Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
The greater good is a hypothetical construct. There is a finite number of 'goods', each with it's pluses and minuses, and sorting for the one optimal outcome is paralyzing. What the U.S.Army tells it's 2nd Lieutenants is "Do something, even if it's wrong."
Your example might be overtapping the deep, hot abiotic oil sources; leading to a temporary peak in oil producttion.
The other half of the story is:
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Over-complicated in this case.
eg:
You sell a million bottles of anti dandruff shampoo per month to regular customers and make 1 dollar per bottle = $ 1 000 000 per month.
Someone comes along and says: "Add this stuff and dandruff will be permanently cured!"
Adding the stuff ends your $ 1 000 000 per month income.
How do you/anyone react..???
There are those who think everyone will make the good decision.
The right decision for the betterment of humanity.
noT!!!
eg: Nikola Tesla:
He told his sponsor; JP Morgan who made/was making his fortune selling copper wire and electricity: "Free wireless power!" (can't charge/cut off. No copper reqd))
Next day his lab was at the scrapyard.
He was out on his arse from where he lived.
Everything he'd ever written down had er... disappeared.
Same thing will happen to the 'new dandruff cure' salesman every? time..?
Ironically Mr Dandruff Shampoo may well donate money to some medical research center a week later sure, but that's beyond the point here.