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Ways to Mix Money and Morality

So, let’s talk about success, money, and being the best person that you can be.

By Carlos FoxPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Virtually everyone wants to be a good person. The vast majority of us would like to live comfortably and make plenty of money, too. But those two things don’t always play nice with each other. As we strive for success, we might find ourselves questioning our actions and our accomplishments. Are we doing the right things? Are we honoring our values? There’s a reason so many movies are about leaving the “wrong” job for a more charitable one, or finding out that family is more important than long hours of the office. These stories are based on anxieties that many of us have.

And our fears and concerns are far from unfounded. Some economic and societal critics believe that the wealthiest people in our society are responsible for the suffering of our poorest. Religious leaders as diverse as the Buddha and the pope have cautioned against materialism. And you don’t have to be against the accumulation of wealth to see moral questions mount along with your bank account. Businessmen as obsessive and cutthroat as Andrew Carnegie have considered the moral duties that come with their wealth—to borrow a phrase from (the perennially broke) Spider-Man, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Working towards justice

If you’re at all concerned that your success may come at a moral cost, you have one clear solution: Work toward something moral.

Choosing to work for nonprofits and other organizations that create positive change isn’t always as lucrative as working for the “bad guys,” but you can’t put a price on the feeling that comes with doing work you truly believe in.

And you have plenty of ways to make quite a bit of money working for the greater good. Think about companies that do things that are good for the environment, for instance: companies that specialize in things such as alternative fuels, biodiesel recycling, and disaster clean-up. Environmental engineers can make quite a bit of money, and so can the heads of nonprofits. Maybe your career could give you both moral and financial satisfaction.

Ethical investing

Even if you’re not drawing your salary from an organization that you believe is changing the world, you can still make sure that you’re making money in ethical ways. One of the best ways to put your money where your mouth is (and where your heart is) is to invest ethically.

In ethical investing, you’ll still be buying stocks and bonds, building a diverse portfolio, and trying to earn lots of interest and wealth to retire on. But you’ll also be thinking about the ways in which your investments support companies. Are you buying stocks in companies that are doing good in the world? An ethical investor might, for instance, decline to buy stock in a company that uses underpaid workers in sweatshops to produce their products, or might actively buy up stocks in companies that are developing green solutions to modern problems.

Giving back

Andrew Carnegie was not exactly a bleeding-heart liberal. He wasn’t fond of unions or taxes. But he did see his wealth as coming with certain obligations, and his philanthropy resulted in libraries, museums, schools, and other works all over the nation.

Philanthropy is alive and well today. Prominent New York attorney Howard Fensterman is a great example of a successful professional giving back in the form of large donations. Millionaires often feel that they have more than they need, and some recognize need in others. Billionaires, too, can be generous: Many have signed a “Giving Pledge” and promised to give away most of their fortune. Signatories of the Giving Pledge include Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, and Mackenzie Bezos, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

You don’t have to become some sort of hippie to make your money do the right things, and chasing your own success doesn’t have to be contrary to your morals. All you need to do is work in things that you believe in, and share your success.

personal finance
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