The-Morality-of-Capitalism-PDF

could become a societal norm, and as a result they did theirutmost to follow its strictures. At the same time, opportunistsused the slogan as a means to take advantage of others. Theyused the campaign against exploitation as an excuse to raid thehomes of others and place the property of others in their ownpockets. They called on others to strike down selfishness, and forthe sake of the revolution to admit that they were traitors, spies,or counter-revolutionaries and thus have a stroke added to theirrecord of demerits. Without a thought, such opportunists wouldplace others in a position where the lives of those others were atstake, all in an effort to secure for themselves an official governmentposition. Thus far, we’ve analyzed the theoretical problemswith the principle of “serve others before oneself,” but the historyof the Cultural Revolution further proves the contradiction ofthat principle when it is put into practice.The Cultural Revolution has faded into memory, but we shouldremember that at that time all slogans were subjected to criticismand scrutiny. That is no longer the case, for the question of whatprinciple is best when dealing with problems in society has, itseems, been exempted from scrutiny. We still often use the oldpropaganda to call on the people to resolve disputes, and evenwhen cases are heard in court, those out-of-date methods stillhold considerable influence.Those readers who are adept at thought experiments will nodoubt have additional questions to ask about the above-mentionedproblem of how best to allocate the apples between the two individuals.If we agree that “serve others before oneself ” cannotas a rule solve the problem of how best to distribute two apples,does it follow that there is no better way to do so? Recall thatthere is one small apple and one large apple, and there are onlytwo individuals participating in the allocation. Could it be thateven the legendary Chinese immortals would find themselvesunable to devise a suitable solution?In an exchange society, the above-mentioned conundrum isindeed soluble. The two individuals can first consult with oneanother in order to resolve the dilemma. For example, supposethat A selects the bigger apple, with the understanding that B isentitled to take home the bigger apple when they next meet; or52