след лемминга

— Ну хорошо, следующий вопрос. Как вы понимаете пословицу “бесплатный сыр бывает только в мышеловке?”

— Ну… бесплатный сыр обычно достается второй мыши.

— Это как?

— Когда первая попадается в мышеловку, вторая мышь может спокойно подойти и забрать сыр себе. Что? Я опять что-то не так сказал? Только не говорите, что вторая мышь должна спасать первую!

Приведу в качестве примера пять недостатков современного демократического устройства.

Во-первых, оно культивирует демагогию, и особенно раздачу пустых предвыборных обещаний, выполнять которые в реальности никто не собирается.

Во-вторых, провоцирует краткосрочное мышление. Политики редко думают дальше, чем на одни выборы вперед, а ведь для полноценного и гармоничного развития страны горизонт должен составлять 20-30 лет, и даже больше.

В-третьих, у государственных чиновников нет никаких реальных стимулов предлагать населению высококачественные услуги по низким ценам. В любом, самом демократическом обществе фактически существует монополия на оказание госуслуг — поставщик один, и у него нет конкуренции.

В-четвертых, легитимность правительства в современной демократии обеспечивается так называемым общественным договором. Эта идея восходит ко временам Жан-Жака Руссо и прочих деятелей Просвещения, но понятие это довольно эфемерное.

Наконец, в-пятых, если посмотреть на количество избирателей, которые голосовали не за правящую партию, правительство или президента, то окажется, что в большинстве демократий их почти половина. Это довольно много людей, чтобы их игнорировать.

One out of every 25 business leaders could be psychopathic, a study claims.

The study, conducted by the New York psychologist Paul Babiak, suggests that they disguise the condition by hiding behind their high status, playing up their charm and by manipulating others.

“Part of the problem is that the very things we’re looking for in our leaders, the psychopath can easily mimic.

“Their natural tendency is to be charming. Take that charm and couch it in the right business language and it sounds like charismatic leadership.”

“The higher the psychopathy, the better they looked – lots of charisma and they talk a good line.

“But if you look at their actual performance and ratings as a team player and productively, it’s dismal. Looked good, performed badly.

“You have to think of psychopaths as having at their disposal a very large repertoire of behaviours. So they can use charm, manipulation, intimidation, whatever is required.

“What this allows them to do is use words to manipulate and con and to interact with you without the baggage of feeling your pain.”

[…] here are ten horrible reasons, in and of themselves, to get rich:

1. It’s a way to keep score.
2. It will enhance my sense of self-worth.
3. It’s liberating.
4. I’ll meet my dream girl or guy.
5. I’ll retire and enjoy life one day.
6. A world of new experiences and challenges will open up for me.
7. I’ll have no problems–just expenses.
8. I’ll never sweat the small stuff.
9. I’ll be a good provider for my family.
10. I’ll be safe.

Ten Principles To Live By In Fiercely Complex Times:

1. Always challenge certainty, especially your own. When you think you’re undeniably right, ask yourself “What might I be missing here?” If we could truly figure it all out, what else would there be left to do?

2. Excellence is an unrelenting struggle, but it’s also the surest route to enduring satisfaction. Amy Chua, the over-the-top “Tiger Mother,” was right that there’s no shortcut to excellence. Getting there requires practicing deliberately, delaying gratification, and forever challenging your current comfort zone.

3. Emotions are contagious, so it pays to know what you’re feeling. Think of the best boss you ever had. How did he or she make you feel? That’s the way you want to make others feel.

4. When in doubt, ask yourself, “How would I behave here at my best?” We know instinctively what it means to do the right thing, even when we’re inclined to do the opposite. If you find it impossible, in a challenging moment, to envision how you’d behave at your best, try imagining how someone you admire would respond.

5. If you do what you love, the money may or may not follow, but you’ll love what you do. It’s magical thinking to assume you’ll be rewarded with riches for following your heart. What it will give you is a richer life. If material riches don’t follow, and you decide they’re important, there’s always time for Plan B.

6. You need less than you think you do. All your life, you’ve been led to believe that more is better, and that whatever you have isn’t enough. It’s a prescription for disappointment. Instead ask yourself this: How much of what you already have truly adds value in your life? What could you do without?

7. Accept yourself exactly as you are but never stop trying to learn and grow. One without the other just doesn’t cut it. The first, by itself, leads to complacency, the second to self-flagellation. The paradoxical trick is to embrace these opposites, using self-acceptance as an antidote to fear and as a cushion in the face of setbacks.

8. Meaning isn’t something you discover, it’s something you create, one step at a time. Meaning is derived from finding a way to express your unique skills and passion in the service of something larger than yourself. Figuring out how best to contribute is a lifelong challenge, reborn every day.

9. You can’t change what you don’t notice and not noticing won’t make it go away. Each of us has an infinite capacity for self-deception. To avoid pain, we rationalize, minimize, deny, and go numb. The antidote is the willingness to look at yourself with unsparing honesty, and to hold yourself accountable to the person you want to be.

10. When in doubt, take responsibility. It’s called being a true adult.