Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic)Anagreementin which a personabandonshis or herspiritualvaluesormoralprinciplesin order toobtainknowledge,wealthor otherbenefits.Synonym:deal with the devilThe university’s abandonment of its founding value of academic freedom in exchange for the corporation’s large financial contribution was aFaustian bargain.1908August, “The Bookman’s Letter Box”, inThe Bookman: An Illustrated Magazine of Literature and Life, volume XXVII, New York, N.Y.:Dodd, Mead and Company[…],→OCLC, section I,page558, column 1:Most people nowadays, in this country at least, do not seem to be able to see anything else but money. They would cheerfully sell their souls to hell for it. Quite a number of them, according to the tencent magazines, have already made thisFaustian bargain.1950,Frank Yerby, chapter 16, inFloodtide, New York, N.Y.:The Dial Press,→OCLC,page291:I've made myFaustian bargain—for this woman, I've sold my immortal soul …2003, Anne C. Petty,Tolkien in the Land of Heroes: Discovering the Human Spirit, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.: Cold Spring Press,→ISBN, page107:A number of characters in Middle-earth engage in some kind ofFaustian bargainwhere they are tempted with promises of power, wealth, and status. This is how Sauron ensnares the kings of men and dwarves with the elf-crafted rings of power.2004July, Brett A. Berliner, “Mephistopheles and Monkeys: Rejuvenation, Race, and Sexuality in Popular Culture in Interwar France”, inJournal of the History of Sexuality, volume13, number 3, Chicago, Ill.:University of Chicago Press; Austin, Tx.:University of Texas Press,→ISSN,→JSTOR,→OCLC, page309:Rejuvenation was associated with a reinvigorated sex drive, and this connection generated an anxiety expressed in theFaustian bargain: damnation for a few extra years of carnal pleasure.; (idiomatic)Adealin which onefocusesonpresentgainwithoutconsideringthelong-termconsequences.1974October,Joel Primack,Frank von Hippel, “Nuclear Reactor Safety: The Origins and Issues of a Vital Debate”, in Samuel H. Day, Jr., editor,Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, volume XXX, number 8, Chicago, Ill.: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science,→ISSN,→OCLC,page 5, column 1:It has been remarked that all technology is aFaustian bargain: one obtains conveniences and sometimes luxuries, but in exchange one gets an increased potential for catastrophe.1992June, Henry J. Reske, “What Price Prosecution?: Critics Claim Noriega Guilty Verdict Costly in Lives, ‘Faustian Bargains’”, inABA Journal: The Lawyer’s Magazine, volume78, Chicago, Ill.:American Bar Association,→ISSN,→OCLC,page20, column 1:And the law's long arm loosened its grip on some drug dealers when prosecutors offered them deals for their testimony. "The government was hell-bent on convicting[Manuel] Noriegano matter what the cost," said Rep.Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., chair of the House Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal Justice. "When you look at some of theFaustian bargainsthat were struck, you have to wonder: Did we really have to burn the village down in order to save it?"1997July 21, Brian Bremner, Emily Thornton, “Blackmail!: A Rash of Scandals and a Government Crackdown are Showing how Mob-linked Investors—the Sokaiya—Prey on some of Japan’s Biggest Companies. Can Business Break Free?”, inBusinessweek[1], archived fromthe originalon19 December 2019:But for decades, many executives actually employed sokaiya as muscle to keep unruly investors in check during their choreographed annual meetings. [...] Yet executives' reliance on mobsters turned out to be aFaustian bargain. By the 1970s, the sokaiya had figured out how to become stockholders themselves and threaten to ask embarrassing questions at annual meetings.2011March 10,Ellen Barry, “Plain speaking from Biden in Moscow speech”, inThe New York Times[2], archived fromthe originalon25 April 2012:Vice PresidentJoseph R. Biden Jr.[...] used a speech at Moscow State University to criticize Russia’s legal and political systems, a move likely to irritate the country's leaders. [...] “I urge all you students here: Don’t compromise on the basic elements of democracy. You need not make thatFaustian bargain.”
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