Most
people are honest. Most people act honestly. The data collected by “Bagel Man”
Paul Feldman suggests that the most “Dependency and Entitlement” (not his
words, but what we normally attribute to the poor) comes from people with more.
Feldman left bagels and honesty boxes in multiple offices in Washington. Some
people took without paying, but not enough to make the project not worthwhile.
Interestingly, honesty decreased higher up the chain. A criticism of just
giving people money is that it creates dependency. This forgets just how
dependent even the wealthy are on their communities. On their ability to rely
on each other when they stumble. To retreat to their homes. Feldman found the honesty
on the Executive floors to be lower than on the Sales and Administration
floors. Except we are blind to our own dependencies. Our own entitlements. We
forget the job we got through friends. The bank of Mom and Dad. We shouldn’t
design systems around our fears. We should design them around trust and
honesty. Most people are good.
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