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Comment by fred_durst | Hacker News Reader

Welcome to 2014, where people gladly and boldly proclaim their love of greed and selfishness. Some people work for the government to make the world a better place instead of finding ways to make people more addicted to Facebook or clicking on Ads to buy things they don't really want or need. I understand that you don't care about anyone but yourself, but is it really necessary to shout it from the rooftops?

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I think the point they were making is that there is no need for the government to rely on such instincts. They're very good to have, but many people have to balance that instinct to help the world with, say, a mortgage. And kids. It's very difficult to be idealistic.

Government could pay market rate for people like developers. Though there would be a higher initial cost, I would bet a lot of money that the systems they produce would save money in the end. Alas, if it's government, it's broken. And we won't see a change soon.

The whole goddamned system is rotten through and through, and one of the main things that perpetuates its existence is when otherwise bright people selflessly sacrifice their time and skill for a cause long since lost, feeding parasites and sociopaths.

I'll selflessly give my time to help .gov when they selflessly decide to switch to socialized medicine and do away with the current crumbling status quo.

In the meantime, they can pay me an honest day's pay for an honest day's work--especially if I have to fix things that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

There is greed and selfishness and there is being taken advantage of. When project leadership appeals too much on heroism, unchecked ego, patriotism or loyalty, all kinds of red flags are going up.

Particularly when our government's leadership, our politicians, don't really embody the "show up and try" attitude.

> but is it really necessary to shout it from the rooftops?

Pot calling the kettle black? And I'm not so sure commenting on HN is the rooftops.

What you identify as greed and selfishness, I identify as prudence. Not knowing what tomorrow will bring and acting like it would not only improve my life, but those around me as well. I can make life for family and friends better by preparing for the worst.

> Some people work for the government to make the world a better place...

Some believe they are making the world a better place even at Facebook, but "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Group-think that occurs in any large organization is dangerous, and that's why we shouldn't assign hard problems and our security to groups susceptible to group-think. Look out for yourself or your group, because ultimately everyone else is.

> I can make life for family and friends better

You realize that that is also selfish, right? Why are your family and friends more important than anyone else's? I understand that many people these days don't feel any need to care about the larger world around them, but I do not understand why they need to be so brash and proud of it.

It's pretty typical - and accepted - to care about one's own self, family, and friends more than random strangers simply because you have more information about what will make your self, family, and friends happy than what will make random strangers happy. If you want to make the greatest positive impact possible on the world, focus your efforts on where you have the most information, so that you don't accidentally make things worse out of ignorance.

That's not to say that you can't also care about the world. But it's both illogical and immoral to ignore the good you can do right in front of you, for the abstract notion of good that you might do for the world.

I completely agree with that. I do not mean you should ignore those close to you, but instead meant that they should not be used as an excuse to have a negative impact on the world outside of that inner circle. Thank you for explaining that better than I was able to.

Tell me why are random strangers just as important as my family and friends? Yours, too?

The onus shouldn't be on me to prove to you why I want to favor my network or ensure their security with my own hard-earned resources. It's on you.

> Tell me why are random strangers just as important as my family and friends? Yours, too?

Because if you think you are more an important that the greater world around you, you become a liability to the rest of the world. The rest of us now need to protect ourselves from you because you have no regard for our well being. You are a burden. I realize you were not raised properly and much of that is not your fault, so I do not blame you. I only feel sorry for the world that now has to deal with you.

I never said I think I'm more important, but even if I did, how does that make me have no regard for your well being?

If I'm taller than my dog, does that mean my dog has no height?

Look, I'm not saying society should value me more than someone else. I'm saying I value myself and my loved ones more than some random person. Your ideals may tell you that you value all living things equally and that "greater world" follows suit, but you don't have to read too much to know that you're fooling yourself.

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” – Animal Farm

I don't get how people can down vote my defense of free market wages and doing something in the best interest of one's family. This is not greed, downvoters; it's a recognition and appreciation for scarce resources and getting paid to fulfill some need in the marketplace. The government as a monopoly, cannot allocate resources as efficiently as made apparent by the soaring prices in health costs of which well more than half is directly paid by government programs, and this rollout of Obamacare.

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