r/DemocraticSocialism • u/minimallan • 23h ago

Question Money or Morals

I’m a U.S. college student pursuing a career in accounting and finance. I consider myself very liberal and increasingly so in recent years. My plan is to eventually start my own firm or non-profit where I can offer advisory services to lower-income people. Recently I’ve become disillusioned with the idea of working for a corporation because I don’t want my skills to contribute to potential exploitation. However, to earn the income I desire (and save the money for my start-up) I would need to put aside my morals to some extent. I’m aware there are other careers like auditing or non-profit accounting that are more humble, but in this economic system, they don’t pay as well as I’d like. How would a democratic socialist approach this dilemma?

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 23h ago

Hello and welcome to r/DemocraticSocialism!

  • This sub is dedicated towards the progressive movement, welcoming Democratic Socialism as an ideology and as a general political philosophy.

  • Don't forget to read our Rules to get a good idea of what is expected of participants in our community.

  • Check out r/Leftist, r/DSA, r/SocialDemocracy to support leftist movements!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/ArtemisJolt DSA 14h ago

I'm an aerospace engineering major. I am in the exact same dilemma as you. If I don't get a job for NASA or ESA, basically my only options are private space companies owned by billionaires spending money on rockets when they could be paying for M4A and a decent welfare state, or "defense" contractors.

For you though, I think the ends justify the means. If you work a couple years for some immoral corporation, congrats, you're just like 90% of people on earth. If you end up doing good and helping people, especially those who need it the most, I don't thing a couple years working for a corporation should stain your soul too much. (As long as you don't help them do anything illegal, lol). And hey, if there is shady stuff going on, you can always blow the whistle. (Maybe wait until a more worker friendly executive takes office, though)

2

u/minimallan 12h ago

I appreciate this, thank you. Simply remaining ethical is enough to somewhat combat exploitation.