"Egoism [or self-interest], in a broader sense, has been...presented as the source of moral action. It has been said that we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, bind up the wounds of the man beaten by thieves, pour oil and wine into them, set him on our own beast and bring him to the inn, because we receive ourselves pleasure from these acts...These good acts give us pleasure, but how happens it that they give us pleasure? Because nature hath implanted in our breasts a love of others, a sense of duty to them, a moral instinct, in short, which prompts us irresistibly to feel and to succor their distresses...The Creator would indeed have been a bungling artist had he intended man for a social animal without planting in him social dispositions. It is true they are not planted in every man, because there is no rule without exceptions; but it is false reasoning which converts exceptions into the general rule. " (The Complete Writings of Thomas Jefferson; Memorial Edition; volume 14: page 141; 1904.)
The exceptions of whom Jefferson was writing are the individuals Dr. Martha Stout, a former clinical psychologist at Harvard Medical School , was writing of in her book, The Sociopath Next Door (2005). These are the one out of 25 individuals (in Dr. Stout's estimation), whose lack of empathy and overarching self-interest make them both dangerous, and often successful individuals in our modern society. They are individuals who--in our nation which holds wealth as the paramount measure of success--have their moral failings ignored because we idolize their wealth. Thomas Jefferson was aware of, and took such individuals into account, writing of them in his letter to Thomas Law:
"The want or imperfection of the moral sense in some men, like the want or imperfection of the senses of sight and hearing in others, is no proof that it is a general characteristic of the species." The Complete Writings of Thomas Jefferson; Memorial Edition; volume 14: page 142; 1904.
These corporate criminals use the shield of the corporation to protect themselves from civil and criminal liability for their sociopathic decisions. They continue to use America's idolatrous fascination with wealth to escape not only moral judgment, but any other sort of punishment or condemnation by the nation as a whole. As I stated earlier, "This has lead in turn to the creation of a destructive form of individuality among living human beings that is neither realistic nor sustainable for humanity as a whole. This bastardized form of individualism absolutely refuses to recognize any inherent duty or responsibility to the rest of humanity. I believe that this arises out of some unconscious attempt to compensate for the diminution of their own humanity by granting a thing--the corporation--personhood. This has led them to the alienated mental viewpoint of the sociopath, not the stable, mentally mature, and healthy viewpoint of a self-actualized individual." Even that paragon of selfishness, Friedrich Nietzsche, agrees with my point of view:
"It would be completely unworthy of a more profound spirit to consider mediocrity as such an exception"When the exceptional human being [ubermensch] treats the mediocre more tenderly than himself or his peers, this is not mere politeness of the heart--it is simply his duty." (The Antichrist, No. 57; The Portable Nietzsche, translated by Walter Kaufmann.)
A study of the history of nations shows us that the fall of all of the Great Powers has been tied directly to the increase in selfishness of the wealthiest classes. [See Paul Kennedy's The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers (1987), Michael J. Parenti's The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Rome (2003), Len Deighton's Blood, Tears, and Folly (1993), and I.F. Stone's The Trial of Socrates (1988).] We as a People must rise above the idolatry of wealth and selfishness. We face today a new Green Death, of avarice and hubris, which is besetting our nation like the Red Death of old. It is killing weak and strong alike without mercy, and permanently scarring its survivors. We must resist this tyrannical monster in our midst, as the Founder and Framers of our nation resisted the usurpations of George III and the British East India Company.
Before it's too late.
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