Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the reason we’re good isn’t to benefit others, but for ourselves. The ignorant and foolish believe good actions only serve others. As the wise recognize that right action leads inevitably to right outcomes. Because in the long term and as a strategy, peak selfishness always leads to catastrophe. It can result in nothing else. Even as peak unselfishness leads to an unsatisfying life. We have to strike a balance. One that serves us by us serving mankind, smartly, leading to success. Those who take the wise path have better lives. It’s that simple. As Ben Franklin inculcated in Poor Richard’s, right action leads to right outcomes. So if we define right outcomes as benefiting ourselves, then right action is the means. Therefore, we aren’t good to benefit others, but as a way to succeed.
Aristotle and Mencius both called the right path between good and evil… the golden mean. In that it’s no good to work yourself to death for others, or to exploit others to benefit you. The golden mean is the resonant morality in the society you live. The Overton window so to speak. Within that window of acceptable action, there’s a balance that leads to the best likely outcome for the individual. That good action that leads to success. In our personal life, employers want and seek out honest hard working people. Therefore, honest hard working people get most of the breaks. Lazy, liars who steal from the company, rarely get the breaks. They get the boot. So, the resonant morality in your society is the path to success. The golden mean leads to good while evil leads to ruin.
Even as it appears the selfish get ahead, appearances can be deceiving. The reality is, balance that leads to the golden mean, will result in the best likely outcome. Going above or below that balance, or resonant morality, delivers ever poorer outcomes. The further away from it one gets the worse. Though saints have hard lives, their eternal reward is stellar. While demons live their lives in fear, violence and prison, then spend their eternal reward in less stellar accommodations. Pragmatically then, good action leads to good outcomes. Those who don’t examine outcomes could be led astray. Thinking that selfishness, lies and sloth will achieve success. As the wise understand right action leads to right outcomes. Defined as success.
Our culture teaches that wealth and success is the luck of the draw. Our eyes are carefully guided away from real examples to fake ones. Elon Musk is the richest person living today, yet he works more hours than almost anyone else. He doesn’t work to get wealth, wealth is a side effect of his work. Meanwhile, I bet you can name more than one half wit born to riches, who has never worked a day in their life. Yet enviously complain Elon Musk is greedy. Which is spurious self delusion. Mr Musk is rich because he does the right things. His right actions lead to right outcomes. Ben Franklin, Aristotle and Mencius would agree. Musk succeeds through right action and perseverance, not luck. Showing us how its done, if only we are willing to take that path.
It then behooves us to try every day to self improvement. Move closer to the golden mean. We can follow examples of people who have become what we want to become. All of them worked hard to get there. Be they a billionaire, musician or movie star. Though many a movie star, musician and billionaire has lost it all because they became narcissistic. They moved too far away from the resonant morality or golden mean. History is also rife with examples of people who worked relentlessly to their achieve their goals, for good or evil. Though the evil generally come to bad ends. Suicide, hanging or killed by a mob is the usual path to their eternal reward. Which means, we aren’t good to benefit others, we’re good to benefit ourselves. Succeed by resonant morality… and take the golden mean.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
