English

Noun

Faustian bargain ‎(plural Faustian bargains)

1. (idiomatic) An agreement in which a person abandons his or her spiritual values or moral principles in order to obtain wealth or other benefits.
   • 1974, Joel Primack and Frank von Hippel, "Nuclear Reactor Safety," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, vol. 30, no. 8 (Oct), p. 5 (Google preview):

     It has been remarked that all technology is a Faustian bargain: one obtains conveniences and sometimes luxuries, but in exchange one gets an increased potential for catastrophe.

   • 1997 July 20, "Blackmail!," Businessweek (international edition) (retrieved 29 Aug 2012):

     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 a Faustian bargain. By the 1970s, the sokaiya had figured out how to become stockholders themselves and threaten to ask embarrassing questions at annual meetings.

   • 2011 March 10, Ellen Barry, "Plain Speaking From Biden in Moscow Speech," New York Times (retrieved 29 Aug 2012):

     Vice President Joseph R. Biden . . . used a speech at Moscow State University to criticize Russia’s legal and political systems. “I urge all you students here: Don’t compromise on the basic elements of democracy. You need not make that Faustian bargain.”

Synonyms

• deal with the devil

Translations

See also

• sell one's soul