Monday morning and time for yet another thought experiment to consider. Perhaps you spent all your cash this weekend and are headed to the ATM like Richard...
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When Richard went to the ATM, he got a very pleasant surprise. He requested $100 with a receipt. What he got was $10,000 with a receipt - for $100.
When he got home, he checked his account online and found that, sure enough, his account had been debited by only $100. He put the money in a safe place, fully expecting the bank swiftly to spot the mistake and ask for it back. But the weeks passed and nobody called.
After two months, Richard concluded that no one was going to ask for the money. So he headed off to the BMW dealership with the hefty down-payment in his pocket.
On the way, however, he did feel a twinge of guilt. Wasn't this stealing? He quickly managed to convince himself it was no such thing. He had not deliberately taken the money, it had just been given to him. And he hadn't taken it from anyone else, so no one had been robbed. As for the bank, this was a drop in the ocean for them, and anyway, they would be insured against such eventualities. And it was their fault they had lost the money - they should have had safer systems. No, this wasn't theft. It was just the biggest stroke of luck he had ever had.
Baggini, J., The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten, 2005, p. 40.
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So it's pretty obvious we're all *supposed* to return the money. But would you? And why? Or why not? I'll be back on Friday to post my answer.
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When Richard went to the ATM, he got a very pleasant surprise. He requested $100 with a receipt. What he got was $10,000 with a receipt - for $100.
When he got home, he checked his account online and found that, sure enough, his account had been debited by only $100. He put the money in a safe place, fully expecting the bank swiftly to spot the mistake and ask for it back. But the weeks passed and nobody called.
After two months, Richard concluded that no one was going to ask for the money. So he headed off to the BMW dealership with the hefty down-payment in his pocket.
On the way, however, he did feel a twinge of guilt. Wasn't this stealing? He quickly managed to convince himself it was no such thing. He had not deliberately taken the money, it had just been given to him. And he hadn't taken it from anyone else, so no one had been robbed. As for the bank, this was a drop in the ocean for them, and anyway, they would be insured against such eventualities. And it was their fault they had lost the money - they should have had safer systems. No, this wasn't theft. It was just the biggest stroke of luck he had ever had.
Baggini, J., The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten, 2005, p. 40.
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So it's pretty obvious we're all *supposed* to return the money. But would you? And why? Or why not? I'll be back on Friday to post my answer.
