Huainanzi - Entry 33

Trey Smith

Those who value life do not destroy themselves for material gain. Those who are firm in ethics do not try to spare themselves when they see difficulty. Those greedy for money disregard their health when they see a profit to be made. Those who want a good name will not try to get it unjustly.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

Once again, these Chinese Masters hit the nail square on the head! While there certainly are Type A personalities who are not wealthy, I bet most of the titans of industry are. In the capitalist system -- it's probably just as true for any other system -- you don't get ahead by "playing nice." You've got to be ruthless with others and yourself.

The other part of this passage that again I think is so on target is sentence #2. It typifies one of the chief complaints of the Occupy movement. When those of us in the 99 percent find ourselves in financial difficulties, the ruling elite and talking heads tell us that the moral thing to do is to face up to the problem and to pay the piper (them).

However, these same folks don't apply this rule to themselves! When they find themselves in a bind due to their own reckless behavior, the expect us -- no, they demand it! -- to bail them out because they are "too big to fail."

And so, through the auspices of the government, we bail them out. How do they pay us back? By engaging in the very same reckless behavior again!

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.