The Cheating Culture The Cheating Culture: Why American Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead. (2004). David Callahan. Harcourt. The Cheating Culture • Cheating is increasing in American society. – – – – – – – NY Municipal Credit Union 9/11 Henry Blodget Enron World Com Wall Street Big Banks SAT tests – – – – – – Diagnosis shopping Doctors Lawyers overbilling CEO’s fake resumes Steroids in sports Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass (“Shattered Glass”) in Journalism – 82% of corporate executives admitted to cheating on gold course • Crime down, violence down, drunk driving down. Cheating up? • Cheating is breaking the rules to get ahead academically, professionally, or financially. – Some cheating violates the law – often by outstanding members of society who wouldn’t shoplift a pack of chewing gum. But at tax time cheat, or betray trust of clients or patients, or rip off insurance companies or the government. • Americans tend to use two moral compasses: – One that directs behavior on sex, family, drugs and traditional forms of crime. – Another that provides ethical guidance in careers, money, and success. • Where did Americans pick up second compass? • Jeffersonian suspicion of central power nurtured seeking personal liberty and individualism. • During Industrial Revolution Americans embraced the rawest form of industrial capitalism in the world. • 1920s notorious for cheating, and inequality was at its height – not until 2007 was it that high again. • Social responsibility movement lost traction in 1970s and 1980s. • 1981 Reagan: “Government is not the solution; government is the problem.” – Deregulation – Making money was in, government activism was out. – “The market as the dominant cultural force had so infiltrated society that it is increasingly difficult to remember any other reality.” – The laissez-faire revolution – focusing on the bottom line and shareholder value. • Economic inequalities led to striking changes in our society. – Winner-take –all – High inequality = more divisions in society, undermining the “we’re all in it together” mentality and being bound by the same rules. – Inequality reshaped politics as wealthy elites were able to break the rules. Money = influence. – The government’s ability to act as a referee was hobbled. • Market values held sway. Social Darwinism thinking dominated. • Cheating increased. • What led to more cheating? – – – – New pressures for profit Bigger rewards for winning Temptation Trickle-down corruption • When middle-class people stop believing the rules are fair, they change their behavior. • Hard to stop when “everybody does it.” • Cheating in the bottom-line economy: – Money is valued more than service to clients, customers, or community. • Wall Street – outright greed. • Lawyers overbilling hourly • Whatever-It-Takes morals – – – – Led by skyrocketing CEO pay Tax policies that favor the rich Barry Bonds in sports Jason Blair, Jonah Lehrer in journalism • It’s a question of character. – The “do your own thing” of the 1960s led to the laissez-faire revolution of the 1980s and 1990s. – Stressed individual liberty and choice. – Ayn Rand’s philosophy of extreme libertarianism – unfettered markets and personal freedom – 1980s juggernaut of yuppies and materialism – Financial goals pushed aside other aspirations – belief that more money makes you happier. – Rise of Social Darwinism – survival of the fittest means some people naturally suited to rule. – Made moral judgments on people’s level of economic success. • The everybody-loves-a-winner mentality has troubling implications for our society’s ethics. – Cut slack for those who are successful; love them whatever their sins. – The sacrosanct goal of wealth virtually consecrates the means – any means. • Jay Gatsby • Ken Lay • However, Max Weber argued that people are more likely to follow rules or laws that seem fair and are made by an authority that deserves its power. • Cheating from the starting line: – – – – Cheating at schools to get into selective colleges rampant. Difference between Harvard and Rutgers worth millions. Cheating one way not to be left behind. Stakes are too big. • Crime and no punishment. – United States more punitive than any other advanced democratic society – death penalty. – Uniquely tough on poor and unemployed and on drug offenders. • “Strict-father” morality jibes easily with laissez-faire mentality and libertarianism. • Wealthy American coddled. • Most academic cheating goes unpunished. • Athletes and other admired people easily forgiven. • Cheating thrives where unfairness reigns along with economic anxiety. – And where government is the weak captive of the wealthy. • New social contract with new rules is needed: – Everyone who plays by the rules can get ahead. – Everyone who breaks the rules suffers the same penalties. – All off us are in the same boat, living in the same moral community. • We need a different bottom line. – Media ethics – Business ethics Happiest and Most Hated Jobs 10 Happiest Jobs * 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Clergy Firefighters Physical Therapists Authors Special Education teachers Teachers Artists Psychologists Financial Services Sales Agents Operating Engineers * National Organization for Research, University of Chicago • Meaning, not money 10 Most Hated Jobs * 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Director of Information Technology Director of Sales and Marketing Product Manager Senior Web Developer Technical Specialist Electronics Technician Law Clerk Technical Support Analyst CNC Machinist Marketing Manager CareerBliss.com • Money, not meaning