Hero of the day - 2nd in an occasional series

[brixtonbrood]

Bill Gates. Just because it's obvious doesn't mean he doesn't deserve all the credit he gets, plus a bit more for the exceptional sums that the Gates Foundation has pumped into malaria, polio and TB research and eradication - diseases which will never threaten Gates or his family or anyone he knows, but where the cash the foundation has available can make a real difference to millions of lives.
Is he doing it for the "right" motives, or because he gets a kick out of hanging out with Bono? Being a utilitarian means I don't give a damn. Should he be doing it in a more discreet and less self-aggrandising way? Absolutely not - he's putting a benchmark down for the other ludicrously wealthy people out there, and drawing attention to under-reported conditions. Is his money tainted by his business practices? a) No b) Don't care c) Not by comparison with most of the other global businesses out there.

Comments

[celestialweasel.livejournal.com]

d) Not by comparison with what other people would like to do and/or would almost certainly do in the same position (and let us remember that the last incumbent of the position of 'world's number 1 IT company' was a key facilitator of the Holocaust - which of course they have never admitted or apologised for).

Actually, you can make a fair case that a number of other contemporary IT companies have shafted more people than Microsoft have anyway.

[t--m--i.livejournal.com]

I think he's choosing the causes he does because he's a nerd and basically he's thinking, what's going to give me the most lives for my buck? And, where could this money really make a difference?

[brixtonbrood.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's exactly what I think he's thinking too, and, speaking as a utilitarian, that rocks!