Post #3: Opportunism

Opportunism is something that all of us face every day. Sometimes the opportunity is big and sometimes small, but either way, if it is at somebody else’s expense, then it is best to consider the effects with empathy.

This is on ongoing story about opportunism so bear with me. A couple years ago, I needed to borrow a few hundred dollars. This is something I do not make a habit of, but without an income source at the time, I was running low on money. I decided I would have to bite the bullet. I did not have many people who would have given me anything, so naturally I began to stress out quite a bit over my financials. However, my sister was very generous with me. She loaned me the money when she saw that I was struggling. A few weeks later I was able to pay her back half the money I owed, but to this day, that second half needs to be paid back.

Now here is where opportunism comes into play. I do not think she remembers I still owe her. It is not a lot of money, and I don’t think she would miss it. She has always been good with money. As a college student, I’m just always a little short on money, so I will admit that it has not been priority or even possible. Nevertheless, I do intend on paying back the loan very soon.

There are several reasons why I have absolutely no desire to act on opportunity. First, somebody did something nice for me, and I would not take advantage of someone else’s generosity or kindness. Second, something like that sticks with you. I would not want to regret my actions for the rest of my life. Third, I always try to see these kinds of things from the other person’s perspective. If I loaned money, I would be really unhappy with someone if they failed to repay me. Lastly, in the long run, the money is of little value. It would be more detrimental over time to keep it and cause trouble than to give it back and be done with it.

All of these reasons are an issue of ethics and morality. Sure, nobody would know if I just kept the money. Whenever I am faced with such a situation, I like to think of it like this: if everyone made the same choice, would the world be better or worse off? If the answer is worse off, I do not do it. I always think that if I am not part of the solution, I am part of the problem.

I think empathy plays a large role in how people respond to opportunism. Those with more empathy are much less able to take advantage and to harm other people for personal gain. Others who do not have empathy will do just that. Many, but not all, of the “successful” people in the world got that way by acting on opportunism whenever it presented itself. For example, politicians are known to be some of the most corrupt people there are. It brings up constant consideration, whenever a politician makes a decision, if they are acting on opportunism or trying to help. As a result, even the good ones face scrutiny.

Opportunism is something that we see all the time and in all different shapes and forms. Some people will inevitably take advantage of opportunity and some people will not. It is all a matter of incentives. Depending on a person’s values, they may find personal gain to be a better incentive or they may find helping others to be a better incentive. It all just depends on the person.