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Another Look at Ebenezer Scrooge

Another Look at Ebenezer Scrooge. By Glen Tenney. Common assumptions about Capitalism. Capitalism encourages selfishness, greed. Self-interest comes at the expense of others. Therefore, capitalism is bad. Dickens uses Scrooge as a whipping boy for capitalism. (Maybe?).

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Another Look at Ebenezer Scrooge

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  1. Another Look at Ebenezer Scrooge By Glen Tenney

  2. Common assumptions about Capitalism • Capitalism encourages selfishness, greed. • Self-interest comes at the expense of others. • Therefore, capitalism is bad. • Dickens uses Scrooge as a whipping boy for capitalism. (Maybe?)

  3. Scrooge’s Attributes • He was a successful businessman. • Who benefits from this? • Does this entail thinking of others, or selfishness? • He was a money lender. • Who benefits from this attribute? • He was apparently quite meticulously honest.

  4. He had a sense of fairness. • He pays a fair wage. (How do we know this?) • He pays the required taxes. • He was frugal. • Is this a virtue? Is it a vice? • He treated people roughly. • Why? • Was he selfish or not? • Is it selfish to require your creditors to pay you back on time. • Is it selfish to live frugally?

  5. What did capitalism do to (or for) Scrooge? • Capitalism encourages people to use their self-interest attributes in what ways? • If Scrooge were to give up his capitalism, how would his self-interest be manifest? • Should we be thankful for people like Scrooge?

  6. Bob Cratchit’s Attributes • He felt he was underpaid. • Was he underpaid? How can we tell? • Does Scrooge pay him more than anyone else in the community was willing to pay him? • He wanted to bend the employment contract. • He had an invalid son. • Was Scrooge insensitive to this? • His lifestyle was perhaps less frugal than Scrooge’s. (This seems debatable.)

  7. More on Cratchit • How did he treat other people? • Why? • Was he envious? • Was he selfish?

  8. Comparison of Virtues • Who is more selfish? • Who is most envious of others? • Who is most respectful of others? • Who is most frugal in his lifestyle? • Who is most honest? • Who cares most about people as people? • Who loans money out to others?

  9. Do the wealthy have a moral obligation to assist the poor? • If so, then how might they do this? • By giving wealth to them? • By living a frugal life, and investing the extra? • Do the poor have a moral right to the wealth of the rich? • Are the rich exempt from vices? • Are the poor exempt from vices? • Is virtue dependent on wealth?

  10. Two Types of Sins? • Withholding from the poor. • Flaunting your wealth. • Can you really prevent poor from getting rich? • Envying the rich. • Complaining about other’s wealth. • Does envy make your situation better?

  11. Good afternoon, good evening, and good night.

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