Almost 16 years ago, in the year 1998, our loyal president, Bill Clinton, made headlines in nearly every newspaper across the nation: President Clinton had an affair with secretary, Monica Lewinsky. With the press pushing him into a corner, Clinton repeatedly denied such affairs, saying that he never had sex with that woman. Why? Why would he continue to deny the affair? Why would he commit such licentious actions in the first place? The answer is simple: incentives . He was driven to keep his position of power, so he lied. He was missing affection from his not-so-affectionate wife, Hillary Clinton; thus, he sought to find it elsewhere. Similar to why Clinton had an affair and hid it, our daily activities are driven by our desires. Incentives
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It is clear that the two incentives correlate with each other, where more money means more power, and more power means more money. People tend to make whatever-it-takes decisions when tempted with the opportunity of money and power. For instances, people sacrifice love with a chance of getting to the top. In fact, forty percent of the top twenty five prestigious lawyers worked their way to the top by marrying wealthy (The Economist 1). The incentive for love was weaker than the incentive for money and power. True love wouldn’t have given better benefits that money and power would. Money and power would give the person control and anything he or she wanted at the tip of his or her finger; it was the easier way out of life. It is true that most people counter this with the saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.” However, that’s not how people typically think. Money can get you that month long vacation to Fiji. And, power can get you there without having to worry about financial or work-related penalties. Yes, it’s all about your attitude once there. If you are constantly stressed, while vacationing, then you probably won’t be happy. But, if you have power, why would you have to worry? You have people to do that for you. …show more content…
Behavioral influences can be described as learned behaviors. Parents teach their children the difference from right to wrong, and children’s friends tell them what is cool and what is not. Each influence shapes each individual, which make up a society (or culture). Other people shape the way we think and act. Some may argue that humans have a sense of free will; however, each individual does not shape their own will. Throughout their childhood, children are easily manipulated because they have no say over their actions; their parents do. Unless they were left alone for their entire childhood, people do not shape themselves. According to Sam Harris, a philosopher and neuroscientist, “A person 's conscious thoughts, intentions, and efforts at every moment are preceded by causes of which he is unaware. What is more, they are preceded by deep causes — genes, childhood experience, etc…” (1). This proves that there are factors that play into a person’s identity. That person’s identity is what shapes their motives, their desires. If a parent taught the child that money is nowhere near as important as happiness, the child might end up forming his actions around finding happiness. But, the child’s peers may say otherwise; thus, for a while, the child might form his actions on being financially successful. Thus, incentives are formed on a behavioral basis. Furthermore, behavioral initiatives influence culture. If a
It is clear that the two incentives correlate with each other, where more money means more power, and more power means more money. People tend to make whatever-it-takes decisions when tempted with the opportunity of money and power. For instances, people sacrifice love with a chance of getting to the top. In fact, forty percent of the top twenty five prestigious lawyers worked their way to the top by marrying wealthy (The Economist 1). The incentive for love was weaker than the incentive for money and power. True love wouldn’t have given better benefits that money and power would. Money and power would give the person control and anything he or she wanted at the tip of his or her finger; it was the easier way out of life. It is true that most people counter this with the saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.” However, that’s not how people typically think. Money can get you that month long vacation to Fiji. And, power can get you there without having to worry about financial or work-related penalties. Yes, it’s all about your attitude once there. If you are constantly stressed, while vacationing, then you probably won’t be happy. But, if you have power, why would you have to worry? You have people to do that for you. …show more content…
Behavioral influences can be described as learned behaviors. Parents teach their children the difference from right to wrong, and children’s friends tell them what is cool and what is not. Each influence shapes each individual, which make up a society (or culture). Other people shape the way we think and act. Some may argue that humans have a sense of free will; however, each individual does not shape their own will. Throughout their childhood, children are easily manipulated because they have no say over their actions; their parents do. Unless they were left alone for their entire childhood, people do not shape themselves. According to Sam Harris, a philosopher and neuroscientist, “A person 's conscious thoughts, intentions, and efforts at every moment are preceded by causes of which he is unaware. What is more, they are preceded by deep causes — genes, childhood experience, etc…” (1). This proves that there are factors that play into a person’s identity. That person’s identity is what shapes their motives, their desires. If a parent taught the child that money is nowhere near as important as happiness, the child might end up forming his actions around finding happiness. But, the child’s peers may say otherwise; thus, for a while, the child might form his actions on being financially successful. Thus, incentives are formed on a behavioral basis. Furthermore, behavioral initiatives influence culture. If a