Michael Josephson
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Okay, the TV series "Survivor" has to be reckoned with. Its unbelievable popularity (50 million people tuned in for the last episode) leaves no doubt that lots of people enjoy viewing the baser side of human nature. It showed that, in their quest for a million-dollar prize, all kinds of folks - men and women, young and old, professionals and unskilled workers - can be reduced into conniving, underhanded, greedy competitors.

It was a show many loved to love and others loved to hate. When television critic Howard Rosenberg said the program was "stunningly tedious and lowbrow," he was pilloried with mail attacking everything from his intelligence to his patriotism.

Ethical issues abound, concerning everything from the way the contestants were selected, coached and paid to keep silent, to the way the show was edited and promoted. Who knows what was real and what was not? But the most troublesome aspect of "Survivor" is the assumption that it reveals profound cynical truths about what it takes to succeed. After all, the most manipulative and unlikable of the contestants won the big prize, sending the message that we live in a dog-eat-dog world where ruthlessness pays off and that attributes like honor, respect and caring are disadvantages.

What we forget is that this was a game, invented and designed to bring out the worst in human nature. It was artificial from beginning to end. Yes, there are settings where self-serving schemers win, but in real life they also suffer dire consequences of alienation and distrust. The final survivor won a lot of money and 15 minutes of fame, but most of us wouldn't want him as a friend, neighbor or employee — and that’s an awfully high price to pay.