Green Ethics - the good / bad trade off

This explains so much!

A study shows that people who follow the green ethic are more likely to be mean, cheat and steal. Apparently they feel that, in doing their part for the planet, they have gained licence to do bad in other areas of their lives. Kind of like some weird twisted idea of Karma.

How going green may make you mean

Ethical consumers less likely to be kind and more likely to steal, study finds


When Al Gore was caught running up huge energy bills at home at the same time as lecturing on the need to save electricity, it turns out that he was only reverting to "green" type.

According to a study, when people feel they have been morally virtuous by saving the planet through their purchases of organic baby food, for example, it leads to the "licensing [of] selfish and morally questionable behaviour", otherwise known as "moral balancing" or "compensatory ethics".

Do Green Products Make Us Better People is published in the latest edition of the journal Psychological Science. Its authors, Canadian psychologists Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong, argue that people who wear what they call the "halo of green consumerism" are less likely to be kind to others, and more likely to cheat and steal. "Virtuous acts can license subsequent asocial and unethical behaviours," they write. [See footnote].

The pair found that those in their study who bought green products appeared less willing to share with others a set amount of money than those who bought conventional products. When the green consumers were given the chance to boost their money by cheating on a computer game and then given the opportunity to lie about it – in other words, steal – they did, while the conventional consumers did not. Later, in an honour system in which participants were asked to take money from an envelope to pay themselves their spoils, the greens were six times more likely to steal than the conventionals.

Read more: Guardian UK

I think this study is very revealing about the way liberals think and behave. They believe that, by doing their part for the planet or supporting their favorite liberal big government programs, they then become entitled to be bad in other areas of life.

It explains why liberals are so generous with other people's money but, so stingy with their own. They believe that by supporting Big Government, they have done their share and no more personal sacrifice is needed.

It also explains the Cap & Trade mentality. They believe it is morally acceptable to transfer and trade off their good deeds for later bad acts. They see good deeds as a form of currency which they can save up to be spent later when they want to justify a later bad action.

I find the very idea of this "green halo" effect to be very troubling. If these are the values people are passing along to their children, I fear for what the future may hold.

Instead of the "golden rule" of do unto others as you would have them do unto you, they teach that good deeds are a form of currency which can be saved up for a later date when they feel the need to do something bad.

In this way, someone can lie, cheat, steal and maybe even kill but, still be seen a a good person so long as they have supported the right causes and politically correct movements. This explains why liberals never hold their own accountable but, are so quick to jump all over conservatives for the slightest offence.





MODS: I put this into the religious conspiracy forum because of the pseudo-religious status of the green movement and the fact that the article deals with the issues of morality and ethics which properly belongs within the sphere of religion.

Edit to add: They never listen

I like to give credit where credit is due and would like to thank Jean Paul Zedeaux for bringing this article to my attention.



[edit on 4/6/10 by FortAnthem]

nothing new in the west, is there?

coincidentially, they are also much more predisposed to making long trips by airliner

Green idealists fail to make grade, says study

which in fact goes to show that they are not only hypocritical but also richer than most. (likely owing to their rat-like ethics, which are so well respected today) if they got away with the current incarnation of their religion/ideology, heaven only knows what would come next. these people are apparently intelligent enough to publicize their 'ideals' and therefore smart enough to understand their own hypocrisy very well...

imho, it makes perfect sense, get those poorer people off the market by brainwashing them into using less, so they can have more without unduly bidding up the prices - or if all fails, an air tax. pay them with b******t, rather than funny money so to speak, which kind of gives a new meaning to the term cheapskate, doesn't it?

Originally posted by Long Lance
nothing new in the west, is there?

these people are apparently intelligent enough to publicize their 'ideals' and therefore smart enough to understand their own hypocrisy very well...

What the article points out is that, in their eyes, there is no hypocracy involved.

They believe that, by promoting the green cause, they have done their share and are thus entitled to live as they wish.

This article explains so much for me.

Like Cap & Trade. They believe this will work because they believe it is possible to trade good deeds for bad. They don't realize they are just putting a price on pollution without actually doing anything to lower it.

It also explains why their politicians can get away with anything. They believe the causes they advocate makes them so virtuous, they do not need to be held accountable for crimes in other areas of their lives.

It also explains their personal stinginess. They believe they gave enough in sweat and blood to their causes so they don't feel the need to give out of their own pockets to the needy. This explains why Obama's brother lives in poverty in Africa.

reply to post by FortAnthem


we can only guess about their state of mind, obviously, i just find it quite plausible that people who support the scam using at least decent if not better than average PR, who will try to effectively undermine each and every valid counter argument, not by reasoning but appealing to emotion and exploiting humans' propensity to go personal whenever possible will be 100% aware of their own goals' true nature. i mean hijacking the word 'green' alone is an impressive achievement of the AGW crowd, do you think that happened by chance?


they might of course find it exciting to be a (micro-) villain, but in order to consistently do wrong, you've got to know what's right.

reply to post by FortAnthem


You're a mean one, Mr. Gore!
You're not Al you're a Dick!
You're as cuddly as porcupine,
as about as charming as a....

You're a bad apple without the caramel,
on a stick!

You're a demon, Big nosed Babs,
You're soul is just a vacant lot,
You're cross-eyed stare is full of greed, you've
got toxic slime, instead of snot, Big Nosed Babs,

I've half a mind to leave you there to rot!

Your a sick one, Mr. Begley Jr.,
You have maggots inside your ears,
You're not the lovable doc from St. Elsewhere,
You're the monster, everyone fears,

If I had to spend time with you, I'd be in tears!

You're so odious, Bill and Hillary,
stench so bad you make me want to puke,
You're a slick Willie and uptight broad,
You're not a king or queen, not even a duke,

You're just two meanies, we must rebuke!

You're a bad bunch, Baldwin Brothers,
You're so slimy, just like a pit of snakes,
You're heart is filled with dirty underwear,
Why don't you take a rest, for goodness sakes,

You're a foul like family and a bunch of flakes!

Everyone down in Hooverville sure liked Christmas, very much,
but not the liberals who lived in SoCal, or D.C., they not so much.
The liberals hated Christmas, the whole year long,
Don't ask me why, unless "There's No Home For You Here" is your favorite song, or you think its groovy to have no sense of right or wrong. It could be that they spent too much on social stuff, robbing from you to give to government, always needing more, taxes 'cause ain't enough. It could be that they hate free markets, stores like K-Mart, Wall-Mart, and Targets, either that, or the most likely reason of all, may have been that their egos, were just too damn tall!

***************************************************************

Of course, we all know How the Liberal's Stole Christmas, turns out; The sweet little conservative girl named Sarah Lou, asked Santa to give all the liberals a gift too! So, upon this kind and caring act, liberals everywhere saw there missing hearts melt, and slowly thought to themselves, there just might be something to this Christmas, after all!

And both the Conservatives down in Hooverville and all the liberals from SoCal and D.C. lived happily ever after....Amen.

Go green!

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


That's freakin awesome!

The only problem is that the liberals DID embrace Christmas. They then took it over and turned it into the commercial greed fest that it has become today, and somewhere along the line the true meaning behind Christmas was lost.

I'm on the fence on this one. I think there are people that truly embrace the lifestyle, that they're making a difference and there are people who do it for the aforementioned reasons, justification, validation, whatever you want to call it it. There are still a very small percentage who shun modern lifestyles completely and the structure of the current American lifestyle makes that difficult.

Also, FortAnthem, both sides capitalized on the commercialization of Christmas and both sides politicized it as well. Indeed, it's a far cry from only forty years ago but it isn't a one sided affair.

Being "green" is just a PC slogan. The only truly green lifestyle is depending on nothing but the natural resources available to you and in today's society that's unattainable for all but a small minority. It isn't energy efficient appliances, windows, insulation, solar power, wind turbines, fluorescent light bulbs, hybrid or electric cars, ethanol, or cleaning products. All those are just things that people can use to pat themselves on the back and say "I'm doing my part". The sentiment is fine but futile.

I applaud those from the original green movement from decades ago that adhered to the standards all this time but they're the exception rather than the rule. My one brother and sister were part of that but they assimilated as they grew older as many did. I have one friend that lived in a hippy commune in the late 60s and even though she doesn't live in the same place, she continues to live the lifestyle. She and her partner farm their own land, sell and live off their produce, don't use electricity and are doing quite well. About the only modern conveniences they use are batteries and radios. I here from them a couple, few times a year via snail mail. They are green far beyond most people's imaginations.

Idiots do idiotic things.

Wasn't there a survey a few years ago that proved 25% of Americans are mentally retarded?

I could get facts to prove just about anything...

Do you even know who wrote it?

Nina Mazar

Chen-Bo Zhong

Both look no older than 22.

Did you even read their actual paper???

It's flimsy at best.

Note-2. Nine participants failed to pay themselves. They were excluded from analyses.

Hmmm, because they were so alturistic that they did not pay themselves - 9 people were removed from their experiment, seems to me that, that kind of things could throw some results in a different direction.

All their participants were college students.

This is bunk.