[ExI] How do we construct workable institutions and ethical behaviors?

[Kelly Anderson]

2011/12/5 John Grigg <possiblepaths2050 at gmail.com>:
> creation of workable institutions and ethical behaviors.  I am horrified at
> the degree of Wall Street & corporate shady behavior (which often gets
> rewarded, rather than punished), along with the financial seduction of
> political leaders.  And of course this is not just an American problem.  I
> see the notion of a "social contract"  rapidly falling apart.

The only thing that can save us is if individuals and corporations
function completely in the full light of day. Back room dealing has
got to stop. The only way that I can see this happening today is if
there is just a complete loss of privacy, or at least the retroactive
threat of a complete loss of privacy. Consider how things would be
different if every person working for a corporation had to wear a
video and audio recorder 24/7, and in the event of some kind of
corporate breakdown, that recording could be reviewed (automatically
without human involvement) for relevant information, which could then
be brought up before the relevant authorities. It would be akin to the
old fashioned idea that 'God is always watching you', which served to
keep people ethical in the olden days.

This kind of loss of privacy is the sort of thing we're going to get
if people can't pull their heads out of their collective asses
voluntarily.

I don't advocate for such a complete loss of privacy. I just don't see
a long term alternative if people continue to become immoral at the
current rate.

There was a lady that called into a talk show today that was an
insider on the housing collapse. She is slated to testify in three
upcoming trials relating to the subject. The malfeasance of Freddy
Mack and Fannie Mae, and the people that got into the mortgage
business during the period around 2002 in cooperation with these
institutions was truly shocking.

> I dearly hope the massive greed/lack of effective oversight/siphoning
> of funds/destruction of economic strength can be successfully dealt with,
> but with the best and brightest generally working for corporations and not
> as gov't regulators, and politicians being in the pockets of the
> corporations, I have doubts that we will see real change.  What can be done?

More government clearly isn't the answer. In fact, it is often the
government that causes the problems in the first place.

> Ironically, I now see the hopefully coming Singularity (even if it is a soft
> take-off) as a means to  finally successfully deal with the massive
> corruption we see.  I suppose I envision A.G.I. being vastly more effective
> regulators than humans.  But perhaps machines will not be granted the
> authority to become directly involved in these issues.

Any statement of this kind has to be viewed as a temporary situation.
Anything you can imagine that machines could do, someday, inevitably,
they will do. So some temporary thing like "they'll never let
computers drive cars" is just that, temporary.

> The here and now solution to my mind is ending the massive public apathy to
> the economic nightmares we have experienced, and holding leaders
> accountable.  I would have thought, considering how so many in the middle
> class have suffered, that there would have been many more people marching on
> behalf of Occupy Wall Street, or doing other things to get involved and
> create change.  I think the corporate and political elite at least for now,
> assume correctly that most people will act like sheep and not agitate for
> serious change, and so the structural/institutional change has not been made
> to seriously try to prevent further economic disasters.

Apathy? Really? Both the tea party and the wall street warblers
testify to the lack of apathy in America today. I can't remember this
much of a lack of apathy since I was just a couple of years old in
1969. When men walked on the moon, any change seemed possible. Perhaps
that's why they cancelled the space program?

The problems most mainstream Americans see are not solved, in their
minds, by OWS. So while many can relate to the problems they are
pointing out, few agree with their proposed solutions. When someone
comes out with real solutions to those sorts of problems, the people
will get behind it. There just isn't any apathy left. People are
pissed off, and they aren't going to take it any more. But Washington
is seen more to blame than Wall Street.

Interestingly, it appears that Obama has received more money from Wall
Street donors than all the republicans... how do you like them apples
OWS?

-Kelly