Motivated by money isn’t the same as only (or even primarily) motivated by money.
We all intuitively recognize this. Why do people watch football or spend time with family on Sundays instead of working another job? Because they recognize there’s marginal utility and are more motivated by the increase in quality of life than the increase in money. So much so that we look at people who try to maximize profit at all costs as having sociopathy.
Being motivated by self-sacrifice is pretty rare, and so trying to build a system based on that simply doesn't work. On the other hand, a system built around people being selfishly motivated by money works pretty darn well.
> do you pick your spouse/friends or make a decision to have children based on their ability to maximize your wealth?
People marry for money all the time. If you're a man, and have no money and no prospects for money, what do you think your odds are of finding true love reciprocated?
As for children, the birth rate declines as the economics of having children changed from an asset to a liability. This happens in country after country. People most definitely historically have had children for their ability to produce for the family.
I know it's gauche to suggest that people are motivated by money, but it's a fact that they are, even in affairs of the heart, and especially in their professions and their behavior while working.
In what way is NASA implying self-sacrifice? I think you might be shoe-horning some personal commentary here. I’ve met some who became civil servants explicitly because they weren’t motivated primarily by profit. But it was still maximizing some other feature that added ton their well-being. It wasn’t self sacrifice.
>I know it's gauche to suggest that people are motivated by money, but it's a fact that they are, even in affairs of the heart
We probably fundamentally disagree here. Again, I’m not saying people aren’t motivated by money. I’m saying they aren’t only motivated by money. The people I’ve met that think human interactions can be distilled to such a simple principle tend to struggle in their personal relationships in my experience.
The fact that you’re willing to type away on HN instead of trying to make more money tells me you know it’s a balancing act.
Besides, I think people are more motivated by status (being the hierarchical primates that we are) and money is just a clumsy proxy for status. For example, status chasing men are more apt to date a beautiful but poor female than a rich homely one.
I never said only. I said it is a powerful motivator that motivates nearly all of us.
> status
is another path to getting money.
> status chasing men are more apt to date a beautiful but poor female than a rich homely one
What they'll do is marry the rich one and cheat on her with the beauties. Besides, having an elegant beauty on your arm gives a big boost to one's career. Just look at JFK and Jackie. There's no doubt Jackie was a big help. And there's no doubt JFK selected her with that help in mind.
You can believe what you like. But I (and many I know) have become a lot happier through recognizing how human nature actually is rather than believing in the fantasy. The unhappy people I know are the ones who still believe in the fantasy, and are constantly disappointed.
You have this inverted. Money is a path to status. Status is what really matters. For example, do you think a former less powerful than, say, a billionaire? Billionaire's use their money to get power, prestige, and status, but it doesn't always go as far as other means.
>I never said only.
You said universal. I'm saying it's common, but not universal. The problem with absolute statements is that it only takes one instance to disprove them.
Is Bezos marrying the richest woman he can find? I doubt it. Are you actively selling your organs for money? If not, maximizing money isn’t universal. It common, but still commonly constrained by other competing priorities. Some of which we hold more dear than money. To ignore that seems like it’s own oversimplified fantasy.
I don’t think it does. Maybe if you phrased it as “maximizing utility” but you constrained it to “maximizing money” as a universal truth. That’s demonstrably false.
In the 50s, my dad was stationed in Europe and was watching Italian TV. The press tracked down the guy who won the lottery, and cornered him at the entrance to his apartment building. The press asked him "now that you won the lottery, what are you going to do with the money?"
Another man pushed him aside, and answered "oh, he's a Communist Party member in good standing, he's going to give it all to the Party!"
The lottery winner shot back "Oh no, I'm not a Communist anymore!"
My dad always had a belly laugh when he recounted that story.
Or maybe the problem is you view it as hypocrisy. I don't. It's illustrative of perfectly normal and predictable human behavior. The surprise would be if he did give it all to the Party.
My dad wasn't laughing at him. He was laughing at the Communists with their inability to recognize their false god.
Perhaps I misunderstood. My take-away was that, if he truly believed in Communist principles, he would give his money away. The fact that he didn't, shows his party affiliation wasn't a principled stance. I can acknowledge there are other more pragmatic motivators for being a Communist/Ba'athist/[insert political party of choice here].
I'm certainly not making a case for Communism. Again, it's telling that that is the lens you view these discussion through.
This is true. My point is not everything should be shoehorned into that dynamic. It’s not unlike when someone twists any misgiving into evidence of their pet cause, whether it’s racism, statism, misogyny, etc. The existence of those doesn’t mean every bad thing in society should be attributed to them.
We all intuitively recognize this. Why do people watch football or spend time with family on Sundays instead of working another job? Because they recognize there’s marginal utility and are more motivated by the increase in quality of life than the increase in money. So much so that we look at people who try to maximize profit at all costs as having sociopathy.