Money as a Metric of Virtue?

[coberst]

Money as a Metric of Virtue?

“There is a tendency to use the term ‘virtue’ in an abstract “moralistic sense—a way that makes it almost Pharisaic [self-righteous] in character. My first thought, when reading this and ‘looking up’ the word ‘Pharisaic’, turns to William Bennett gambler, czar, and author of “The Book of Virtues.

John Dewey wrote the above quote in his book “Ethics. He further identifies the concept ‘virtue’ to mean a talent turned toward enhancing social values. Dewey says “every natural capacity, every talent or ability, whether of inquiring mind, of gentle affection, or of executive skill, becomes a virtue when it is turned to account in supporting or extending the fabric of social values.

When I read recently that Warren Buffet had given thirty billion dollars to the Gates charitable foundation I thought immediately of Dewey’s conception of the word ‘virtue’. I remembered having discussed Dewey’s concept of virtue in a Great Books Discussion Group decades ago.

Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have manifested for us the Dewey concept of virtue. Two individuals who have used their respective talents to make scads of money have then turned that money into a virtue by placing that wealth toward “extending the fabric of social values.

Money is not the metric of value here but is a medium for converting the unique and wonderful talents of these two men into a virtue. I never before thought of these two men as being exemplars of virtue but I certainly do now.