The Selfish Positivism.

People are selfish. Is it a character of humans that they are selfish or is it a character that society has created in humans to ensure the progress of civilisation?
Jeremy Bentham, in the theory of legislation said -
"Property and law were born together, and die together. Before laws were made, there was no property, take away laws and property ceases."
As far as we can think of, we have property in our society, we cant imagine one without property. Property satiates the need for something..., what is that something? Is that something innate in people or something that the society has created? Plato in his "Republic" thinks of a society that is largely controlled by the state and "property" rights are vested in the state. Karl Marx on a later date went on to develop it into something more intricate like Communism. The key reason pointed out for the failure of these kind of theories is the lack of individual freedom under such regimes. What is this freedom? Is this freedom linked to selfishness? If a person were totally selfless then he should not be worried about freedom at all. Because he doesnt have any needs or desires. He obeys what is told to him without any objection whatsoever. So it appears that there is a compromise between the society and the individual with regards to the freedom that he can have. Some of the selfish desires of people are legitimised by the society so that it results in a collective good of all the people. This is the premise of law and civilisation.
It seems like every law is a compromise. It guarantees something in return of something else. It's a give and take relationship. If the state can compromise with individuals why can't individuals compromise among themselves? This is what happens in things like corruption and organised crime. It is simply an optimisation exercise which people indulge in. If the compromise between state and individual is skewed, then the individuals tend to indulge in compromises among themselves, so that they get maximum benefit.
This is not a very healthy view to have, as its highly critical in nature. Even if this is the reality, accepting this reality will demoralise our minds making our lives more terrible. So we love to hear high sounding words, which inculcate a so-called "positive" attitude to life. Will the change of attitude change reality? It will change the way we experience life. But the reality will always remain reality. Those who opt to view reality as reality have a terrible life. Those who prefer to close their eyes to the reality, enjoy their lives in their cozy havens.

So what should one do?
"Deepasthambham mahascharyam namukkum kittanam panam"
This is a poem which means - "The Lighthouse is Wonderful. I too deserve the gifts" This was sung sarcastically to ridicule those people, who were blindly praising the king on the completion of the lighthouse, for earning gifts from the king. In the same way, if a positive attitude to life will bring happiness to life, then so be it. I cant be selfless when the world is selfish. And this is where Jesus says - "You can't follow the world, because you don't belong to the world."

The message is not to contradict the world in whatever you do, but to establish a personal relationship with God and make your decisions based on that. The only love that is genuine is the love from God. Because there is no law that binds it. And its not linked to any property. We live in a society that is bounded by many laws - physical and social et al. As a result we exhibit those characteristics as well - which means that it is impossible for humans to be like God. We tend to celebrate moments of greatness in the lives of certain people, who transcend these laws at least for a short period of time.

And what is it that I am learning in MBA? To optimise the transactions at all levels. Which means to learn to compromise in a more effective way, which results in a greater output for the selfishness of both the interested parties. If there were no God, MBAs will rule the world in the near future. Or may be they will overpower God from earth, as is given in the "Revelations"[Subject to discussion as this is my own interpretation].

Still I have a "positive" outlook on life [;)]