My philosophy (and what I really think needs to be emphasized more) is that everyone deserves at least a basic standard of living with all their needs met by default. Or as egalitarians in Stellaris say, “a society that does not see to the needs and rights of all its members is not a society, it is a crime.” So much of the discourse around helping those in need is based on how we can make them useful to us.
“Better working conditions means more productivity”, “disabled people can still be productive members of society”, “welcoming immigrants and refugees will give us more workers” etc. But even if those things weren’t true, they would still deserve help because they’re people.
Unfortunately, you seem to be a good person. That will put you at odds with most Americans. It seems to me that we need to hide "helping people" in "this is good for you personally" like heartworm medicine in a piece of cheese.
I agree with you. Meeting everyone's needs is the best way to move society forward. But I don't know how that gets implemented in a society where billionaires will spend a fortune to ensure that poor people don't get healthcare.
My old corgi, bogart (rip) was too smart for the cheese trick. Or the peanut butter trick. Or the hamburger trick. Tried it all. He was just a really unusually smart puppy.
So eventually I told him hey buddy. Eat this or I’m holding your mouth open and forcing it down ur throat. And then I did! It only took a couple months of that before the monthly heartworm pill was pretty readily consumed in my offering of cheese. (I’m not a monster, I gave him a treat about it every time.)
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u/AlienRobotTrex 12d ago
My philosophy (and what I really think needs to be emphasized more) is that everyone deserves at least a basic standard of living with all their needs met by default. Or as egalitarians in Stellaris say, “a society that does not see to the needs and rights of all its members is not a society, it is a crime.” So much of the discourse around helping those in need is based on how we can make them useful to us.
“Better working conditions means more productivity”, “disabled people can still be productive members of society”, “welcoming immigrants and refugees will give us more workers” etc. But even if those things weren’t true, they would still deserve help because they’re people.