14. We can describe this as a sacrifice of my
pleasure for yours.
… or we can describe it as a decision I
made knowing that my connection with
you gives me joy, and over time
generous acts increase my joy.
15. In the 70s, when asked what makes
Goldman Sachs different, Gus Levy said,
“We’re greedy, but we’re long-term greedy.”
16. Perhaps a virtuous person is simply
long-term pleasure seeking.
(This is what psychologists and behavioral economists would say.)
17. And a loser with no friends is
short-term pleasure seeking.
18. How about if we call enlightened,
long-term pleasure seeking
Altruistic Hedonism.
19. What would the impact be of
framing the same human behavior as
altruistic hedonism
vs.
virtuous sacrifice?
20. Well, for one, if good people make
painful sacrifices for others,
and bad people don’t, it’s rational for
good people to feel superior.
21. We like this because righteous indignation
makes us feels special, worthy, chosen.
22. It leads to the conclusion that bad people
are cheaters who should be punished.
23. If, on the other hand, good people have
figured out how to experience more joy
through collaboration with others,
and bad people haven’t …
… that framing suggests bad people
need help figuring out how to
experience more joy.
24. After all, we all want the same thing —
joy, connection.
25. Helping people who are
short-term hedonists become
long-term hedonists
(altruistic hedonists)
is not a large leap.
A long term hedonist is not looking down at a short term hedonist,
she is looking across.
26. This is much easier than convincing
people they need to make larger sacrifices.
27. So why not shift our thinking?
We have nothing to lose but our sense of
moral superiority.