Success at Any Cost? On the Moral Blindness of Our Times

A thought-provoking essay exploring how we've normalized separating success from ethics in modern society - from music streaming to tech giants.

In the world of digital streaming, we've stopped asking who creates the music we consume. Who writes the lyrics? Who composes? Who produces?

It's amusing how easily we separate art from its creator these days. Recently, I watched an American comedian who, with disarming honesty, talked about hearing allegations of Marilyn Manson abusing women. "But I decided to listen to his music to form my own opinion," she said. "And you know what? It's great!" The audience laughed, applauding. And I felt a chill run down my spine.

Isn't this exactly how today's world works? Apple? Great products, though factory workers live in conditions that defy human dignity. McDonald's? Millions of burgers sold daily, never mind that the company consciously contributes to the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, bombarding children with aggressive marketing and smuggling cheap, processed ingredients under the guise of "happy meals." That they've been ruthlessly crushing competition for decades? Well, business is business. Spotify? Who cares if artists get pennies – we have access to all the world's music! Success, success, success – the mantra of our times.

And then there's the case of Kanye West, who first declares his love for Adolf Hitler and later sparks speculation about potentially launching his own token. And what happens? The crypto world explodes with enthusiasm. Although West ultimately distanced himself from the token idea, claiming it "feeds off fan hype," the crypto community's reaction revealed a terrifying truth about our times. "I understand the moral concerns," wrote one trader, "but I can't let emotions and principles guide my trading. Every missed opportunity is a loss for me." In other words: Nazi views? Doesn't matter, potential profit is what counts. This willingness to deal with the devil is nothing new. Eighty years ago, there were also those who wanted to profit from Nazism. IBM supplied counting machines to concentration camps – business is business, right? History comes full circle, only now it happens in the spotlight of social media, with applause from "rational investors."

I reach for the Old Book, the same one that has been telling the story of humanity for millennia. There's a passage about times when humanity completely lost itself in the pursuit of self-interest. "Every intention of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually," we read. Imagine a world where every action, every decision, every choice is dictated solely by the desire for profit, pleasure, power. A world where no one even asks anymore whether something is right or wrong – only whether it brings benefit.

And that's when Noah appears. An ordinary man who one day felt in his heart that he couldn't continue floating with the current of moral degeneration. He didn't calculate potential profits, didn't ask for opinions from the influencers of his era, didn't check what image experts would say. He simply knew – in the deepest, most primal sense of that word – that the world was heading in the wrong direction. And he chose a different path.

I can imagine his contemporaries tapping their foreheads. "Noah, everyone does it this way! It's just profitable! Don't be naive!" But he heard that quiet voice in his heart saying: "What's happening is not right." And he had the courage to follow that voice.

Maybe that's what we lack today? The courage to stop in this mad rush for success and ask ourselves: what does it really mean to be first? The Old Book says that whoever wants to be first must be the servant of all. Sounds like another motivational meme, right? But maybe this is exactly the kind of subversive wisdom we so desperately need?

Because maybe true success isn't about how much you've accumulated, but how much you've done for others? Maybe it's worth sometimes stepping off the highway of success and taking your own path, even if we'll be alone on it? Like Noah. After all, he was the one who survived the flood.