Big corporations owned by the super wealthy top 1% of the top 1% wealthiest people in the world sometimes engage in illegal tactics to ensure their power and influence. Murdoch's Media empire in the UK with "News of the World" is a fine example of big corporations acting unethically.

I thought this was fairly common knowledge. This is very commonly reflected in story telling all the way back to William Godwin's Caleb Williams.

This really is completely useless without being able to read the study, though. If you put greed (ie, interest in obtaining money) as a solely unethical want, it's obvious that the people who have gotten money are greedy by that definition.

But if they had flipped it around, it can easily be seen the other way too. Rich people get rich by doing something beneficial for society. Whether it's betting your money that a company is going to be successful, or actually making the company successful. They do something that makes the world better, and get a personal payoff for that. The rich people are often the ones who made the world a better place on a large scale.

Honestly, the "the rich are evil" philosophy just seems more like a way of justifying that other people gained more money than themselves. "They were only more successful than me because they exploited other people!".

The way I see it, the result is simple. The majority of the rich people did one hell of a lot more good to the world than the majority of the people with less money. And, they got money back for doing that. If you call that greed, that's fine, I just think it's perfectly fair (in the majority of cases).

it just proves that money can't buy happiness

Actually would have to see the study. Often times studies like this generally are weighted specifically go get such kinds of answers.

So it depends on the questions and the definition of morality.

I wouldn't be too surprised though, since you'd think assertiviness and ehtics are tied together in someway, and assertiveness is tied to success.

I sorta doubt being unethical leads to more success though, because there is a HUGE hammer if your unethical and fail during most of your life.

Although I suppose it could be due to relative population size differences.

IE, people who bet their lifesavings one blackjack hand once in their life are probably disproportionatly rich.  Even though more then half of them would fail at the game.   Simply because the sample size of "rich" is lower then the normal set sample size.

Wow, such broad generalizations on both side of the argument here, it's fucking pointless.

Ok, found the expierments....

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2012/02/does-being-wealthy-make-you-unethical-new-research-suggests-it-does.ars?clicked=related_right

3 and 7 seem good depending on what the situations in 3 were.

The rest are somewhat questionable.

That is exactly what I wondered. I saw no information as to what the study actually contained and its statistical results. Horrible hit piece with no backing information.

hmm i would say it depends which group of rich. people who earn money with strip clubs or hookers are maybe not very great persons^^ many people got rich because they are asshoels and don't care about other people. same with some bankers. i know a girl who was working in a bank and she stopped it because she couldn't do what she had to do. all this "you have to get 100 new people to sign the shit contract" wasn't what she could do. if she would have done it all her live she could easily step up a lot there to a high position and would be maybe earning a huge amount anytime but her character wasn't so bad. and the best there (who are the biggest assholes) will climb up the ledder more than everyone else because they will be better in that so, yes, assholes will have more success wher she was working and assholes will earn a lot more money there. you can't sell some things to people knowing it's a very very bad contract if your character is very good. you couldn't sleep then anymore.

now she's working in the office of a kitchen manufacturer and only earns a normal amount maybe for the rest or her life but that's what makes her more happy then sucking out 70 years old people which is the easiest to get their money.

but sure there are a lot rich who aren't assholes (for example people who have a great idea and open a "normal" company) but i believe in many jobs you have to be an asshole to make a glorious career with a big salary.

I'm shocked!



*smokes another dollar*