Abstract
As one’s time becomes worth more to others, it is an easy trap to keep trading time for income without pausing to ask whether one’s time, energy, and attention might have a better alternative use. This chapter explores two questions about that trap, both inspired by Aristotle: first, “How would it be wise to divide one’s time, energy, and attention between income and other worthwhile things?” and second, “How would it be wise to involve public policy in one’s choice?” Aristotle was right about the first: the impulse to keep making more money is an impulse that needs the corrective of wisdom. But he was wrong about the second: his impulse to trust in the wisdom of public functionaries is an impulse that needs the corrective of wisdom too.
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Acknowledgements
I thank Neera Badhwar, Ed Hartman, Mark LeBar, David Schmidtz, and Matt Zwolinski for their most helpful input on this chapter.
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Russell, D.C. (2017). When Does Income Cost Too Much? A View from Aristotle. In: Sison, A., Beabout, G., Ferrero, I. (eds) Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business and Management. International Handbooks in Business Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6510-8_112
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