Bad Judgement

Seth Godin discusses what appears to be Bad Judgement but is a fair judgement based on a different set of beliefs.

Once we realize that it's not a matter of judgment, but a matter of belief, everything changes.

That's because marketers are charged with changing what people believe.

If I can help change what you believe, I bet I can change your actions as well. And respecting your judgment is a great place to start.

As Communists, we should strive to understand and respect the beliefs of those who are not. In reality, I am marketing Communism to Capitalists and their supporters.

We tend to do this in the abstract in our model of the objective and subjective influencing each other.

We do want to change how people relate to each other: no longer as either Owner or Employee, but as a Worker-Owner.

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Gates calls for "creative capitalism"

Gates calls for "creative capitalism" in an effort to improve the distribution of wealth among people. Is the world's richest man going soft?

'We have to find a way to make the aspects of capitalism that serve wealthier people serve poorer people as well,' he told the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. 'I like to call this idea creative capitalism.'

The speech to top businessmen and politicians in Davos reflects Mr Gates's growing focus on philanthropy. Mr Gates built Microsoft into a formidable and sometimes controversial money machine, which has been accused in the past of abusing its market position.

...

Mr Gates said the self-interest behind capitalism had driven multiple innovations but to harness it to the benefit of all required the system be refined.

Greater focus on recognition for improving the lives of others could provide a spur for companies to focus more on making money out of providing valuable products at affordable prices to the world's poor."

Emphasis Mine

Mr. Gates sees the main problem of Capitalism as being the distribution of wealth. He does not see that the main engine of the growth of inequality has been the Capitalist system itself. This is his blind spot.

His pious hope that Capitalism can be tweaked to fix the problems that it creates is just a salve to a troubled conscience.

Unless we are prepared to understand the true workings of Capitalism, any suggestions like this are just passing day-dreams.

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