In his September 2022 speech, responding to those accusing Russia of barbarism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the so-called “West,” has “moved on entirely, to a radical denial of moral norms, religion, and family,” and this to the point that “the suppression of freedom itself has taken on the features of a religion: outright Satanism.”
Unfortunately, Putin’s wordings are more than a metaphor. On Dec. 1st, the French economic daily Les Echos published an article, “The Utilitarian Trap: the Real Lessons of the FTX Bankruptcy,” discussing that giant crypto currency platform that has gone belly up.
Les Echos writes: “Beyond the financial scandal the bankruptcy of FTX also raises questions about the philosophy that guided its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried….
“What struck observers was the mix of negligence, incompetence and arrogance of these young entrepreneurs courted like rock stars by the financial, political and media.... For FTX’s executives claimed to be affiliated with a philosophical movement that has become very influential on American campuses and in Silicon Valley: ‘effective altruism.’ Born in the 1970s in Oxford, notably around the philosopher Peter Singer, this movement has its roots in utilitarianism.”