Human Feebleness Classic

Symmetry is attractive. Asymmetry is not. Here is the basic assymtry in thinking that is human beings at their worst:

1) We like to take credit for doing good.
2) We don't like to take credit for doing bad.

As Noam Chomsky points out numerous times, the classic government model is 'public risks and privatised profits'

And it explains... pretty much everything. like:

Why people invested in properties and maxed out mortgages when they thought they would be getting rich off the capital appreciation, yet now want the government to bail them out of their deflating bubble assets.

Why shareholders want the government to bail out their finance institutions, yet don't wont those institutions nationalised.

Why soon to be retirees were happy to let the pension dwindle when they thought superannuation would sustain a jetsetting retirement lifestyle yet when the super funds took a big dive now balk at the retirement age and pension cut-offs being lifted.

Why we are ostensibly committed to fighting climate change, yet don't want to disadvantage the industries generating the problem.

I would simply point out, that if anything is idealistic or naively greedy, it is that whenever you do right everyone pats you on the back, and when you do wrong everyone looks the other way.

Jim Collins identified in 'Good to Great' a trait he labelled 'the window and the mirror' amongst the leaders of the best companies of the past century. That is, they did the exact opposite of human feebleness classic, they aportioned blame only to themselves when things went wrong, and when things went well they skeptically attributed it to the efforts of others or at worst, just plain dumb luck.

Anyway, to go a long way in making the world a better place, you have to know this behaviour pattern and stomp on it any time it rears its feeble head.