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Re:Capitalism Has Gone Off the Rails by rattray on Monday November 03, 2014 @01:30AM (#8549590)
> what if it were primarily defined by altruism?

It's a fun question, but I think the answer is less entertaining: we would all be less happy. The fact is that most people are better at guessing what they themselves really want than other people are. It's a question of information. I know more about my desires than my friends do, for the most part.

Altruism is nice, but inefficient.

Spending quality time with friends & family, on the other hand, truly is priceless. I don't want them to be nice to me - I just want to be with them. So finding an economic (and cultural) system - be it a few tweaks on the current one or a radical rethink - that gives me more opportunities for a healthy social/family life ought to be the goal, in my opinion.

Re:Capitalism Has Gone Off the Rails by cubancigar11 on Monday November 03, 2014 @04:21AM (#8549975)
A bigger problem, IMHO, is how do you define Altruism? Is bill gates more altruist because he gave up a million dollar? Or someone else who speds large amount of time outside job with NGOs working for poor people?