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You are a good person if

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Re: You are a good person if

#3
> But at the end of your life, total it all up. You should have produced more than you consumed. That’s what it means to be a good person.

Summing up one's life in terms of "production" and "consumption" is such a broken way of looking at things.

I will be kind to people. I will be patient with them. I will try to help them. I'll try to make the world a better place in all the little ways I can. How much or how little I "produce" has no bearing on whether my life will be weighed as good or bad.

And since we're quoting incredible TV shows...

"The success or failure of your deeds does not add up to the sum of your life. Your spirit cannot be weighed. Judge yourself by the intentions of your actions, and by the strength with which you faced the challenges that have stood in your way. The Universe is vast and we are so small. There is really only one thing we can ever truly control... whether we are good or evil." - Oma Desala, Stargate SG-1

Re: You are a good person if

#4
post #3

> But at the end of your life, total it all up. You should have produced more than you consumed. That’s what it means to be a good person. Summing up one's life in terms of "production" and "consumption" is such a broken way of looking at things. I will be kind to people. I will be patient with them. I will try to help them. I'll try to make the world a better place in all the little ways I can. How much or how littl…

I’ve never seen anything more eloquent on good or evil than Dungeons and Dragons. Putting others before yourself is good. Putting yourself before others is evil. And everyone lives somewhere on that sliding scale.

Re: You are a good person if

#5
post #3

> But at the end of your life, total it all up. You should have produced more than you consumed. That’s what it means to be a good person. Summing up one's life in terms of "production" and "consumption" is such a broken way of looking at things. I will be kind to people. I will be patient with them. I will try to help them. I'll try to make the world a better place in all the little ways I can. How much or how littl…

> I will be kind to people.

If you look at it as "producing goodwill" (an intangible asset) it still fits his axiom.

Re: You are a good person if

#6
post #3

> But at the end of your life, total it all up. You should have produced more than you consumed. That’s what it means to be a good person. Summing up one's life in terms of "production" and "consumption" is such a broken way of looking at things. I will be kind to people. I will be patient with them. I will try to help them. I'll try to make the world a better place in all the little ways I can. How much or how littl…

> I will be kind to people. If you look at it as "producing goodwill" (an intangible asset) it still fits his axiom.

I considered that, but I think it's a stretch to think that's what they meant - they were clearly referring to actual tangible assets and labor. To be sure there is some merit in what he's saying, but I take great issue with the framing; it seems to me to almost be contradictory to outline the issues with society brought on by, what he calls, the "unproductive elites", while simultaneously framing the success of one's life in a consumerist way.

Re: You are a good person if

#9
post #3

> But at the end of your life, total it all up. You should have produced more than you consumed. That’s what it means to be a good person. Summing up one's life in terms of "production" and "consumption" is such a broken way of looking at things. I will be kind to people. I will be patient with them. I will try to help them. I'll try to make the world a better place in all the little ways I can. How much or how littl…

> I will be kind to people. If you look at it as "producing goodwill" (an intangible asset) it still fits his axiom.

Yes, and we should factor in a $ amount per child you’ve had, also subtract a $ amount per time you yell at said child. Also how much should a compliment given to a stranger be worth? Should the value be different if it’s in sincere?

The important point is that it’s the net sum at the end that qualifies if you are a good person! If you help out 1000 people and have 12 kids, but also you contribute to a racially motivated genocide, you’re still a good person as long as the net $ sum at the end is positive. /s

Absolutely everything about the idea seems wrong. Both the idea that it’s all about accounting and the idea that you can ascribe a definite value to actions that should sum to some moral statement.

Re: You are a good person if

#10
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I will be kind to people. If you look at it as "producing goodwill" (an intangible asset) it still fits his axiom.

Yes, and we should factor in a $ amount per child you’ve had, also subtract a $ amount per time you yell at said child. Also how much should a compliment given to a stranger be worth? Should the value be different if it’s in sincere? The important point is that it’s the net sum at the end that qualifies if you are a good person! If you help out 1000 people and have 12 kids, but also you contribute to a racially motiv…

So what "axiom" do you propose instead?
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