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RochelleNg
ProfessorLiu
HONORS394B
20February2010
BlossomingIgnorancethefallofCapitalism
Buyingabighouse,owninganicecar,runningasuccessfulcompany.TheAmericandreamis
deeplyrootedinstatusandfinancialprosperity.Societyportraysbeingfinanciallysuccessfulasthe
equivalentofbeinghappy.Notonlyisthisapparentinthemedia,butparentsalsoassistinteachingthis
totheirkids.Fromayoungage,allchildrenareawarethatperformingwellinschoolisimportant.The
reasoninggoesalittlesomethinglikethis:youneedtodowellinschooltogetintoagoodcollegeyou
needtogetintoagoodcollegetogetagoodjobyouneedagoodjobtomakemoneyyouneed
moneytobehappy.WiththeingrainedmentalityofIneedtosucceed,childrenoftenoverlook,orare
nottaught,oneveryimportantaspectofbeinghappyandbeingagoodcitizenethics.
Underemphasizingethicsisadangerouspath.Aschildrenstarttobelievethattheoutcomeisallthat
matters,standardsofmoralityareconstantlydiminishing.
Somehavearguedthatthefoundationofcapitalismisgreed.Therefore,wemustteachourkids
thattheendsdojustifythemeanssothatourchildrenarentswallowedbytheircompetition.Advocates
ofthispositionoftenciteAdamSmith,thefatherofmoderncapitalism.Smithoncesaid,Itisnotfrom
thebenevolenceofthebutcher,thebrewer,orthebaker,thatweexpectourdinner,butfromtheir
regardtotheirowninterest.Thisaddressesoneofthekeyconceptsofeconomics:thepursuitof
selfinterestoftenleadstoadvancementofthesocialinterest,orwhatisbestforsociety.However,the
assumptionthatSmithbelievedthateveryoneshouldpursuetheirselfinterestwithadisregardtoethics
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istotallyinaccurate.Anyonewhothinksthatcapitalismisbasedongreediswrongforfourkeyreasons.
First,inafreemarket,itisoftenbeneficialtothinkabouthowyourchoiceswillimpactothers
ratherthanjustthinkabouthowtheywillimpactyoualone.Forexample,ifyouarebargainingwith
someoneforaproduct,youclearlyhaveabetterchanceatobtainingtheproductifyoucreatea
situationinwhichbothpartiesgainfromthetransaction.
Second,itisnotinyourbestinteresttocheatbecauseoncesomeonerealizesthattheyhave
beenduped,itisunlikelythattheywilleverbewillingtodobusinesswithyouagain.
Third,thereisadifferencebetweenactinginyourselfinterestandsimplybeingselfish.Letssay
yourobjectiveistogetagoodgradeonanupcomingexam.Noonewouldsaythatstudyingforthe
examisselfishsimplybecauseyouarepursuingyourselfinterest.Onthecontrary,rummagingthrough
yourprofessorsdesktotrytofindtheanswerkeyisawholedifferentstory.
Finally,whileeconomistssaythatthepursuitofselfinterestmaybetterthesocialinterest,nota
singletheoryineconomicssaysthatthemoreselfishpeopleare,thebetterofftheeconomywillbe.
Thepointisthatcapitalismcannotsurvivewhenpeoplecheat.Whenpeopletrytheirbestto
satisfytheirselfinterestfairly,capitalismthrivesandallocatesresourcesefficiently.Butwhenpeopletry
totakeshortcutsandcheat,trustisdestroyed,noonewantstodobusinesswithoneanother,andthe
economyunderproducesgoodsbecauseeveryoneistakingshortcuts.
IattendedoneofthemostcompetitivehighschoolsinAmerica.Everythingwasaboutgrades
andclassrank.StudentswouldjokinglybecalledfailuresiftheyonlytookthreeAP(advanced
placement)classestheirjunioryear,andIknowmanyparentswhohaveheldparentteacher
conferencesiftheirstudentsreceivedaB+insteadofanA.IntheeyesofNewsweek,wewereone
ofthemostsuccessfulschoolsinthecountrywithahighlyeducatedstudentbody.Butbehindthe
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crimsonandgoldwallsofourschool,Iknewthetruth.Alltheteachersknewit.Theoveremphasisof
theAPprogramatschoolhadcreatedamassivecheatingproblem.Peopletookeveryopportunity
betweenclassestoaskstudentsinearlierclasseswhatwasonatest,copyhomework,etcetera.Most
peopledidntconsiderthisbehaviorcheating.Theydescribedittomeasusingtheirresourcesorjust
gettingsomeextrahelp.
Ifwecontinuetooverlookthecrucialtaskofteachingethicstothenextgeneration,the
standardsofmoralitywillslowlyerodeasignoranceblossoms.Asacapitalistsociety,Americacannot
governcitizenswhoconsidercheatingtoberoutine.JuanitaKiddStout,aformerJusticeofthe
SupremeCourtofPennsylvania,saiditbestwhenshedeclaredthat,Apersoneducatedinmindand
notinmoralsisamenacetosociety.