投资 · 西方古典
托斯丹·凡勃伦:有闲阶级论·摘录 104
托斯丹·凡勃伦《有闲阶级论》· The Theory of the Leisure Class · 投资
Under any known phase of culture, other or later than the presumptive initial phase here spoken of, the gifts of good-nature, equity, and indiscriminate sympathy do not appreciably further the life of the individual. Their possession may serve to protect the individual from hard usage at the hands of a majority that insists on a modicum of these ingredients in their ideal of a normal man; but apart from their indirect and negative effect in this way, the individual fares better under the regime of competition in proportion as he has less of these gifts. Freedom from scruple, from sympathy, honesty and regard for life, may, within fairly wide limits, be said to further the success of the individual in the pecuniary culture. The highly successful men of all times have commonly been of this type; except those whose success has not been scored in terms of either wealth or power. It is only within narrow limits, and then only in a Pickwickian sense, that honesty is the best policy.
出处:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/833
定位:Excerpt 104 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录
白话
凡勃伦说,在金钱文化里,好脾气、公平、不加区别的同情心并不会明显帮个人成功。它们最多能让你不被多数人苛待,因为社会理想中的正常人总得有点这些品质;但除此之外,在竞争中,这些品质越少,个人往往越顺。没有顾忌、没有同情、不诚实、不在乎人命,在相当宽的范围内反而有助于发财和掌权。历史上非常成功的人大多属于这种类型,除非他们的成功不是用财富或权力衡量的。所谓“诚实是上策”,只在很窄的范围内、而且带点反讽才成立。
上下文
凡勃伦《有闲阶级论》分析金钱文化下个人成功与道德品质的关系。
今日一问
你相信“诚实是上策”时,是否想过它只在某些条件下成立?
公版作品;原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg,仅摘录段落并附全书链接。
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