Re: [SLUG-POL] Can making legal profits be immoral?

From: John Pedersen (john@jmp-systems.com)
Date: Thu Jul 24 2003 - 20:44:17 EDT


>>Each of us has to decide for themselves, but I do think that people who
>>profit, legally, and KNOWINGLY do great harm to the entire nation, are
>>somewhat evil.
>
>
> I'm assuming you've misspoken here-- "people who profit, legally, and
> KNOWINGLY do great harm...." If you didn't misspeak, then there is the
> crux of the matter-- profit is evil, the more of it the more evil.

Nope, didn't misspeak, but you need to parse the boolean logic out of it.

Like: People who

         a) profit legally

         AND

          b) KNOWINGLY do great harm to the entire nation

        are evil.

The point that I was trying (and obviously failed) to make, was that
they are evil (IMHO) IN SPITE OF the fact that they are carrying on
their business legally.

I guess it's a question of whether you think it's ok to do harm to the
nation. Suppose there was some legal loophole that permitted you to
legally sell a package to the Chinese, consisting of all the latest
secret military technology, and a trainload of the latest super-duper
10,000 mile-range, pinpoint accuracy, nuclear missiles. Of course,
the Chinese would pay you $100M for such a nice deal. Perfectly legal,
in this hypothetical example. Would that make it ok?

Pet rocks? Great! I would get in on that in a heartbeat. That does
no national harm. I agree with ALL your examples. Yes, it IS very
subjective, as I said in my earlier post. I think the only place we
disagree is on the degree of harm that international megabrokers have
done, and are doing, to the country.

I think we are under attack, long-term, from China, in three ways:

militarily, economically, and polically.

They made great strides at infiltrating the political system during
the Clinton years. And they have basically taken us by storm
economically during the last twenty years. And they are steadily
building up their military assets.

I think this is a big problem. Hence, when I see people who make $50M
a year for brokering deals to manufacture ever more and more in China,
I consider it pretty much the same as a spy who helps them by selling
military secrets. Legal or not.

If you KNOW that you're destroying your country, and you do it anyway,
for the money....well, the legality doesn't mean much to me. You've
crossed that subjective line. Just my opinion.

John



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