Small is Beautiful

Chapter 35 (cont'd)
"So what do you think about the 'Fair Trade Gold Standard' that is now being implemented that will allow artisanal miners to get a bigger piece of the pie?" Sam recalled a reporting by National Geographic.
"I think, anything that slows environmental destruction is going to have to be addressed and acted on. Not in the future, but now!" J.P. was up to date on current issues.
"And... paying a fair price for metals so small artisanal miners can earn a living is human and humane," Simmy stated. "I have always believed in the honest labour of hands that create without harming others. It has been an uphill battle to try to influence those around me, though. There is still a 'if you've earned it, you deserve it' attitude. And, let's not forget the cookies. We would give away the work of one person for what in trade? I ask you! What is the motivation to sell a person too much for too little? What does this produce?" Simmy was getting her frustration out. Eventually, what does a generation or two or three look like that gets too much?"
J.P. looked at his hands and breathed a deep sigh, "Like Hollywood, maybe. I have seen great wealth there. The movie era really did create a strange opportunity for a chosen few."
E.F. Schumacher, in the book 'Small is Beautiful' offers up the four Cardinal virtues as a conscience tweaking entreaty," Simmy chimed in.
"Cardinal?" J.P. was showing his Jewish roots.
"The Roman Catholic church has employed these, yes, I believe so. The funeral we were at was in a Roman Catholic church but the term 'cardinal' comes from the Latin 'cardo' or hinge. Wikipedia reports that the cardinal virtues are so called because they are hinges upon which the door of the moral life swings. If you read all the essays that Schumacher writes, it is a natural book ender to introduce these virtues."
"What are the virtues?" J.P. asked.
"Temperance, fortitude, justice and prudence," Simmy punctuated each word with a hand movement.