Financial History Issue 128 (Winter 2019) | Page 20
EDUCATORS’ PERSPECTIVE
leading players in the serious game of
exchange. They live in a world of trad-
ing, deception, expediency and self-
interest. These social qualities create a
world that has no stability or certainty,
so that the basis for uncertainty and
instability is social and economic.
Hammett’s criticism of capitalism holds
true whenever unthinking obeisance is
paid to the self-interested, utility maxi-
mizing “economic man.” Since self-inter-
est and unchecked greed eventually lead
to undesirable economic consequences,
all capitalists must confront the ques-
tion: Can corrupt “attaining the Maltese
Falcon”-type goals be avoided? If so, how?
If not, what is to be made of capitalism?
Personal finance textbooks suggest
that financial goals should be SMART
(Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Real-
istic and Time-based), but they usually
have nothing to say about the disappoint-
ment of striving towards goals that, once
reached, prove to be unfulfilling. There
are no easy answers to this problem. How-
ever, the probability of creating Maltese
Falcon-type goals can be greatly reduced
by addressing the following questions:
First, will reaching a goal make the world a
better place? Second, must others be hurt
(e.g. family, friends, colleagues, employ-
ees, customers) in order to reach the goal?
And third, how can greed be kept in check
as one strives to reach a particular goal?
Additional questions will be suggested
in the next Educators’ Perspective, when
we discuss the curious Flitcraft Parable
that appears in the middle of The Maltese
Falcon.
Poster advertising The Maltese Falcon, the 1941 film noir based
on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett.
18 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Winter 2019 | www.MoAF.org
Brian Grinder is a professor at Eastern
Washington University and a member
of Financial History’s editorial board.
Dr. Dan Cooper is the president of Active
Learning Technologies.