Second Friendship! Philosophy and Business.

I turn now to a humbler bond than that synthesising music, science and philosophy and also humbler than the friendship between politics and philosophy. I turn to a second friendship between philosophy and a realm of great and fast paced human activity, the realm of business. If music lifts the soul and politics shapes society’s clamor, business is the engine of our daily striving, a realm where philosophy must not rule but converse. To dream, as Marx did, of planned economies taming human greed, or to see only the monsters of profit, as Dostoyevsky might lament in our devious instincts, is to misjudge both humanity and the market. Philosophy and business, like wary neighbors, must befriend each other, not to merge but to enrich, bringing morality to the marketplace and wisdom to its toils. Business, that bustling arena of trade and ambition, has proven its worth, transforming our world into a garden of comfort - food aplenty, health improved, transport swift, communication instant and much more... The market economy, for all its flaws, outshines the rigid blueprints of communism, which, as history shows, choked progress under bureaucracy’s weight. It is however in many instances still not far away from slavery, for unchecked human egos, that have failed to discover the path to wisdom often tend to increase their greed for money and power, once they experience a first taste for both, and consequently use pressure to deform those they manage into ever more effective instruments working to these ends. Deformed souls give birth to new souls they then themselves deform or try so hard to keep from similar deformation they accepted to suffer, that they deform them in another way. Trauma and a variety of other illnesses of the soul increase the complexity of all human interactions, especially the fear laden conversations between managers and those entrusted with work within a for profit enterprise. On the other hand, people entrusted with work, yet unwilling to do it and either performing badly on purpose or even actively looking for better jobs while being paid to do a job, are not a seldom occurrence in our time. The increased feeling of a loss of purpose within the workforce is being daily accelerated and deepend by discoveries of exorbitant fees CEO's and other members of management spheres take for their work and the amount of money shareholders make, while both shareholders, CEO's and managers are continuing to battle for status and profits within their own sphere of society and economy - to earn less then competitors would mean for many a far greater pain than they believe anyone living and working within the humbly paid workforce could imagine. These and other systemic problems are increasingly apparent and naturally causing many problems, and yet, I must ask, where and when in our world has anything functioned without hindrance? The market’s imperfections lie not only in greed and exploitation, but in much more than that, they are full of weeds, which philosophy can help prune. Especially in a time in which the progress in finance, robotics and artificial intelligence is brining us ever closer to a world in which the old communist fantasy may come to life - a world in which the existance and subsistence is guaranteed for all as a human right, without the necessity for work. Who else but philosophers can inspire politicians and businessmen alike to finally lift the chains generations of humans have suffered under and make work into what it should be, a noble and responsible exercise that lifts up the spirit of those undertaking a certain work and of those enjoying the fruits of that work alike.

This friendship begins with moral clarity. Philosophers, like Aristotle pondering the good life, can guide business toward fairness, urging owners to see workers not as cogs or as problematic and unthankful human resources but also as souls with needs and dreams and as responsible members of the society. Picture a manager, harried by targets, pausing over a philosopher’s call to justice, crafting a workplace where bonuses and profit-sharing reward effort, not just rank. Philosophy teaches that management is no easy task, after all humans are not butterflies. It is fraught with risks and responsibilities and workers, too, must learn: owners stake capital and their strive for profit is legitimized by the jobs it creates. To fight for control, driven by fear or mistrust, is to waste time and nerves - better to set clear boundaries with courage, showing a will to work well while claiming a life beyond the office. Also, philosophers can and should enter the world of business not as consultants, but as advisors charged not with solving problems, but creating connections and lifting up spirits, not in a way of work enhancing psychologists, but in the sense of truly emphatisinig observers who have no power in decision making, but only time at their disposal, which they use to connect with people from all parts of a company, to listen to them and create bridges and understanding between them within this world, all of us are confined to, which none of us understands and whose faith we all collectively share. Who else but philosophers can foster this mutual understanding, helping owners build environments that inspire rather than oppress and helping workers understand the amount of trust and responsibility that has been placed in them. Managers don't have the time for this, and psychologists cannot optimize anything in this regard, for it is primarily not the human psyche that is of relevance, but the old question of morality. A fair workplace, where effort earns reward and risk is respected while workers, managers and owners are all oriented towards the greater good for society, mirrors the balance philosophy seeks in human affairs. Yet, philosophers must not dictate, lest they repeat Plato’s error of philosopher-kings, presuming to govern what they barely grasp. Business is practical, its consequences immediate, like politics but earthier, its ledgers stained with human sweat. Philosophers offer insights, not commands, whispering to the soul of the CEO or the worker, urging them to see the other’s humanity. The decisions rest with those who take them, the philosophers voice is only an advisor peering into the abyss of our world and our souls on the one hand and their infinite beauty on the other. It’s a pity, one muses, when businesses ignores the ancient wisdom connected to morality, chasing profit like a dog after its tail, blind to the greater good. This friendship enriches both. Business gains moral depth, curbing the monsters of greed; philosophy gains grounding, tethered to the market’s realities. In a world where evil habits lurk and fairness falters, as my trilogy explores, this bond is vital. More business, done fairly, could lift billions, as markets have done, but how gloomy do they become if they are not guided by philosophy’s light. To merge them is to dim both; to let them converse is to forge a path where profit and purpose align. And unlike religion, which is focused on specific goals and guided by established dogma, philosophy can through a friendship with business avoid the pitfalls of religious conflicts and advise all toward a better knowledge of their positions and functions and just and thriving enterprise for each individual and a society they have an impact on.

So I suggest, or rather I advise us all, to give this friendship a chance. ### Notes on the Essay - *