AE705: Money & Psychopathy Attribution – NonCommercial - ShareAlike A presentation by Robin Upton. 2014-02-05 Available from http://www.RobinUpton.com Attribution – NonCommercial - ShareAlike 1 1

1. “Moral Abridgement” 2 2

Crowding Out of Altruism http://www.altruists.org/d998 In 1973, a US blood bank randomly asked former donors one of 2 different questions: A) “Would you like to donate blood again?” 93% B) “Would you like to donate blood again, if we give you a $10 reward?” 65%

Subliminal Effects “Pull up a chair...” http://www.altruists.org/f1000 The experimenter invited people to pull up a chair... A computer in the background showed one of 3 different screensavers. 3 Different images were used in the background... Then this distance was measured “Pull up a chair...” And proximity to the desk was measured.

Distancing Effect http://www.altruists.org/f1000 The money screensaver increased the distance people sat from the experimenter!

Working Alone or Together? http://www.altruists.org/f1000 Working Alone or Together? Subjects were offered the choice either to work on a task alone or with another person. The money screensaver dramatically decreased willingness to work together!

2. “Money psychosis” 7 7

The minister responsible for Malaysia's forests explained... David Korten that since money grows faster than trees, Malaysia will be better off once it has cut down all its trees and put the money in the bank to earn interest. http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/money-print-your-own/money-versus-wealth 8 8

Nothing is more important to us than the real world!! The Simple Truth... Nothing is more important to us than the real world!! 9 9

Where is it easiest to really make it big? Obviously the USA!

3. Psychopathy 11 11

World Bank Chief Economist, Brazil’s Secretary of The Environment, 1991 - The Summers Memo Lawrence Summers was not sacked from his job, and has since worked as Secretary of the US Treasury, President of Harvard University, & since 2009, Director of the White House National Economic Council. “I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that... I've always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly underpolluted.” Lawrence Summers, World Bank Chief Economist, Internal Memo, 1991 “Your reasoning is perfectly logical but totally insane... Your thoughts [provide] a concrete example of the unbelievable alienation, reductionist thinking, social ruthlessness and the arrogant ignorance of many conventional ‘economists’ concerning the nature of the world we live in.” José Lutzenberger, Brazil’s Secretary of The Environment, José Lutzenberger was pressured to quit the following month, & never worked in politics again. DATE: December 12, 1991 TO: Distribution FR: Lawrence H. Summers Subject: GEP 'Dirty' Industries: Just between you and me, shouldn't the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs [Least Developed Countries]? I can think of three reasons: 1) The measurements of the costs of health impairing pollution depends on the foregone earnings from increased morbidity and mortality. From this point of view a given amount of health impairing pollution should be done in the country with the lowest cost, which will be the country with the lowest wages. I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that. 2) The costs of pollution are likely to be non-linear as the initial increments of pollution probably have very low cost. I've always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted, their air quality is probably vastly inefficiently low compared to Los Angeles or Mexico City. Only the lamentable facts that so much pollution is generated by non-tradable industries (transport, electrical generation) and that the unit transport costs of solid waste are so high prevent world welfare enhancing trade in air pollution and waste. 3) The demand for a clean environment for aesthetic and health reasons is likely to have very high income elasticity. The concern over an agent that causes a one in a million change in the odds of prostrate[sic] cancer is obviously going to be much higher in a country where people survive to get prostrate[sic] cancer than in a country where under 5 mortality is 200 per thousand. Also, much of the concern over industrial atmosphere discharge is about visibility impairing particulates. These discharges may have very little direct health impact. Clearly trade in goods that embody aesthetic pollution concerns could be welfare enhancing. While production is mobile the consumption of pretty air is a non-tradable. The problem with the arguments against all of these proposals for more pollution in LDCs (intrinsic rights to certain goods, moral reasons, social concerns, lack of adequate markets, etc.) could be turned around and used more or less effectively against every Bank proposal for liberalization. After controversy arose about this memo, Lawrence Summers claimed that he was being “sarcastic”.

“Psychopathic Values... ?” “Call me Developed!” The property of the rich is valued above the lives of the poor. Guiltlessness Parasitic lifestyle Superficial Charm Selfishness Lying Economics assumes people have no conscience. The apparent universality of modern “common sense” notions of money, society, family, life etc. is one of the greatest barriers to noticing their psychopathy. To the abused child, becoming an abusive parent can seems like the ‘normal’ thing to do. How much more so those whose society is steeped in psychopathy. To anyone who has looked at the figures, the hypocrisy of foreign “aid” is clear. The materially poorest nations of the world support the materially richest. To them that hath, shall be given. Oftentimes, foreign ‘aid’ is linked to acceptance of political or economic interference. John Perkins book “Confessions An Economic Hitman” details how he and others worked to ensnare the peoples of the financially poorest nations the World Bank. The hypocrisy of WTO’s ‘fair trade’, the U.N.’s “peace keeping”, many other supposedly altruistic organisations is similarly blatant. The active participation of those lower in the hierarchy is ensured through threats of violence (the most obvious ones stemming from lack of money - for example, whoever doesn’t pay their mortgage is liable to violent expulsion from their home). Yes Boss, “So I must be Under- Developed?”