Paperback

Korean Edition

Cover The Mephisto-Principle

Good intentions do not
prevent a war, do not
overcome hunger, do not
create jobs and do not
save endangered species

The Mephisto-Principle

Why it is better not to be good

From Dirk Maxeiner und Michael Miersch

Eichborn Verlag,
Frankfurt am Main 2001
ISBN 3-8218-1636-8
176 pages
17,90 Euro

Paperback:
Heyne, München 2003
ISBN3-453-86136-1
192 pages
8, 95 Euro

Summary

Mephisto: "I am a part of that power,
that constantly wants to do harm
and constantly creates the good."
(Goethe, Faust 1)

The way to hell is paved with good intentions, says an English proverb. In other words: A good character does not necessarily create a better reality. Inferior motives may receive bad reviews, but they are often surprisingly beneficial in their effects. The Mephisto-Principle shows how pure self-interest produces social and ecological progress. The book shows many examples of how the alleged bad produces quite good results time after time. Good intentions do not prevent a war, do not overcome hunger, do not create jobs and do not save endangered species. The Mephisto-Principle is a plea for assessing human deeds not by their intentions but by their results. As a result, many persistent myths both left-wing and right-wing are destroyed. This book reveals many disturbing truths, some of which are:

Globalisation helps third world countries to develop.
Purchase of tropical wood is good for the rainforest.
Capitalism promotes prosperity - even for the poor.
Engineers not ideologists help to make the world a better place.