We in the UK and elsewhere continue to be reminded of the sense of this wise saying. First it was when we enjoyed cheaper and abundant credit for which we are now paying with stiflled credit lines and low savings rates. The News of the World scandal is another brutal reminder that when we enjoy the inside stories and gossip about other lives, the private information is being obtained at a price. Many would argue, too high a price.
But like the banking crisis, where it was easier to blame the bankers and not our appetite for consumption, we could blame the News of the World and not our desire to consume news about private lives. For a while we could despise “the paparazzi”, until the next big story entices us to buy the papers or we could reflect more deeply and take responsibility for encouraging the prying into private lives. Which one will it be? Any bets?
I do not for one second, excuse the greed that underlay the behaviours exhibited by the bankers or the journalists in both instances. I am just saying that there is evidence of similar greed elsewhere in society and all they are doing is serve us what we demand.