Re: Investments

From: Peter C. McCluskey (pcm@rahul.net)
Date: Mon May 26 1997 - 10:08:54 MDT


 rknight@platinum.com ("Rick Knight") writes:
> Greetings,
>
> There seems to be an abundance of interest in and information provided
> about how to invest in the market economy. I've yet to thoroughly
> peruse some of the ideas and perspectives since the thread has
> dominated recent digests I receive (although the idea of investing in
> a company like Coca-cola, simply because of its yet untapped
> markets--presumably in developing nations--seems disconnected from the
> consequences both to health and environment that result from its mass
> consumption).

 I'm unsure about the environmental effects of Coke, but anyone who
had read much Extropian writings about health would avoid drinking
drinking high calorie, low vitamin foods such as regular Coke (the
health effects of diet Coke are less clear).

> Why do I keep equating this type of capitalist-get-ahead preoccupation
> with pure narcissism? Could someone assist me in understanding how

 I don't know why. I'd say Max's investment in Coca-cola is based on a
prediction of consumer demand for Coke that is unrelated to Max's
opinion of whether Coke is a good drink, and reflects a good deal of
respect for the judgements of Coke drinkers whose values probably differ
from Max's value. I'd say this is very far from narcissism. Maybe you
meant greed instead?

> post-human potentialities tie in with reasoning that doesn't seem to
> link conscious choice with one's personal mission statement? Perhaps
> I'm in the wrong realm. I was under the impression that extropian
> principles had a more broad-sweeping implication, that they pushed the
> envelope of sociological, physiological, psychological paradigms.
> That benevolence would be a natural result of evolved thinking. I

 If you expect Extropian investments to be motivated by altruism, you
don't understand Extropianism very well.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter McCluskey |                        | "Don't blame me. I voted
pcm@rahul.net | http://www.rahul.net/pcm | for Kodos." - Homer Simpson
pcm@quote.com | http://www.quote.com     | 


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