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Comment by nazgulsenpai | Hacker News Reader

More and more I have just come to accept that the majority of people, at least those I am exposed to in the US, don't fundamentally believe in anything. Everyt conviction has a buyout price.

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You have to understand that people only believe in things and have "morals" because it either helps them get what they want or makes them feel better about themselves. Of course such a thing has a buyout price. That's human nature. Capitalism just allows it to be on display in the worst way.

More (but not all) Americans of older generations, say the Greatest Generation, I noticed used to more frequently have integrity and hard boundaries that refused to do certain things no matter the cost. Subsequent generations I noticed, especially much wealthier individuals, overall tended to have those pieces of their character missing from them and were willing to do things like conspire on venture structures for tax evasion purposes, promote weakening of laws to favor their concerns, borderline bribe politicians, and treat employees as basically disposable nonhumans. It revolted me to the point where I left startups and the Valley. It feels like the prior generations had an appreciation of community and Kantian ethics whereas later were raised in a much-too-comfortable environment of unlimited self-esteem and hyperindividualism.

I agree, but I addressed this with "or makes them feel better about themselves". The older generations just have a more ingrained ideal of "if I sell out, I'm a bad person". So they don't because it makes them feel better about themselves - better than a large amount of money might. Subsequent generations have seen enough people sell out that the threshold is raised, and they don't believe as strongly that they're a bad person for having a price. I don't think anyone is above this dynamic.

I understand, and in particular the point about making yourself feel better, but that's where I would expect the sticking point to be before it was for other people. There are a great many ways I could make my life easier that I stubbornly refuse to because it would decrease my opinion of myself. I guess that's where your last point creeps in -- I've never been financially incentivized enough.

> get what they want or makes them feel better about themselves

So... all acts are selfish because if it looks unselfish, that just means it was selfish in a hidden way?

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