On one level I wholeheartedly endorse this sentiment. But on another, I think it's a bit misleading. I don't think many "money people" have the regret suggested here. I think they see themselves as having played the game and been winners. A game where points are counted in dollars, but it's the game that matters. The celebrated shrewdness and discipline (and sometimes creativity) required for winning. It's all cause for pride, not shame or doubt. I think the sentiment in the cartoon is what others might imagine feeling if they died rich; that is, having lived a life where they abandoned their values in search of material critical mass. It would be comforting to think there's a reckoning where objectivist values meet some humanistic moment of truth, but alas, I think there is no such redress, 98.5% of the time.
On one level I wholeheartedly endorse this sentiment. But on another, I think it's a bit misleading. I don't think many "money people" have the regret suggested here. I think they see themselves as having played the game and been winners. A game where points are counted in dollars, but it's the game that matters. The celebrated shrewdness and discipline (and sometimes creativity) required for winning. It's all cause for pride, not shame or doubt. I think the sentiment in the cartoon is what others might imagine feeling if they died rich; that is, having lived a life where they abandoned their values in search of material critical mass. It would be comforting to think there's a reckoning where objectivist values meet some humanistic moment of truth, but alas, I think there is no such redress, 98.5% of the time.
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