Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas


Maynard Keynes:
When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall be able to rid ourselves of many of the pseudo-moral principles which have hag-ridden us for two hundred years, by which we have exalted some of the most distasteful of human qualities into the position of the highest virtues. We shall be able to afford to dare to assess the money-motive at its true value. The love of money as a possession – as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life – will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease. All kinds of social customs and economic practices, affecting the distribution of wealth and of economic rewards and penalties, which we now maintain at all costs, however distasteful and unjust they may be in themselves, because they are tremendously useful in promoting the accumulation of capital, we shall then be free, at last, to discard.

8 comments:

Sackerson said...

Merry Chistmas!

The Arthurian said...

Merry Christmas to you, Sackerson.

nanute said...

Merry Christmas, Art.

The Arthurian said...

And Merry Christmas to you, Nanute.

Jazzbumpa said...

When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance . . .

I'd say the wheels came off right there.

Merry Holidays!
JzB

The Arthurian said...

And to you, Jazz.

Greg said...

Merry Christmas Art............. and all!

The Arthurian said...

And to you, Greg. Hope you liked Keynes' thoughts on morality.