The ability to measure has progressed science and our society.

Without any yard sticks with which to measure there is no way of properly knowing anything. When it comes to understanding people those yard sticks are very scarce and ill defined. Yes we have words like honesty, loyalty, integrity, love, caring as adjectives to describe people. But what is the scale and what is a value in that scale, is it 10 or 100? We lack the yard sticks for measuring people and this makes politics a difficult business.

You might suggest there is some relative scale in that one person may be more honest that another. This scale requires a reference and the most obvious reference is the person who one knows best, Oneself. This is the biggest mistake one can make. Each person is so different from others that the Oneself yard stick is most limiting. There are people who have no limits, so how does a person with limits know where the limits are in others without some external yardstick.

The spectrum of honesty. Somewhere on this spectrum all people fit. At one end are those who are truly honest and strive to make sure their transactions with others are pleasing for both parties. They tell the truth, have a sense of community and are generous to those in need. They are truly decent.

At the other end are people who take what they can and do what they will with others without any concern for the hurt and harm they do others. The people who bash the elderly and the weak and steel from them. The business people who raid private funds and apply those funds to their own needs, or just gamble their fraudulently acquired moneys away. These people have no limits at all, there is nothing they will not do. They run on cost benifit regardless of consequences to others. They know that to protect themselves they would kill witnesses.

In the middle are those who would generally be honest only they cheat a little bit, they tell white lies to get slightly more than they deserve. Then there are those who run justification processes: "It's OK to rob Kmart, they have so much and I have so little it is just not fair". These people are not totally bad, they do have limits, even though it is not OK to rob Kmart as they to stay in business have to increase their margins due to shoplifting. This means that every other honest customer is paying for the criminal who steals from Kmart.

Self interest is the dominant interest. When you know a person's self interest and where they sit with it you know that person. It becomes possible to test this self interest against integrity. "Where does integrity end and self interest take over?" When only small amounts of moneys are involved people can afford to be honest. As the amount increases the opportunity to leave and ta