Shared Values
The concept of shared values is important to know in order to understand why some people are honest and others not. A person who subscribes to criminal values might take advantage of a person who subscribes to ethical values. Cultural values defining right and wrong are taught all children as they are being raised in the public and private school systems. These standards of behavior produce a peaceful and prosperous society. However, it is in the economic and political interest of a percentage of the population to "defect"* from honoring shared values of their upbringing. It can be very profitable to be an outlaw in a world of decent people. If people expect you are honest they leave themselves open to exploitation. This is where the "fast buck artists" really prosper by feigning shared values and gaining the confidence of their clients. Transacting business historically has its protocols and decorum’s. These customary ways help to ferret out opportunists but they do not go far enough to reveal bad actors. The ethical values of being honesty, having integrity and being forthright builds a cultural divide from the criminal world of business (i.e., If you are trying to be honest it is easier to spot those who are not.). But many skilled cons still can seduce clients into believing they hold ethical values when they do not. One must evaluate a person's ethical conduct on a wide spectrum of behavior to know where the "ethical center" of a person is. Note: a person who feigns possessing cultural values but does not honor them is by definition "culturally disembedded.
*See Mathematical Game Theory
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Copyright 2009
Dianic Publications
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