Zhang Weiying: Lying shamelessly and failing in education
How do human beings move from self-centeredness to cooperation? Or, how can the self-interested nature bring benefits to others rather than harm? The logic of the market and the logic of the robbers are two different means of achieving the goal.
The logic of the market is to achieve self-interest by satisfying the needs of others, which is itself the most ethical, because in this way it cannot harm others, and can only achieve oneself by creating happiness for others and wealth for society.
The logic of the robbers is to gain their own advantage by harming others, which is completely opposed to the logic of the market. In the real market economy, these two logics coexist, although some people make money, but not because they bring happiness to others, but because they bring misfortune to others, but this is not the logic of the market.
Honesty and trustworthiness is the way to get rich, the market is fair, as long as you create value for others, you will definitely be rewarded. The market is determined by supply and demand, and the more value you provide to others, the more money you make.
At the same time, we need to correctly understand the relationship between the market and ethics, and it is impossible to change the moral concepts of others just by persuading people, and we also need the support of the system and the constraints of the law.
The happiness of the individual and the happiness of others are interrelated, and it is necessary to pursue one's own interests, but also to take into account the interests of others. Ethics is based on the market, and through market competition and free choice, people's ethical behavior can be promoted.
Therefore, we need to respect the forces of the market, and at the same time, we need to strengthen ethical education so that people understand the importance of creating value for others, so as to achieve the harmonious development of individuals and society.
Adam Smith believed that the market economy was the most effective way to solve the contradictions and challenges of human self-centeredness and the need for others to cooperate. There are two logics that govern human history: the logic of bandits and the logic of the market.
The logic of bandits manifests itself in wars between nations, while the logic of the market manifests itself in freedom ** and exchange. These two logics will continue to coexist in the future. International relations should also be handled according to market logic, that is, the rise of a country and a nation depends on freedom, not by force of conquest.
Humans have the ability to learn from their mistakes and turn to market logic. In addition, there have been too many misunderstandings between scholars who have studied ethics and marketing in the past, and resolving differences requires understanding and respect for each other.
The biggest failure of Chinese education is the failure to make people honest and stop blushing when telling the truth, which is due to the lack of good institutional construction. Western companies don't put up slogans asking for honesty and trustworthiness, because that's in line with market logic.
Discarding market logic and market rules, we can only use illusory preaching to make people hypocritical. I am deeply saddened by this situation, and we must not forget this when emphasizing ethics, otherwise we will not contribute much to the construction of society.