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Subject:Re: Control (short) From:bbatorsk -at- nj -dot- devry -dot- edu To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 08 Jun 2000 08:38:39 -0400
Andrew,
At 06:29 PM 6/7/00 -0700, you wrote:
>What is more "acceptable" 1) to hinder a person from his/her job 2) to
punish a
>person who disobeys for the greater good?
I hear in this the important argument between terrorism and leadership.
Terrorism, often well-intentioned, and motivated by high ideals, and
sometimes even effective, is in the long run ineffective. It substitutes
individual action on an immediate target for the long term work of moving
and changing an organization. Now, if you have no stake in what the
organization does, in the work and lives of the members oppressed and/or
sustained by the organization, then this distinction has no meaning for
you. Nevertheless, at its best, a terrorist act shows a good heart and can
ameliorate an immediate pain, but at its worst, it sacrifices the people it
proposes to help for a personal sense of success. And that puts the issue
mildly.
May I suggest Per Lagerkvist's "The Dwarf" as an antidote to Ayn Rand?
IMHO, it doesn't really serve organizations or contractors in the long run
to extend the "just do it" strategy to ethically ambiguous activity.
