemplating the shortage of prospects to offer young people?</p>
<h2>A cascade of service providers</h2>
<p>Let’s try to interpret this strange new command: “Become entrepreneurs!” It seems to suggest that established institutions only open up two avenues for the younger generation: opt for indigence with some degree of welfare assistance (e.g. a basic living stipend) or take a gamble. If so, then encouragement to create start-ups may be seen as the public face of a very discreet strategy on the part of large state and capitalistic organisations intent on sweeping this social issue under the carpet.</p>
<p>To an increasing extent, these same organisations are subcontracting, outsourcing, automating, robotising and digitising to reduce the cost of labour as a percentage of total operating expenditure. They look for “talent”, i.e. a small minority of high-value added employees, while systematically avoiding the employment of workers deemed interchangeable, leaving them to the hard law of the market and progressively transforming them into service providers; into the providers of other providers; into the providers of providers of providers; and so forth.</p>
<h2>A new wave of utopias</h2>
<p>What’s going to happen to university graduates? Whether they major in physical education, the humanities, communication and journalism, marketing or human resources, they all dream of finding jobs that will bring them self-fulfilment and even enjoyment. In France, they also expect five weeks of annual paid vacation and time off in lieu of overtime pay under the “RTT” scheme.</p>
<p>In the 1970s, young university-goers saw themselves as radical activists, reading Trotsky, Lenin or Mao in preparation for the revolution to come. To a small degree, that dream has persisted in variant forms such as eco-activism, alter-globalisation or feminism. However, it is now part of a new wave of utopias that amalgamates digitisation, virtual reality, risk-taking, entrepreneurship, start-ups, easy money, the get-rich-quick ethic and the cult of performance.</p>
<p>The problem is that, in today’s society, young people arrive on a job market that is not prepared to accommodate them. Leaving them to themselves, it calls them “entrepreneurs”. This magic word, with its connotations of freedom and hope, actually shifts responsibility for any eventual disappointments or failures onto them and them alone. Failure will then be <a href="https://www.odilejacob.fr/catalogue/psychologie/psychologie-generale/fatigue-detre-soi_9782738108593.php">a token of their inadequacy</a> and the success of the few will be taken as proof that the many could have done the same, as Alain Ehernberg rightly pointed out in his book <a href="https://www.mqup.ca/weariness-of-the-self--the-products-9780773536258.php"><em>Weariness of the Self: Diagnosing the History of Depression in the Contemporary Age</em></a>.</p>
<h2>Even brilliant successes are problematic</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://theconversation.com/la-bataille-dazincourt-1415-la-mode-des-start-up-1998-2017-et-lhistoire-des-passions-francaises-85491">previous article</a>, I raised the issue of the rate at which start-up founders meet with failure. I also stressed how little we know about the collateral damage to their lives and those of their families as well as, more generally, the social and financial cost of aggregate business closures.</p>
<p>It should also be noted that even the most brilliant successes are problematic. Inevitably, outsized ambitions to achieve impressive growth built from nothing, or virtually nothing, will have moral consequences on “les entrepreneurs et les entrepris”, a phrase coined by <a href="https://classiques-garnier.com/entrepreneurs-entreprise-histoire-d-une-idee.html">philosopher Héléne Verin</a>, <em>entrepris</em> being a neologism for those caught up in the toils of entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>I encourage you to read an article on this subject by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pour-en-finir-avec-le-machiav%C3%A9lisme-start-up-diana-filippova/">Diana Filippova</a>, formerly the start-up ecosystem lead at Microsoft France, in which she expresses her indignation at the Machiavellian behaviour of some of the start-up founders that have crossed her path.</p>
<p>In particular, she notes that young entrepreneurs, obsessed with growth targets and under pressure to deliver results, quickly become sharks. Some remain oblivious to the effects of their ambitions on those involved in or affected by their venture. Many careers starting out with the best of intentions end up marked by serial bankruptcies, business registrations and cynicism.</p>
<h2>Irresponsible opportunism</h2>
<p>Start-ups like <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2018/03/22/ce-qu-il-faut-savoir-sur-cambridge-analytica-la-societe-au-c-ur-du-scandale-facebook_5274804_4408996.html">Cambridge Analytica</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/theranos-les-inavouables-secrets-dune-start-up-frauduleuse-103860">Theranos</a> have displayed an extreme form of irresponsible opportunism. Was Mark Zuckerberg really so busy focusing on his own start-up’s mega-success that he didn’t realize what he was doing prior to testifying before committees at the US Senate or the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.fr/en-direct-audition-mark-zuckerberg-au-parlement-europeen/">European Parliament committee hearing</a>? Have Facebook users finally gotten the picture? Have they finally understood that Facebook, the platform enabling them to “stay connected with family and friends”, is also dirty, selling their personal data on the sly?</p>
<p>One lesson to be learned from the history of capitalism is that the accumulation of massive wealth in a very short lapse of time almost always involves <a href="https://www.editionsladecouverte.fr/catalogue/index-Portrait_de_l_homme_d_affaires_en_predateur-9782707150745.html">predatory activities</a>. To cite Aristotle’s terminology, this is <em>chrematistikos</em> (the art of acquiring wealth), not <em>oikonomia</em> (the art of running a household).</p>
<p>The investment funds that back start-ups exert pressure on them to accumulate as much wealth as possible as quickly as possible. And scenarios like this, in which outsized ambitions run rampant, are precisely those in which predation becomes the most probable factor of success.</p>
<h2>Under pressure to succeed</h2>
<p>Some successful start-ups, GAFAs and unicorns achieve growth by crushing everything that stands in their way. But what about the entrepreneurs whose business, mismatched with the market, fails to get off the ground? This fragilised population is the one likely to suffer the most from the pernicious effects of propaganda in favour of entrepreneurship.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242155/original/file-20181024-71011-1l8j9gy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242155/original/file-20181024-71011-1l8j9gy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242155/original/file-20181024-71011-1l8j9gy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242155/original/file-20181024-71011-1l8j9gy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242155/original/file-20181024-71011-1l8j9gy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1057&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242155/original/file-20181024-71011-1l8j9gy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1057&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242155/original/file-20181024-71011-1l8j9gy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1057&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Robert K. Merton.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As Robert K. Merton pointed out in his book <em>Social Theory and Social Structure</em> (1968), “<em>In societies such as our own, then, the great cultural emphasis on pecuniary success for all and a social structure which unduly limits practical recourse to approved means for many set up a tension toward innovative practices which depart from institutional norms</em>”. He also noted that: “<em>Several researches have shown that specialised areas of vice and crime constitute a "normal” response to a situation where the cultural emphasis upon pecuniary success has been absorbed, but where there is little access to conventional and legitimate means for becoming successful.</em>“</p>
<p>If the strongest survive, it’s often because they commit fouls on other players in the game, feel that "anything goes” in order to win and think that, on this playing field, the end justifies the means.</p>
<p>So, what are we looking at? Innovation or criminal deviance? Impressive growth or future disasters? New technologies that liberate or enslave? Social entrepreneurship or a well-planned, right-minded scam? Given its current modus operandi, entrepreneurship promises a fortune for the few, while the many slip and fall by the wayside. The moral climate of this “accident-prone” business environment can only be characterised as sinister.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was translated from the <a href="https://www.universite-paris-saclay.fr/en/news/the-start-up-nation-a-symptom-but-of-what">French original</a> by Université Paris Saclay.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michel Villette ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The enthusiasm for business creation is not without negative consequences, especially for the many who fail. However, the “all entrepreneurs” discourse remains predominant.Michel Villette, Professeur de Sociologie, Chercheur au Centre Maurice Halbwachs ENS/EHESS/CNRS , professeur de sociologie, AgroParisTech – Université Paris-SaclayLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1067322018-11-13T14:52:58Z2018-11-13T14:52:58ZBook on Steinhoff’s demise shows danger of ‘big men’ business leaders<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245272/original/file-20181113-194513-10hvmnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste was an excessively dominant, forceful and feared boss. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/business/2017-12-07-steinhoff-share-price-continues-to-fall/">collapse</a> of Steinhoff International, the multi-billion dollar global business group, has been rightly described as the biggest corporate scandal in South African history. </p>
<p>The company’s history, and its subsequent evolution and demise, are skillfully told in a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Steinhoff-inside-biggest-corporate-crash-ebook/dp/B07FT9KPG7">new book</a> <em>Steinhoff: Inside SA’s Biggest Corporate Crash</em>, by former journalist James-Brent Styan. It is the story of a bold vision and ambition, entrepreneurial grit and guile, continuous innovation, relentless risk-taking, corporate hubris, and friendship betrayals.</p>
<p>The extraordinary way in which Steinhoff grew from being a modest firm with a footprint only in Germany and South Africa to becoming a multinational behemoth straddling sectors such as furniture manufacturing, retail, logistics, consumer finance, building material, wood and vehicles with a global presence, is impressive.</p>
<p>In its pursuit of growth, Steinhoff employed a two-pronged strategy. The first focused on creating a low-cost manufacturing base. This enabled the business to supply products at cheap prices to its target market of lower-to-middle income groups. </p>
<p>The second pillar consisted of an aggressive acquisition of companies. A great deal of the acquisitions took place in European countries such as Germany, Poland and France but also extended to Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the US.</p>
<p>The acquisitions were costly and the conglomerate paid above the market value for the shares. The rapid spate of takeovers saw the group expand to 12 000 stores across the world, employing 130 000 people. Ultimately, Steinhoff became a fully vertically integrated enterprise – it was involved in all the value chain links from sourcing raw materials, to manufacturing and finally to distribution and sale of products.</p>
<h2>Shaky foundations</h2>
<p>At the pinnacle of its success, the international business giant became the darling of investors, asset managers, analysts and financial journalists. They all feted its expansion into new ventures and countries. But, as it later turned out, its success was built on shaky foundations epitomised by unfettered greed as well as dodgy and unethical practices, including alleged accounting irregularities, tax evasion and lax corporate standards.</p>
<p>The day before the Steinhoff group’s precipitous crash, the corporation was worth R193bn. On the following day, its market value was decimated by a staggering R117bn. Among the victims of the financial carnage were financial South African services giants Coronation Fund, Foord Asset Management, Sanlam, Investec, Liberty, Old Mutual, Allan Gray, Discovery and the Nedgroup. </p>
<p>The biggest losers were key investor and Pepkor chairman Christo Wiese (R37bn) and the Public Investment Corporation (R14bn), which manages the Government Employees Pension Fund. Overnight, millions of South Africans had lost billions of rands in pension funds.</p>
<p>The book encompasses a diverse range of themes and proffers a number important business lessons. Some bear mentioning.</p>
<h2>Lessons</h2>
<p>The case of Markus Jooste, then Steinhoff CEO, shows that the cult of personality and “Big Man” syndrome is as ubiquitous in the corporate world as it is in politics. He comes across as an excessively dominant, forceful and feared boss. He brooks no dissent and only those subordinates who obsequiously defer to him benefit from his extensive patronage. To the detriment of the business, his leadership style fostered an institutional culture of uncritical subservience and self-censorship. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245069/original/file-20181112-83593-tkidn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245069/original/file-20181112-83593-tkidn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245069/original/file-20181112-83593-tkidn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245069/original/file-20181112-83593-tkidn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245069/original/file-20181112-83593-tkidn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245069/original/file-20181112-83593-tkidn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245069/original/file-20181112-83593-tkidn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p>A recurring question in the book is: Despite occasional red flags how could the analysts, investors, asset managers, directors and the Johannesburg Securities Exchange have been oblivious to the wrongdoing at Steinhoff? </p>
<p>Part of the problem was the dominant view that the company could never go wrong. As long as the share price kept rising, and the good news kept flowing, there was nothing to worry about. There were, of course, some skeptical and dissenting voices, but they were too few to upend the prevailing consensus. </p>
<p>The crucial lesson here is that the share price is not the only indicator of corporate performance; fundamental governance issues are equally, if not more, important.</p>
<p>As Steinhoff’s global expansion accelerated, its business model and structure became more complicated. Some market analysts have argued that the firm’s increasingly complex structure, coupled with the group’s continual acquisitions, made it nearly impossible to analyse its books and to do year-on-year comparisons.</p>
<p>Even so, there was a belief that as long as strong, charismatic and venerated business personalities such as Jooste and Wiese, Steinhoff’s chairman at the time, were at the helm the business was in safe hands. This trust in Jooste and Wiese, as well as in management and directors, proved to be misplaced. As Warren Buffett has wisely <a href="https://www.gurufocus.com/news/127046/rule-number-one-dont-invest-in-something-you-dont-understand-">counselled</a>, never invest in something you don’t trust.</p>
<p>The Steinhoff board of directors, long viewed as one of the strongest and most dependable, has come under fierce criticism for failing to exercise its fiduciary duty. Describing the board, one fund manager stated that it was
“ineffective, not independent and was overwhelmed by Jooste’s strong personality”. </p>
<p>Criticism has also been directed at Deloitte, the firm that audited the company’s statements for 20 years, for disregarding the irregularities and the danger signs preceding the crash. It is this milieu that prompted an analyst to describe what happened at Steinhoff in the book as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s a buddy-buddy system, a bunch of people who know each other and have worked together for years. It strips them of their capacity to question things that don’t make sense. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Up there with the worst</h2>
<p>Styan must be commended for producing a cogently written and thoroughly researched book. In terms of its drama and catastrophic impact, the Steinhoff scandal is up there with the likes of Enron, Worldcom, Tyco, Freddie Mac, Bernie Madoff and other world infamous episodes of business malfeasance. As such, the book provides valuable insights and lessons that are universally applicable and comparable. It must be made compulsory reading in corporate boardrooms and business schools.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106732/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mills Soko does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Steinhoff was the darling of investors, asset managers, analysts and financial journalists. But its success was built on shaky foundations.Mills Soko, Professor: International Business & Strategy, Wits Business School, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/965172018-05-21T20:30:48Z2018-05-21T20:30:48ZHow money is destroying the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219669/original/file-20180520-42238-1ixuggz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An addiction to accumulating money is every bit as powerful and destructive as a drug addiction.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Upsplash/Sharon McCutcheon </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a widely cited confessional in the New York Times in 2014, former Wall Street trader <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/for-the-love-of-money.html">Sam Polk outed himself as a recovering wealth addict.</a> </p>
<p>He intimated a toxic childhood and an abusive parent (<a href="https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/addiction/child-abuse-alcoholism-drug-addiction/">a common theme in the biographies of addicts</a>).</p>
<p>He revealed the exhilaration (a well-known <a href="https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pages/feeding-the-addiction.aspx">symptom of dopamine release</a>) at the power that money provided him.</p>
<p>He admitted that he abused money like he abused alcohol and cocaine — to feel better about himself. </p>
<p>In the powerful throes of his deep addiction, his “fixes,” including cash bonuses, were never big enough. Like the “users” on Wall Street who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/for-the-love-of-money.html">fly into addiction-fueled rages</a>, he would do anything, including bringing harm to others, to amass more cash. A typical addict, he didn’t care as long as he could have more.</p>
<p><a href="https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/05/01/dopamine-impacts-your-willingness-to-work/">Scientists are beginning to see the addictive link between dopamine and money</a>, but we don’t have to wait for them to catch up. We know this is a problem. As I argue in this video, money is the most highly addictive substance on the planet:</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ir0R7yAFiO8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>It is a powerful addiction, unrivalled in its ability to trigger good feelings, and what’s most frightening about it is that you can’t ever physically overdose. </p>
<p>Cocaine, heroin and crack will kill you if you do too much, but not money. Money won’t harm you, physically anyway. The cash addict can madly mainline moolah from the trading floor, the Senate floor or, with smart phone in hand, the bathroom floor without ever risking a deadly OD. It would be comical if it wasn’t so tragic, yet it is very tragic indeed, for the addict, their families and society at large. </p>
<h2>Money addiction as tragic as any other</h2>
<p>Make no mistake about this. Like all addiction stories, wealth addiction is tragic. Like all junkies, cash junkies will do anything to service their need. They will <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/child-neglect">certainly neglect</a> their own families while they work long hours to make more. </p>
<p>To the outside world, everything will seem fine. They will “keep it in the family” as they dissemble, distract and confuse. They will buy nannies and ponies and cars. They will snort cocaine and go shopping and jet off to exclusive resorts to hobnob with other wealthy people. They will present their wealth fashionably, but as Sam Polk one day realized, the pain and anguish are real. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219832/original/file-20180521-14965-z2qt7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219832/original/file-20180521-14965-z2qt7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219832/original/file-20180521-14965-z2qt7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219832/original/file-20180521-14965-z2qt7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219832/original/file-20180521-14965-z2qt7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219832/original/file-20180521-14965-z2qt7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219832/original/file-20180521-14965-z2qt7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Luxury cars are seen outside the Monte Carlo casino in Monaco in this June 2016 photo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And it’s not just the neglected family that suffers. There are no boundaries. Like a fentanyl addiction, it takes over and distorts everything. Cash addicts in the U.S. government (<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/05/19/clintons-blizzard-of-malfeasance/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bc12c8b61878">in any government, really</a>), their campaigns funded by the wealthy, will <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/26/senate-gop-tax-bill-hurts-the-poor-more-than-originally-thought-cbo-finds/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.21b5e131da3b">steal from the poor</a>, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/15000-scientists-warning-to-humanity-1.4395767">destroy the environment</a>, <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/trump-childrens-health-insurance-program-chip-cuts-2018.html">rip off sick children</a>, engage in <a href="http://www.afroworldview.com/colonialism-was-driven-by-greed/">colonial exploitation</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/what-trumps-decision-on-iran-nuclear-deal-means-for-oil-prices/2018/05/07/c202d2be-4fcf-11e8-b725-92c89fe3ca4c_story.html?utm_term=.d4163ca8fbad">start wars</a> and even sacrifice kids in yet <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/18/us/texas-school-shooting/index.html?utm_source=CNN-News-Alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Texas+high+school+shooting962ef9ef-8590-4f44-a345-2f4d74f31d97&utm_term=ff070d394080a1d443546fee6b64f212">another school shooting</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/04/opinion/thoughts-prayers-nra-funding-senators.html">if it means they can make some more bucks</a>.</p>
<p>And that’s not even the worst of it.</p>
<p>The addicts will <a href="https://theconversation.com/star-wars-is-a-religion-that-primes-us-for-war-and-violence-89443">hijack human spirituality</a>, <a href="http://time.com/4577724/donald-trump-deplorable-administration/">exploit hatred</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-should-all-cut-the-facebook-cord-or-should-we-93929">brainwash the masses</a>, derail <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/16/politics/cambridge-analytica-congress-wylie/index.html">democratic politics</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madeleine-albright-fascism-a-warning-trump-north-korea/">tinker with fascism</a> in their desire to have more. </p>
<p>So what to do? </p>
<h2>Possible cures</h2>
<p>Well, as strange as this is going to sound, <a href="https://www.futurity.org/dopamine-inequality-money-882572/">there might be a pill for all this</a>. In a remarkable experiment in the journal <em>Current Biology</em>, tolcapone, a drug that prolongs dopamine feelings, made participants who took it rather than a placebo become more egalitarian about money. A magical cure seems all right to me. But even if you can’t get access to tolcapone, there are immediate things you <em>can</em> do.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Stop neglecting and abusing children. <a href="https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/addiction/child-abuse-alcoholism-drug-addiction/">The research is coming in on this one</a>: Abuse and neglect in childhood cause copious mental and emotional problems, and lead, via damage to neurochemical systems, to addictions in adult life. If we don’t want to raise another generation of addicts, speak up when you see children being mistreated by their parents, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/33737469/The_emotional_abuse_of_our_children_Teachers_schools_and_the_sanctioned_violence_of_our_modern_institutions">teachers</a>, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/catholic-church">priests</a> or anyone else given access.</p></li>
<li><p>As cliched as this may sound, do something about the addict in your life. Stop avoiding the situation. Quit enabling the addiction. Stop suffering in silence. Don’t lie to yourself. We all have experiences with addiction and we all know, if we don’t do something, it only gets worse. So do something.</p></li>
<li><p>To make sure we don’t fall victim to a money addiction, get out and get active. Educate. Prognosticate. Most important, <a href="http://time.com/5107499/record-number-of-women-are-running-for-office/">get involved politically</a>. At the very least, get out and vote. <a href="http://www.gmfus.org/blog/2018/04/06/democracy-under-attack-outlook-india">Democracy may be under global attack</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madeleine-albright-fascism-a-warning-trump-north-korea/">fascism may soon come a knocking</a>, but we still have the power to vote. Sure, <a href="https://theconversation.com/star-wars-is-a-religion-that-primes-us-for-war-and-violence-89443">they’d like you to believe it is a “good versus evil”</a>, left versus right, Darth versus Luke sort of thing, but there are addicts on both sides, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carrie-fisher-bipolar-disorder-addiction-mental-health-stigma/">and even the princesses struggle with addiction</a>.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>See this problem for what it is: A loosely organized group of global addicts <a href="http://time.com/4362872/bilderberg-group-meetings-2016-conspiracy-theories/">getting together</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/16/politics/senate-judiciary-committee-trump-tower-transcripts/index.html">figure out ways</a> to enrich each other financially. If you think this is about “<a href="http://time.com/donald-trump-drain-swamp/">draining the swamp</a>” and <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-jobs-economic-plan-228218">jobs for the people</a>, you are gravely mistaken. It is about <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/nyregion/kushner-deal-qatar-666-5th.html">sidling up to the trough</a> and gobbling as much as they can, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jan/16/worlds-eight-richest-people-have-same-wealth-as-poorest-50">no matter how obscene it gets</a>. It is about the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/15/17355202/trump-zte-indonesia-lido-city">“you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”</a> service of globalized addiction. It is a serious problem, and we should all be concerned, because to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/18/republicans-trump-silence-racism">enabling addicts</a>, everything, even a holocaust, is merely an “<a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2007/04/the_holocaust_a/">opportunity</a>” for amassing more wealth.</p>
<p>Like any addict in the throes of their addiction, there’s no limit to how far this can go.</p>
<p>While there is still time, gently, carefully, take their <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/12/politics/pentagon-budget-increase-trump/index.html">big sticks</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/03/donald-trump-boasts-nuclear-button-bigger-kim-jong-un">red buttons</a> away. Don’t hurt them and punish them, because that’s what made these people sick to begin with. Instead, remind them of the illness that binds them, and get them the help that they need.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/for-the-love-of-money.html">Don’t let yourself or the ones you love become like Sam Polk, “a giant fireball of greed.”</a></p>
<p>See the truth. Take some action. If you need it, get help.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96517/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Sosteric does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Wealth addiction is as powerful as any other, but instead of urging addicts to get help, we often admire them. Yet they do much more damage to the world at large than your average coke fiend.Mike Sosteric, Associate Professor, Sociology, Athabasca UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/876122017-12-08T01:04:25Z2017-12-08T01:04:25ZWall Street at 30: is greed still good?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198233/original/file-20171207-11347-1uhplit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">20th Century Fox/IMDB</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>December 11 marks the 30th anniversary of Oliver Stone’s darkly perceptive Wall Street. The film exemplified the ’80s yuppie era during Ronald Reagan’s conservative presidency: a time when a celebrity suddenly became president and greed was good.</p>
<p>Wall Street’s now-infamous character, Gordon Gekko, became a household name with his mantra: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The ’80s was synonymous with this “greed” ethos; Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities, published the same year the film was released, also explored themes of excess and ego. </p>
<p>Gekko seems an oddly prescient figure when thinking about Donald Trump, <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/11/08/donald-trump-record-stock-market-election/">who in November boasted</a> about America having its highest stockmarket in history. And while it was of its time, Wall Street also seems to have predicted the era in which we live, one defined by greater inequality and the normalisation of corporate greed. </p>
<figure>
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</figure>
<p>Wall Street was released just two months after the Black Monday stockmarket crash of 1987. A week after the film came out, Ivan Boesky (the inspiration for Gekko) was sentenced to three years in prison for securities fraud. </p>
<p>The film follows ambitious junior stockbroker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), who aspires to be like Gekko, whom he idolises. But as Gekko becomes more unscrupulous and deceptive, Budd becomes disillusioned with the industry and turns on his former mentor, who ends up in jail for insider trading. In the film’s 2010 sequel, Money Never Sleeps, it’s revealed that Fox, too, ended up in jail.</p>
<p>But while Gekko’s downfall was unambiguous in its message about the toxic culture of Wall Street, the film had the opposite effect, inspiring a new generation of stockbrokers. </p>
<p>The ruthless Gekko, despite being the movie’s villain, became a sort of cultural hero, “sporting power suspenders, pomaded hair, and no-mercy machismo”, as Slate’s Jessica Winter <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/2007/09/greed_is_bad_bad.html">writes</a>. And his message of “greed is good” seems to have only intensified. </p>
<p>Indeed, while Newsweek <a href="https://www.artworkarchive.com/artwork/the-doonesbury-collector/newsweek-the-80-s-are-over">prematurely declared</a> that “the ’80s are over” in its first edition of 1988, Kurt Andersen of The New Yorker <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/07/07/the-culture-industry">suggested</a> in 1997: “Maybe the eighties never ended.” </p>
<h2>The growth of greed</h2>
<p>The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 exposed more vulnerabilities between the haves and have-nots in America. By 2011, tolerance of the discrepancy between the wealthy and the 99% had reached tipping point with the Occupy Wall Street movement. </p>
<p>Trump’s election, however, has somewhat undermined their efforts: “The uber-wealthy” Trump, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/14/protests-donald-trump-democracy-party">Micah White argues</a>, “is not what millions of Occupiers were dreaming of when we took to the streets against the monied corruption of our democracy”. </p>
<p>While greed may have been good in 1987, it has reached toxic levels in 2017. Indeed, journalist Richard Eskow <a href="https://www.alternet.org/economy/6-signs-our-culture-sick-greed">has stated</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Love of money for money’s sake is the social disease of our time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In November, the leaked <a href="https://theconversation.com/four-things-the-paradise-papers-tell-us-about-global-business-and-political-elites-86946">Paradise Papers</a> revealed the extent to which the world’s elite avoid paying tax. Like the Panama Papers before them, the Paradise Papers illustrate the very wealthy’s systemic level of greed. Bono, The Queen, Nicole Kidman and Trump’s secretary of commerce, the billionaire Wilbur Ross, are among many at the centre of the scandal. Greed still dictates. </p>
<p>Indeed, while <a href="http://apps.urban.org/features/wealth-inequality-charts/">wealth has grown over the last 50 years</a>, it has not grown evenly. <a href="https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/">Wage stagnation</a> among the lower classes and the rise of the tech billionaire have contributed to greater inequality on a global scale. Since 1987, inequality has significantly worsened for both <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-15/inequality-is-getting-worse-in-australia-abs-figures-opinion/8949102">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/byron-wien-on-why-inequality-has-gotten-worse-in-the-us-2017-5?r=US&IR=T">the US</a>.</p>
<p>When Forbes published its first billionaires list the same year that Wall Street was released, Australia had two billionaires. As of 2017, there are 39 billionaires living in Australia, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/australia-billionaires/list/#tab:overall">Forbes’ “Australia’s 50 Richest People” list</a>. </p>
<p>Collusion on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-04/banking-royal-commission-heres-what-we-know/9210214">rate fixing</a> and other instances of financial and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-07/commonwealth-bank-dismisses-employee-with-severe-depression/7223442">moral misconduct</a> by Australia’s big banks also show the extent of this greed culture in Australia. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/nov/14/worlds-richest-wealth-credit-suisse">A new study</a> confirms that the world’s richest 1% now owns half the world’s wealth. </p>
<h2>A cautionary tale</h2>
<p>Oliver Stone <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/oliver-stone-says-wall-street-culture-horribly-worse-than-gordon-gekkos-time-20150601-ghelj8.html">claimed in 2015</a> that Wall Street culture is “horribly worse” today than in the ’80s. Stone also criticises the money-worshipping culture of America, with successful businessmen frequently featured on magazine covers. </p>
<p>The rise of Trump certainly exemplifies this worshipping of the wealthy in America. And 2014’s <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/">The Wolf of Wall Street</a> did nothing but further glamorise this lifestyle, while ignoring the victims of financial corruption. </p>
<p>The original Wall Street was something of a cautionary tale, one that ultimately went unheeded. In the disappointing sequel, Gekko (unconvincingly) gained something of a conscience, but 30 years on, it’s the original film that is more relevant than ever. Its message that the spoils of greed lead to self-destruction has been lost on those for whom Gekko’s tale was celebratory.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siobhan Lyons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street turns 30 this month. Its infamous character’s mantra, “greed is good”, seems oddly prescient with greater inequality and an even more rampant culture of greed.Siobhan Lyons, Scholar in Media and Cultural Studies, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/813572017-08-02T00:58:29Z2017-08-02T00:58:29ZA big hurdle do-good companies face<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180568/original/file-20170801-21966-1rx3ypq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Consumers often distrust mission-driven groups that earn profits.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/collections/58688349">Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you ever wondered who collects the clothes you stuff into that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyregion/new-jersey/03clothingnj.html">donation drop box</a> in your neighborhood? Chances are, you assumed it was a nonprofit, but that box actually may instead belong to a <a href="https://www.moneyunder30.com/donating-clothing-beware-for-profit-drop-boxes">for-profit social venture</a>. If you don’t know what that means, you’re not alone.</p>
<p>Years ago, just about every organization intent on doing good was a nonprofit. Today, hybrid outfits blend the traditional profit-seeking goals of companies with a social purpose intended to benefit society. Also known as <a href="http://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-is-the-for-profit-social-enterprise">for-profit social enterprises</a> and <a href="http://humphreyreview.umn.edu/public-benefit-corporations-pushing-social-venture-discussion">public-benefit corporations</a>, they can be hard to spot.</p>
<p>As consumer psychologists, we wanted to know what people think of this new type of company.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180407/original/file-20170731-22164-z8htce.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180407/original/file-20170731-22164-z8htce.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180407/original/file-20170731-22164-z8htce.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180407/original/file-20170731-22164-z8htce.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180407/original/file-20170731-22164-z8htce.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180407/original/file-20170731-22164-z8htce.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180407/original/file-20170731-22164-z8htce.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180407/original/file-20170731-22164-z8htce.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some for-profit enterprises make doing good their business.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/p-1300942/?no_redirect">Alexas_Fotos</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making good profits</h2>
<p>For-profit social ventures vary widely in terms of how they make money and their business practices. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.books4cause.com/">Books4Cause</a>, for example, solicits book, CD and DVD donations, as well as financial donations, and then uses that money to support the <a href="http://www.africanlibraryproject.org/">African Library Project</a>, a nonprofit that helps start and supply libraries across Africa. Another is <a href="http://www.alterecofoods.com/our-story/">Alter Eco</a>, an organic food vendor that works with small-scale farmers to help the farmers institute Fair Trade and organic practices. </p>
<p>Just like nonprofits, they focus on issues that benefit society. Unlike nonprofits, which can’t let their founders or funders derive any profits from their activities, these enterprises are free to do what they want with their financial gains. All for-profit companies may donate some of their profits to charity. But only for-profit social ventures make serving a good cause their main mission. That is, for-profit social ventures do business mainly to serve a good cause and make a profit on the side, but other companies that earn profits principally make money for their owners or shareholders and support charities on the side.</p>
<p>No one knows the exact number of for-profit social ventures operating in the U.S. But the number is growing and, based on <a href="http://www.drinkerbiddle.com/insights/publications/2017/02/the-year-in-social-enterprise">new classifications and guidelines</a> enacted over the past decade, it’s becoming possible to <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/benefit_corporation_and_l3c_adoption_a_survey">make estimates</a>. </p>
<p>There are at least 5,500 today, including 1,500 legally structured as <a href="https://www.intersectorl3c.com/l3c">L3Cs</a>, low-profit limited-liability companies that combine the financial advantages of a for-profit business with the social benefits of a nonprofit. About 4,000 more are structured as <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3069192/should-my-company-be-a-benefit-corporation-a-b-corp-or-what">benefit corporations</a>, for-profit companies with a specific public benefit purpose that meet standards of accountability and transparency as required by benefit corporation legislation. By comparison, there were an estimated total of <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2585755">2,100 L3C and benefit corporations in 2015</a>.</p>
<p>What inspired so many charitable-minded people to start their own do-good businesses? Two good reasons involve concerns about the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1098214013517736">effectiveness of nonprofits</a> and the need for <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03085140701760833">companies to become more socially responsible</a>. For-profit social ventures can allay <a href="http://catcher.sandiego.edu/items/soles/DeesAndersonCase.pdf">both of these concerns</a>, at least in theory.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180579/original/file-20170801-17230-1seqyku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180579/original/file-20170801-17230-1seqyku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180579/original/file-20170801-17230-1seqyku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180579/original/file-20170801-17230-1seqyku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180579/original/file-20170801-17230-1seqyku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180579/original/file-20170801-17230-1seqyku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180579/original/file-20170801-17230-1seqyku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180579/original/file-20170801-17230-1seqyku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When you give books away, does it matter if the group making sure they find a new home is a nonprofit?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/old-books-used-donated-poor-drive-68168155?src=W2w3cEJprrQqfBtd_O-A6g-1-29">501room/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The downside of social enterprises</h2>
<p>To see how consumers are reacting to these hybrid entities, we conducted a series of studies. As we explained when publishing our findings in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx071">Journal of Consumer Research</a>, we looked at how willingly people support for-profit social ventures compared with nonprofits or for-profit companies.</p>
<p>In one study, we asked people to donate money to an organization supporting literacy and education. The only difference was that some people were told the company was a for-profit social venture – it had a social mission and also made a profit. Other participants were told it was a nonprofit. People gave 40 percent less money when they believed the organization was a for-profit social venture.</p>
<p>In another study, we gave people money and asked them to purchase a decorative notepad from one of two organizations. When given a choice to buy it from a nonprofit or a for-profit social venture, nearly two out of three people went with the nonprofit.</p>
<p>It seems people don’t think companies can make a profit and support a social cause at the same time.</p>
<p>Why not?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180583/original/file-20170801-21062-cayt8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180583/original/file-20170801-21062-cayt8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180583/original/file-20170801-21062-cayt8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180583/original/file-20170801-21062-cayt8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180583/original/file-20170801-21062-cayt8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180583/original/file-20170801-21062-cayt8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180583/original/file-20170801-21062-cayt8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180583/original/file-20170801-21062-cayt8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This study asked people to choose between buying one of these notepads from a nonprofit and a social venture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Saerom Lee</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A greedy problem</h2>
<p>We believe our findings indicate that consumers think being charitable is incompatible with making a profit. In other words, they think greed will overcome the desire to do good. </p>
<p>That is because emphasizing a social cause makes people think the company is altruistic. When the company also makes money, this flies in the face of a belief that it’s generous or altruistic. When companies have a social mission, people tend to think that all money should go to the social cause. If the company makes profits, people view the company doing less than it could for the social issue.</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean that nonprofits always win though. In the study comparing purchases from a for-profit social venture versus a nonprofit, when people were told the nonprofit was known to have excessive spending, the majority of people flipped and bought their notepad from the for-profit social venture.</p>
<p>Though people may initially assume the worst of a company emphasizing a social mission but making money, these companies may have good intentions. </p>
<p>We see some steps they can take to gain support.</p>
<h2>An upfront solution</h2>
<p>Companies that don’t overemphasize their social missions generally make people less likely to perceive them as greedy. Being upfront about how much of the money they make supports the cause versus how much is kept for financial gain also helps. </p>
<p>Since <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278425409000684">ratings of charity effectiveness</a> are increasingly common, such as those <a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/">Charity Navigator</a> produces, noting that just as much if not more money from every dollar earned goes to the cause will reduce the chance that a company will come across as greedy. People also tend to overestimate <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/the-public-thinks-the-average-company-makes-a-36-profit-margin-which-is-about-5x-too-high/">how profitable companies actually are</a>. Therefore, for-profit social ventures that highlight their low level of profits can actually make consumers warm to them.</p>
<p>The next time you notice a company saying its mission is to help a social cause, try to dig a little instead of just presuming the company is suspect. If it’s really investing efficiently in the social cause, it may be worth supporting. </p>
<p>Then again, if it’s emphasizing its social cause without openly telling you about its for-profit status, you may want to think twice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81357/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Winterich is affiliated with the Alzheimer's Association but it does not present any conflict of interest for this research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa E Bolton and Saerom Lee do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People may initially assume the worst when they encounter for-profit companies with social missions. What can these social ventures with good intentions do to gain people’s support?Saerom Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, The University of Texas at San AntonioKaren Winterich, Associate Professor of Marketing, Frank and Mary Smeal Research Fellow, Penn StateLisa E Bolton, Professor of Marketing, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/663282016-09-30T11:19:19Z2016-09-30T11:19:19ZDepressed by football greed? Find hope in how the game welcomes refugees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139905/original/image-20160930-9914-q9trtb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C19%2C997%2C594&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-373648048/stock-photo-polykastro-greece-february-7-2016-migrants-and-refugees-play-football-in-the-parking-lot-of-a-gas-station-in-polykastro-as-waiting-to-cross-the-border-to-fyr-of-macedonia.html?src=OPKhXmSEBWuka1bJyM2_PA-1-2">Ververidis Vasilis / Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Football has had a grubby year, and an even grubbier week. Governing body FIFA has wrestled with scandal <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/09/fifa-opens-corruption-case-against-sepp-blatter-and-jerome-valcke">throughout 2016</a> and now a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/">major investigation</a> by the Daily Telegraph newspaper has forced the resignation of England manager Sam Allardyce. But it is worth reminding ourselves that the beautiful game is not just a sea of shady characters, drenched in money and greed. It also has the ability to inspire, to bring together people with little or nothing. </p>
<p>Nowhere is this clearer than in the role football has played as thousands of desperate refugees arrive in Europe. One of the largest migrations of people since World War II has confounded efforts to address it and sparked a muddled political response. Football is one space where the social conflicts are exposed, but it is also creating a useful space to challenge and understand the issues at hand. </p>
<p>There has been an international emotional connection with the current refugee situation in Europe. Some football fans in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic displayed banners stating <a href="http://www.ultras-tifo.net/news/3757-refugees-welcome-or-not.html">“Refugees Not Welcome”</a> and protested against what they deem the Islamification of Europe, but the many football supporters have been highly <a href="http://www.worldsoccer.com/features/refugees-welcome-in-germany-at-least-365379">adoptive of the “Refugees Welcome”</a> message, particularly in Germany. That includes moderate fan groups who have never challenged discrimination before. Several fan groups in Germany, Scotland, Greece and England have displayed banners <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/03/english-football-supporters-groups-refugees-welcome-banners">openly declaring their support </a>. </p>
<p>Others have raised money or set up football teams <a href="http://www.fanseurope.org/en/news/news-3/1287-more-groups-working-with-refugees-benefit-from-fse-s-secondfanshirt-campaign-en.html">to support refugees and asylum seekers</a>. Fans of Istanbul’s Fenerbahçe hosted a dinner for Syrian refugees to <a href="http://www.1907unifeb.org/suriyeli-kardeslerimizle-yemek-organizasyonu/">welcome them into the local community</a>. There are so many activities taking place that Football Against Racism Europe have started compiling <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1d3pP5NOJ5WP7Qox-V3ewqk_gnc8">a database of locations</a>.</p>
<h2>Identity games</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.football4peace.eu">Football 4 Peace</a> at the University of Brighton has over 15 years’ experience of demonstrating how football can help build bridges in culturally divided cities in Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine, Gambia and Korea. Most importantly, Football 4 Peace shows that it is possible not just to bring people together to play football, but also to actively work with the participants to help them understand themselves and others.</p>
<p>Their methodology, which emphasises neutrality, equity, inclusion, respect, trust and responsibility, is designed to give players “teachable moments” from football. As <a href="http://www.coe.int/t/DG4/EPAS/Publications/Handbook-1_Sport-Post-Conflict-Societies.pdf">Professor John Sugden says</a> “sport is intrinsically value neutral and under carefully managed circumstances it can make a positive if modest contribution to peace building”.</p>
<p>Football also provides a cathartic space <a href="http://www.furd.org/resources/Final%20Research%20Report-%20low%20res.pdf">for refugees and asylum seekers</a>. A project run by <a href="http://www.furd.org">Football Unites Racism Divides</a> in Sheffield showcased the importance of football in helping refugees acclimatise to their new lives. Football helps those in traumatic situations to switch off from their daily travails and enjoy the bodily freedom of physical exercise and being around people who are in a similar situation. As asylum seekers are not legally permitted to work, leisure activities like football become an important source of self-identity.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j9j7esqC4d4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Football fans across Europe have set up teams for refugees and asylum seekers. From <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2014/aug/20/glasgow-refugee-football-team-brings-unity-to-a-divided-city">United Glasgow in Scotland</a>, to Lampedusa FC in Hamburg, <a href="http://babelsberg03.de/mannschaften/welcome-united-03/">Welcome United in Potsdam</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2015/oct/01/liberi-nantes-football-team-italy-refugees-video">Liberi Nantes</a> in Rome, fans are volunteering their time to welcome new members of their community and help integrate them with the local population. As Football 4 Peace has shown, football can help link people from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures.</p>
<h2>Building trust</h2>
<p>More importantly, football doesn’t just help refugees when they reach their final destination, it also provides a safe and cathartic space for young people in transit in refugee camps. Football fans set up <a href="http://www.calaisjungleyouth.com">Baloo’s Youth Centre</a> in the Jungle refugee camp in Calais as a way of engaging with young people. There are nearly <a href="http://www.helprefugees.org.uk/2016/07/21/new-calais-census-released-761-children-in-calais-jungle-80-on-their-own/">800 unaccompanied minors</a> in Calais and youth workers at Baloo’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2016/feb/19/football-in-calais-jungle-refugees-in-pictures">have used football</a> to build trust with vulnerable children. Once trust is built, they provide mobile phones to the children so that they can be traced to ensure they are safe. </p>
<p>Competitions <a href="https://www.thelibertecup.com">like the Liberté Cup</a> hosted at the Grand Synthe camp in Dunkirk, can also provide a focal point and sense of purpose for refugees living in stasis. At a very simple level, football games give others in the camp an entertaining break from the crushing boredom of refugee camp living.</p>
<h2>Inspiration</h2>
<p>Even those scandal-hit international governing bodies have helped. While they often get criticised by fans, they have taken positive steps to help refugees around the world. UEFA donated money from Champions League and Europa League ticket sales <a href="http://www.espnfc.co.uk/uefa-champions-league/story/2601681/champions-league-europa-teams-pledge-refugees-ticket-money">to refugee causes</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A refugee girl with two prosthetic legs plays football in Jordan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/69583224@N05/29844984442/in/photolist-oWFcRL-dHwvEJ-LFZsGk-Mtim6h-pzKpAR-qkCo2y-gWh48n-J6XTVu-JcSfTb">European Commission DG ECHO/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>FIFA have also used football to help engage young people in refugee camps. In August 2016, the under-17s Women’s World Cup trophy <a href="http://www.fifa.com/u17womensworldcup/news/y=2016/m=8/news=young-refugees-inspired-by-u-17-women-s-world-cup-trophy-2823656.html">was showcased in the Al Zaatari camp</a>. One 14-year-old girl said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>For me, there’s nothing more important at the moment … In this camp, football gives me hope in life. I play it two hours every day and I’m happy for those two hours.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While some at the highest levels of football can seem relentless in their pursuit of wealth, football fans, governing bodies and NGOs are using football to build bridges for the most vulnerable individuals and groups. Football isn’t the magic bullet that will solve the refugee crisis, but it does highlight the valuable work that civil society can provide in the absence of an effective response from the state. And it also showcases what football, as opposed to the grubby <em>business</em> of football, has always been best at: providing a common language that brings people together and promotes physical and emotional well-being for everyone taking part.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Doidge receives funding from the British Academy Rising Stars Engagement Award</span></em></p>The beautiful game has never seemed uglier. But it also can bring joy and togetherness, even to the most desperate.Mark Doidge, Senior Research Fellow in Sociology of Sport, University of BrightonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/516142015-12-29T10:29:03Z2015-12-29T10:29:03ZWe see sacrifice as going without – is that what’s holding us back?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103886/original/image-20151201-21714-22v1pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kneel young</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=8mt-Szap2bRrMTynukI-IQ&searchterm=fasting&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=197401883">zurijeta</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Humankind is fit only to be exterminated – that might sometimes seem like the only answer to our <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/08/daily-chart-growth-areas">ever-growing</a> population, <a href="http://www.global-warming-forecasts.com">environmental degradation</a> and the <a href="http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/biodiversity/biodiversity.html">human threat</a> to biodiversity. But if you accept it’s impossible to reconcile this with any meaningful morality, we need a new approach to how we conduct ourselves. </p>
<p>We have come to think of the shop workers and farmers before we think of the animal and plant produce they supply us with. We think of the house rather than the plants and animals sacrificed to produce it. This wouldn’t matter if we lived in balance, consuming no faster than the Earth can replenish itself. But <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN">life expectancy</a> in most countries keeps rising and we compete for ever scarcer resources, feeding a consumer culture that does little to improve happiness, and much to harm. The illusion is that this consumer life is desirable – and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/paris-2015-climate-summit">Paris climate talks</a> did nothing to challenge this.</p>
<p>Only since the 20th century has prosperity been measured in the economic model of “growth”. This has led us to develop indefensible models of production and consumption such as <a href="http://www.technologystudent.com/prddes1/plannedob1.html">built-in obsolescence</a>. The recent fashion for false minimalism, in which consumers favour “experiences over things” should not distract us from the resource-greedy lifestyles that these affectations illustrate. The “must-see” destinations on bucket lists leave a heavy ecological footprint.</p>
<p>We discuss sustainability against a background noise of conflicting consumer values from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/brands-increase-fast-food-marketing-kids">entities with</a> extraordinary material resources and powers of seduction. The word “enough” is anathema to these businesses. Yet it is at the heart of both <a href="http://www.plosin.com/work/AristotleMean.html">Aristotle’s virtue ethics</a> and <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html">Buddhist philosophy</a>; and Christianity, Judaism and Islam all warn against the dangers of excess.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103887/original/image-20151201-26549-1y54klq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103887/original/image-20151201-26549-1y54klq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103887/original/image-20151201-26549-1y54klq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103887/original/image-20151201-26549-1y54klq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103887/original/image-20151201-26549-1y54klq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103887/original/image-20151201-26549-1y54klq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103887/original/image-20151201-26549-1y54klq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103887/original/image-20151201-26549-1y54klq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Minimalism to the rescue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=D_81uY8IWYjJzfTvKjZcfw&searchterm=backpacking&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=264070967">Dudarev Mikhail</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Gratitude through sacrifice</h2>
<p>So what is to be done? Turning our backs on industrialised society in an obsessive drive to make the world “green” again is probably not the answer, but we do need to find a way to sustain the dignity and quality of human lives without the catastrophic impact we are currently having on the planet.</p>
<p>One way forward is to rediscover the value of sacrifice. Sacrifice has become associated with going without, with giving things up, along the lines of <a href="http://www.catholic.org/clife/lent/giveUp.php">Lent</a> and <a href="http://www.radioislam.org.za/a/index.php/library/140-friday-khutbahs-sermons/9739-ramadan-the-month-of-sacrifices.html">Ramadan</a>. It seems like a form of piety, with the noxious whiff of martyrdom. </p>
<p>But sacrifice comes from the idea of making something sacred by offering it to the deity, acknowledging the source of everything beyond ourselves. It does not matter whether the deity is real or imagined. What matters is gratitude – a psychologically healthy acknowledgement that we do not live by our own means, but in relationship with a vast network, the source and origin of which are profoundly mysterious. </p>
<p>In Hindu tradition, for example, sacrifice (“puja”) is seen as the ritual celebration of gratitude for abundance. In the temples of Hindu India, offerings are made by anyone and everyone, from each according to their ability, and distributed (as “prasad”) to each according to their need. Nobody need go hungry.</p>
<p>The value of getting rid of things we do not need is also recognised in the Hindu conception of a guru as a teacher of truth. This is different from the Western concept of teaching, which is too often characterised by <em>adding</em> knowledge and skills to the learner. The guru’s teaching consists of <em>removing</em> illusions and ignorance, leaving only what is real, true and beautiful. Compare this to the process of cutting rough diamonds into sparkling jewels – it can only be done with a thorough knowledge and appreciation of the material. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103889/original/image-20151201-26585-1dq823c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103889/original/image-20151201-26585-1dq823c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103889/original/image-20151201-26585-1dq823c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103889/original/image-20151201-26585-1dq823c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103889/original/image-20151201-26585-1dq823c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103889/original/image-20151201-26585-1dq823c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103889/original/image-20151201-26585-1dq823c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103889/original/image-20151201-26585-1dq823c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is East least?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=rpIW1ELSbF6jZGOY56KfSQ&searchterm=hindu%20guru&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=206440555">Vasily Gureev</a></span>
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<p>We need to develop a better understanding of a good life, well lived. Satisfaction and contentment are linked closely to the idea of having enough – “satis” is Latin for “enough”, for instance. </p>
<p>The disruptive force of the internet offers a useful means of reconceptualising how we see wealth. The internet has meant that much of what we have traditionally paid for is available for free – often illegally, of course. But in sharing information we lose nothing, and stand to gain a great deal. Misgivings about “who got rich off the internet” are misplaced. Anyone with access to it is rich. </p>
<p>What we need is another great leap forward, abandoning the economics of scarcity and the fear of losing out – and move into a renewed relationship of gratitude and appreciation with the world. We have nothing to lose but excess. This Christmas holiday period is an excellent opportunity to reflect on how we should live in 2016 and beyond.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leon Robinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Whenever we talk about refraining from things, it is bound up with piety and martyrdom. A different approach could help realign us with the planet.Leon Robinson, University Teacher (Creativity, Culture and Faith), University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/481832015-09-30T04:43:37Z2015-09-30T04:43:37ZWhat drives corruption in Malawi and why it won’t disappear soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96667/original/image-20150929-30970-1jtu5oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Malawian President Peter Mutharika has promised to fight the corruption that has seen donors withdraw their support for his impoverished nation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Eldson Chagara</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is now two years since Malawi was rocked by its biggest government corruption scandal in history. The systematic looting of public coffers by civil servants, private contractors and politicians saw them steal <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2014/02/malawi-s-cashgate-scandal">US$31 million</a> from government coffers. </p>
<p>It is estimated that about <a href="http://gppreview.com/2014/01/06/cashgate-shakes-malawi-and-donor-confidence/">35%</a> of government funds have been stolen over the past decade. The impoverished country’s national budget for 2013-14 was about US$1.3 billion (<a href="http://www.nyasatimes.com/2013/06/21/malawi-mps-approve-k630-5bn-national-budget-for-201314/">630.5 billion Kwachas</a>) at today’s exchange rate.</p>
<p>But has the country learnt anything from its biggest scandal that saw donors withdraw support?</p>
<p>The University of Malawi’s Blessings Chinsinga recently pointed out that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… efforts to root out corruption do not stick because the existing institutional milieu makes it almost impossible to introduce changes that can effectively stamp out corruption.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The observation is instructive in that the scandal spans two political administrations. Malawi was led by the late president <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=iIFwWH8aXFYC&pg=PA35&dq=President+Bingu+wa+Mutharika,+profile&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCoQ6AEwA2oVChMI9viuy5ecyAIVAUwUCh0eLQze#v=onepage&q=President%20Bingu%20wa%20Mutharika%2C%20profile&f=false">Bingu wa Mutharika</a> in 2004 and the scandal unravelled on the watch of <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2013-10-11-joyce-banda-sacks-cabinet-after-corruption-scandal">Joyce Banda</a> in 2013. </p>
<h2>Fertile ground for corruption</h2>
<p>A number of factors contribute to the current state of affairs.</p>
<p>There is no clear distinction between a party in power and government activities in Malawi, unlike in established democracies. In Malawi, the party in power is the de facto government.</p>
<p>In Malawi, a party in power calls itself <em>boma</em> (a government). Ordinary Malawians look at abuse of state resources by those in power as acceptable. It is almost impossible to tell a party in power from the government.</p>
<p>Even more serious is the fact that political parties in Malawi are not mandated to declare their <a href="https://eisa.org.za/wep/malparties3.htm">sources of funding</a>. This breeds corruption and fosters abuse of public resources. This is not unique to Malawi. But in countries like Botswana, hailed as one of the model democracies on the continent, they at least have a debate on <a href="http://en.starafrica.com/news/botswana-mps-adopt-political-party-funding-motion.html">political party funding</a>. Debates are also taking place in <a href="http://www.arabianjbmr.com/pdfs/NG_VOL_2_11/1.pdf">Nigeria</a> and <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/review/hsrc-review-march-2013/in-search-of-a-newparty-funding-model">South Africa</a>, respectively the continent’s largest and second-largest economies. </p>
<p>Another contributing factor is that after 21 years of multiparty democracy, governance in Malawi remains heavily centralised. Although the country has been independent since 1964, it only became a democracy in 1994.</p>
<p>Until then, it had been a one-party state decreed by its first post-colonial leader Kamuzu Banda, who banned political parties. He became president for life in 1971. Since 1994, the country has had local government representation for only six years – from 1999 to 2004 and from 2014 to now. </p>
<p>The central government has been reluctant to relinquish some of its powers. The president makes even the smallest of decisions and undertakes mundane tasks that should be reserved for line ministries. This encourages a system of patronage.</p>
<p>Lastly, government contracts, tenders and board memberships all go to sympathisers of the party in power and not necessarily to the best bidder or the most competent applicant. Government sympathisers or ruling party members get contracts regardless of their levels of competence.</p>
<p>This unfairly benefits the incumbents and weakens opposition parties. Businesspeople are afraid of funding opposition parties because they could lose state contracts and other business opportunities.</p>
<h2>Scale and depth of corruption exposed</h2>
<p>Malawians have always known that corruption is <a href="http://www.nyasatimes.com/2015/08/02/corruption-worsening-in-malawi-survey-funded-by-irish-aid/">rife</a> in the country. But the sheer size of the Cashgate scandal, both in terms of the amount and the wide number of people involved, has shown how deeply rooted the problem is.</p>
<p>The involvement of the country’s political class in the scandal is in stark contradiction to their penchant for standing on political campaign podiums promising to fight corruption with all their might.</p>
<p>Most of the people implicated in the Cashgate scandal were either members of the then-ruling <a href="http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=1253195309&Country=Malawi&topic=Politics&subtopic=Forecast&subsubtopic=Election+watch&u=1&pid=1093513093&oid=1093513093&uid=1">People’s Party</a> or its sympathisers.</p>
<p>There is an unwritten rule in Malawi that successful businesspeople align themselves with the governing party in order to protect their property and gain more contracts. </p>
<p>An aunt of Oswald Lutepo, thus far the main Cashgate <a href="http://mwnation.com/lutepo-slapped-with-11yrs-ihl/">convict</a> and serving 11 years in jail, was heard in court lamenting that her nephew was advised that he did not need to join politics as he was already a successful businessman and multimillionaire. At the time of his arrest Lutepo was deputy director of recruitment in the People’s Party.</p>
<p>The aunt’s lament is instructive: people join politics in Malawi mainly to make money. In terms of this logic, the 37-year-old Lutepo was already a millionaire. He should have stayed out of it. </p>
<p>But he could not escape the lure of more riches that flow from being close to those in power. He knew the unwritten rule for success in Malawi only too well: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you are unsuccessful, support the ruling party because this is where opportunities are. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Malawi is still learning to cope without support from donors and the jury is still out on whether it has learnt anything from its biggest scandal. A recent article in <a href="http://africanarguments.org/2015/09/03/malawi-wholl-remember-cashgate/">African Arguments</a> underlines the hopeless feeling that Cashgate has left among most Malawians:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Malawi’s self-enriching officials need to know they will be judged not just by an imperfect judicial system, but by generation upon future generation of their compatriots.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48183/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jimmy Kainja does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Malawi appears to have learnt nothing from the biggest state corruption scandal that rocked the country two years ago, leading to donors withdrawing their support. The same conditions still remain.Jimmy Kainja, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of MalawiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/250402014-03-31T13:43:45Z2014-03-31T13:43:45ZTrying to cash in on climate change won’t fool nature<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45179/original/nc8x4c2s-1396271310.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If companies won't see things differently, we need to.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://pixabay.com/en/telescope-by-looking-optics-300339/">frankspandl/Pixel</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We find ourselves in an era of what we might call creative self-destruction. We’re destroying ourselves – it’s as simple as that. </p>
<p>Economic growth and exploiting nature’s resources have long gone hand-in-hand, but as repeated warnings from scientists and reports such as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/31/climate-change-threat-food-security-humankind">the latest from the IPCC</a> tell us, they now constitute the most ill-fated of bedfellows. Climate change, the greatest threat of our time, is perhaps the definitive manifestation of the well-worn links between economic progress and devastation.</p>
<p>How can we allow this to happen? The sheer scale of the problem undoubtedly makes genuinely united efforts difficult, but there must be other fundamental reasons for the alarmingly limited reaction to the spectre of all-out ecological disaster.</p>
<p>The corporate world’s responses to climate change have a significant influence. Many might be more accurately described as narratives, or even myths. Like Plato’s original <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-myths/">Noble Lie</a> (that served to ensure only those “most suited” to governing were able to), they advance an agenda and maintain the status quo. They thrive on the age-old dichotomy of “us” and “them”, and while we may be acutely aware of imminent catastrophe, somehow we’ve become convinced that someone else will save us.</p>
<p>It’s easy enough to condemn these myths. It’s easy to become angry about them and to rail against the self-serving short-termism at their root. But until we appreciate quite how brilliantly they satisfy their purpose to protect the interests of some at the expense of the rest, any meaningful alternatives will remain elusive.</p>
<h2>Un-constructive corporatism</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09644016.2013.867175?journalCode=fenp20">recent study</a> of corporate responses to climate change sets out not to disprove these myths but to understand how they work and what they achieve. We looked at how 25 major corporations in the resources, energy, manufacturing, transport, finance and retail sectors responded to climate change between 2010-12. The analysis involved interviews with senior and operational managers and an in-depth investigation of sustainability assessments, annual reports, submissions to governments, shareholder briefings, climate-change presentations and policy documents.</p>
<p>Three key myths emerged, each helping to obscure the link between the accumulation of capital and the erosion of natural resources. Each has shown itself to be dangerously seductive.</p>
<p>The first, the myth of <a href="http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/tplyon/PDF/Book%20Chapters/Profitability%20of%20Corporate%20Environmentalism%20Lyon%20Maxwell.pdf">corporate environmentalism</a>, portrays corporations as the saviours of the environment. It stresses firms’ willingness – even determination – to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, produce “green” products and services, and to act on environmental criticism of their products, services or policies. Revelling in the ideals of transparency and accountability, it conveys the message that corporations are best placed to respond to climate change and that alternatives – inevitably including government regulation – will inevitably be less effective.</p>
<p>In other words, it’s business as usual. Don’t query the underlying economic system, simply refine our own habits, for which corporations will continue to be the “value-neutral” providers. The suggestion is that the answer to over-consumption is more, but better, consumption. By the grace of their hand, corporations have equipped us with the tools to save ourselves: now it falls to us as individuals to use them wisely.</p>
<p>The second myth, <a href="http://org.sagepub.com/content/20/3/433.abstract">corporate citizenship</a>, strengthens corporations’ moral role in leading us to supposed salvation. It depicts corporations as legitimate entities in public debate and paints them as representatives of “the people”. This is how corporations give us a voice.</p>
<p>In effect however, the only way this voice is heard is through consumption. The result is that citizenship itself becomes a surrogate for corporate interests of profit and shareholder value. This isn’t democracy: it’s the cementing of the narcissistic conceit that says what’s good for corporations is good for all citizens. That corporate citizenship has long since become a dead metaphor highlights the astonishing strength of this myth.</p>
<p>Perhaps even more powerful, though, is the myth of corporate omnipotence, the idea that companies, thanks to their rationality and efficiency, are capable of taming nature itself. And so the most improbable promises and claims go unquestioned. The state isn’t sidestepped, but should be no more than a co-creator or supporter of schemes that put profitability above all else. Even where climate change is concerned, the bottom line still rules.</p>
<h2>Is anyone not trying to coin in?</h2>
<p>We’ve heard similar boasts before, of course. The global financial system was supposed to be rational and efficient as well – <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/dec/28/markets-credit-crunch-banking-2008">how quickly we forget</a>. But this is what passes for normality. Somehow we now find ourselves content to bear idle witness to the ever more innovative destruction of our world in the pursuit of gain.</p>
<p>As one senior manager interviewed during the course of the research remarked: “It’s all about recognising that this change is happening and taking a leadership position to be able to leverage the opportunities that come out of it.” While stunningly blunt, this pales next to the brutally forthright admission of one CEO: “I’m going to be real frank here. We’re not doing this to save the planet – that’s not the driver. We’re industrialists.”</p>
<p>The principal consequence of this unshakably capitalist mindset is the same inevitable end first identified by Marx more than 150 years ago in <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/">The Communist Manifesto</a> and <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/">Das Kapital</a>, but on a magnitude far greater than can be imagined. The inescapable fact of the matter is that while you can fool some people all of the time, or all people some of the time, the environment cannot be deceived.</p>
<p>This was put well by maverick physicist <a href="http://www.feynman.com/">Richard Feynman</a>, who was outraged, when the technical failure that destroyed the Challenger space shuttle before a live TV audience of millions was traced back to NASA’s insistence that the launch go ahead in unusually cold conditions, that NASA – another organisation keen to bask in claims of rationality and efficiency – could be so stupid and arrogant. “Reality must take precedence over public relations,” <a href="http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-l/docs/rogers-commission/Appendix-F.txt">he wrote</a>, “because nature cannot be fooled.”</p>
<p>Unless we reject some prevailing myths and replace them with responses that are firmly and sincerely rooted in proper governance, human organisation and authentic engagement, we won’t have to wait long until we’re reminded of this truth.</p>
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<p><a href="http://aom.org/">Christopher Wright is a member of the Academy of Management</a></p>
<footer>The academy is a funding partner of The Conversation US.</footer>
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</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25040/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Nyberg received funding from Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Wright receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a Discovery Grant examining business responses to climate change. Christopher Wright is an Academy of Management scholar.</span></em></p>We find ourselves in an era of what we might call creative self-destruction. We’re destroying ourselves – it’s as simple as that. Economic growth and exploiting nature’s resources have long gone hand-in-hand…Daniel Nyberg, Professor of Management, Newcastle Business School, University of NewcastleChristopher Wright, Professor of Organisational Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.