Those are helpful pictures, Omni - thanks for sharing.
It's interesting how so much of threefolding can be understood simply through an expanded understanding of the idea of "conflicts of interest." I say "expanded" because it's not just when someone makes money from a situation, which is what it seems like it's often reduced to (for ins…
Those are helpful pictures, Omni - thanks for sharing.
It's interesting how so much of threefolding can be understood simply through an expanded understanding of the idea of "conflicts of interest." I say "expanded" because it's not just when someone makes money from a situation, which is what it seems like it's often reduced to (for instance, when a lawmaker is regulating the very industries they're invested in), but whenever they're able to maintain or grow their power in some way (i.e. they're able to stay in political office by manipulating the press, or they're able to have their religious or economic interests prevail by taking over the state, etc.). I think the term "conflict of interest" actually does cover any form of "interest," and not just money, but it seems like it's often reduced to money...
There's also a kind of "soft" version of this, where the person isn't driven by the desire for profit or power, but legitimately thinks that they're doing good. For instance, a business person might think it's helpful to bring their business skills into the realm of making laws about human rights, or an idealistic politician might think they should dictate what teachers teach based on what they think would be fair and just in terms of rights. They don't realize they're actually overstepping boundaries and applying their capacities in a realm where they no longer apply. This soft version of a conflict of interest I call "misplaced ideals" in my course on threefolding. It could also be called "misplaced expertise," but I like how "ideals" shows how someone can be meaning to do good, but just misunderstanding the situation.
You mentioned Netanyahu and the state promoting national businesses, which is pretty intriguing. If you do go more deeply into that topic and find any interesting articles in that direction, I'd definitely be interested so please do keep me in mind.
Those are helpful pictures, Omni - thanks for sharing.
It's interesting how so much of threefolding can be understood simply through an expanded understanding of the idea of "conflicts of interest." I say "expanded" because it's not just when someone makes money from a situation, which is what it seems like it's often reduced to (for instance, when a lawmaker is regulating the very industries they're invested in), but whenever they're able to maintain or grow their power in some way (i.e. they're able to stay in political office by manipulating the press, or they're able to have their religious or economic interests prevail by taking over the state, etc.). I think the term "conflict of interest" actually does cover any form of "interest," and not just money, but it seems like it's often reduced to money...
There's also a kind of "soft" version of this, where the person isn't driven by the desire for profit or power, but legitimately thinks that they're doing good. For instance, a business person might think it's helpful to bring their business skills into the realm of making laws about human rights, or an idealistic politician might think they should dictate what teachers teach based on what they think would be fair and just in terms of rights. They don't realize they're actually overstepping boundaries and applying their capacities in a realm where they no longer apply. This soft version of a conflict of interest I call "misplaced ideals" in my course on threefolding. It could also be called "misplaced expertise," but I like how "ideals" shows how someone can be meaning to do good, but just misunderstanding the situation.
You mentioned Netanyahu and the state promoting national businesses, which is pretty intriguing. If you do go more deeply into that topic and find any interesting articles in that direction, I'd definitely be interested so please do keep me in mind.