“I guess my old man was really immoral!”
No. Jesus said to do unto others as we would have done unto us. The Bible says we are our brother’s keeper. There are laws about leaving some of your harvest available for gleaning by the poor, the principle being, don’t hold on to every cotton picking dime.
Your dad sounds as though he had a pretty good handle on things.
Oh - I was just joking about my old man being immoral. He was the most moral person I know of. But to Kant he would have been immoral perhaps. My dad knew that “what goes around, comes around”. I had to look up what altruism meant:
1. the principle or practice of unselfish concern for the welfare of others
2. (Philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that right action is that which produces the greatest benefit to others
I think my Dad realized (and now I understand too) that the right action is that which produces the greatest benefit to others AND ourselves. When my dad (or I) treat an employee or client right - even to the point of generosity, it is also done with the thought that they’ll treat me well.
Of course I have been burned by that, but I have made up for it way more. The one time I saw my dad mad at someone (other than me!) was a painter that took my Dad’s second chance at a job and wasted it. A “recovering” alcholic that went on a bing and didn’t show for a week. I think my dad was more concerned about the guy screwing his life up than the paint job (he just got another painter).