Oil leak lesson in human nature, political philosophy

The Gulf disaster is a lesson in human nature and political philosophy.

We all view the world through the lens of our own self interest. BP's self interest is fulfilled by bottom line profit and shareholder value. A deep water well promises huge bottom line profit and shareholder value to BP. However, deep water wells also create huge risks to the lives and wealth of workers and small business owners, as well as to the environment we all share.

Human nature is such that the risks associated with deep water wells look smaller to BP than to any other person or company in the world. This is not evil, it is just a universal human characteristic.

This is why we need effective regulation, robust enough to protect the self-interests of the rest of us on these deep water wells. We need regulations which impose safety precautions strong enough to protect the interests of ordinary people, even if the cost of doing so is to reduce greatly the potential bottom line rewards to BP.

This is a job that only government can or will do. Based on my life span experience, it is also a job that government will only do under a Democratic administration. Republicans today criticize the Obama administration for securing a reparations fund now, before BP is reorganized through some type of acquisition or bankruptcy, sending the $20 billion to investors and industry creditors, rather than those killed or damaged by the explosion and oil contamination.

The net effect of this would be to relegate the rewards of successful risk taking to the wealthy risk takers, while relegating the harms of such risk gone sour to ordinary people who are in every sense, innocent bystanders.

The philosophical clash between the Republicans and Democrats in relation to these events is stark.

Alfred Y. Kirkland Jr.

Elgin