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The Titanic-rich-man syndrome

Estro Felino

Believer in free will
Premium Member
We all know the tragedy of the Titanic. How horribly and fast the ship sank.
What most people ignore is that most rich men did know that they had to abandon the ship, but their first thought and priority was to lock the cabins to prevent steerage passengers from looting them.

That is, so many first class passengers (some of whom did not survive) were more preoccupied with their own wealth, than with their own life.
Forgetting that if they are dead, they cannot use all those things.
Forgetting that those valuable things, those jewels, those incredibly expensive items were ending up on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Which makes me think this: does wealth make life worth-living? Was it worth it?
Did worshipping money to that extent make these men's life worth-living? Meaningful?
 

Estro Felino

Believer in free will
Premium Member
Religiously and philosophically, man has not reached that level of awareness that is necessary to understand the value of human life. The value of existence.
Which is not about having. It is about being.

We are not separated from the environment that surrounds us. We should live in harmony with every single being living on Earth.
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
We all know the tragedy of the Titanic. How horribly and fast the ship sank.
What most people ignore is that most rich men did know that they had to abandon the ship, but their first thought and priority was to lock the cabins to prevent steerage passengers from looting them.

That is, so many first class passengers (some of whom did not survive) were more preoccupied with their own wealth, than with their own life.
Forgetting that if they are dead, they cannot use all those things.
Forgetting that those valuable things, those jewels, those incredibly expensive items were ending up on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Which makes me think this: does wealth make life worth-living? Was it worth it?
Did worshipping money to that extent make these men's life worth-living? Meaningful?

Where did you get this from?
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
We all know the tragedy of the Titanic. How horribly and fast the ship sank.
What most people ignore is that most rich men did know that they had to abandon the ship, but their first thought and priority was to lock the cabins to prevent steerage passengers from looting them.

That is, so many first class passengers (some of whom did not survive) were more preoccupied with their own wealth, than with their own life.
Forgetting that if they are dead, they cannot use all those things.
Forgetting that those valuable things, those jewels, those incredibly expensive items were ending up on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Which makes me think this: does wealth make life worth-living? Was it worth it?
Did worshipping money to that extent make these men's life worth-living? Meaningful?

I suspect the policy of women and children first had a bit more to do with ratio of men to women survival ratio, wealthy or not.
 

HonestJoe

Well-Known Member
That is, so many first class passengers (some of whom did not survive) were more preoccupied with their own wealth, than with their own life.
To be fair, I'm not sure it is that simple. It seems likely that those people wouldn't have realised their lives were in danger at that point, having not seen the extent of the damage and believing the claim the ship was unsinkable.

Also, when people are conscious of being in extreme life-and-death situations, they will often do irrational things due to stress and panic. I don't think there would be any specific rich vs poor distinction in this.
 

Estro Felino

Believer in free will
Premium Member
To be fair, I'm not sure it is that simple. It seems likely that those people wouldn't have realised their lives were in danger at that point, having not seen the extent of the damage and believing the claim the ship was unsinkable.

Also, when people are conscious of being in extreme life-and-death situations, they will often do irrational things due to stress and panic. I don't think there would be any specific rich vs poor distinction in this.
This thread is not about politics/economics :)
It is about the religious implications of people who are about to die, and so they are supposed to make a final evaluation of their own existence on Earth.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Money, gold, jewels, ... these things have no value in themselves. It's what they represent to us that we value so highly: power, control, security, opportunity, freedom, prestige, ... it's these that we will pursue at the cost of nearly anything else. And sadly, it's these that we will pursue even by denying them to others. Humanity just can't seem to grow beyond seeing each other as competitors, to seeing each other as partners.
 

HonestJoe

Well-Known Member
This thread is not about politics/economics :)
You probably shouldn't have made so many references to class and money in the OP then.

It is about the religious implications of people who are about to die, and so they are supposed to make a final evaluation of their own existence on Earth.
But as I said, the people in your example didn't know or expect that they were going to die. They were protecting their property because they were expecting to be returning to it. I suspect most people would do the same, regardless of the monetary value of that property.

Now you've clarified a little, I think there is something of a valid (if not original) point behind all of this, it just didn't come across very clearly in your OP.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
We all know the tragedy of the Titanic. How horribly and fast the ship sank.
What most people ignore is that most rich men did know that they had to abandon the ship, but their first thought and priority was to lock the cabins to prevent steerage passengers from looting them.

That is, so many first class passengers (some of whom did not survive) were more preoccupied with their own wealth, than with their own life.
Forgetting that if they are dead, they cannot use all those things.
Forgetting that those valuable things, those jewels, those incredibly expensive items were ending up on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Which makes me think this: does wealth make life worth-living? Was it worth it?
Did worshipping money to that extent make these men's life worth-living? Meaningful?
To what extent was this done?
Links could help.
 

Stonetree

Model Member
Premium Member
You probably shouldn't have made so many references to class and money in the OP then.

But as I said, the people in your example didn't know or expect that they were going to die. They were protecting their property because they were expecting to be returning to it. I suspect most people would do the same, regardless of the monetary value of that property.

Now you've clarified a little, I think there is something of a valid (if not original) point behind all of this, it just didn't come across very clearly in your OP.
Simply for the sake of discussion: Is it okay to lock others behind doors in a ship in danger, so as to protect your wealth?
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
Simply for the sake of discussion: Is it okay to lock others behind doors in a ship in danger, so as to protect your wealth?

But....

I get that there is a hypothetical discussion on wealth to be had, and both it's relative and objective importance.

The Titanic examples and information being casually tossed around in this thread seems completely superfluous, based on my (admittedly not perfect) understanding of things.

People weren't deliberately locked down, the Titanic wasn't commonly believed to be unsinkable, and passengers didn't return to their cabin to secure valuables by locking doors when the ship was sinking.

Least as far as I am aware.

There are a lot of myths surrounding the ship (like the band playing hymns while it slipped under the water).
 
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