8 ms·

you solve property by having governments that respect citizen's property rights, having good rule of law, and a sound money policy usually with freedom of excha

you solve property by having governments that respect citizen's property rights, having good rule of law, and a sound money policy usually with freedom of exchange. government managed economies tend to only benefit those in power or already well off. in other words, you create an environment where entrepreneurs can successfully operate as people tend to strive more when they see their efforts pay off and those pay offs are not subject to the whims of others

amelius 11y ago
Obviously, yes, this is the preferred long-term solution. This doesn't buy anything for the people suffering at this very instant. Also, if you are struggling to survive, how are you going to even think about getting education?
- jpadkins 11y ago
  Give a man a fish, he becomes dependant on your fish. Yes, teaching him to fish takes longer, but it's better. > how are you going to even think about getting education? You start with an education on how to survive better. You don't need to start with an advanced education.
  - Matumio 11y ago
    You can teach people how to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but some of them have no boots, so it's not entirely fair.
    - swasheck 11y ago
      life's not fair ... but expecting someone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when they have no boots is cruel and denies the advantage that "you" (the teacher) most likely started with a pair of boots, at least.
  - swasheck 11y ago
    the whole teach-a-man-to-fish thing is a nice saying that really helps with things outside of the jurisdiction of macroeconomics. at its core, it makes more sense to me to interpret it from the one lending aid than the one being aided. in other words, it's advice given to the teacher to seek systematic justice and fairness and not simply engage in simple, punctiliar acts of mercy. however, neither of these should exist in a vacuum. act with mercy and work toward justice. the hard part about this is that there needs to be more of an emphasis on understanding and contextualizing justice within any given culture. "fishing" in guyana may look very different than "fishing" in guinea which may look very different than "fishing" in the philippines.
  - Fargren 11y ago
    Unless he starves while you are teaching him because you didn't give him the fish. Or he's so famished that he can't realisitically pay enough attention to learn. Many people are already dependant in "the fish", whether or not you give it to them.
  - DanBC 11y ago
    "I live in drought ridden land locked Africa. Stop teaching me to fish; there are no fish here."
  - DasIch 11y ago
    Unless of course that man is competing against heavily subsidized large scale fishing companies from industrialized countries, that export to his own country and can undercut his prices. Free trade and free markets are truly amazing, aren't they?
    - pdeuchler 11y ago
      If it's "heavily subsidized" then it's not free trade and free markets... (unless you were going for sarcasm there)
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- Shivetya 11y ago
  this is both a long term and short term solution. The issue is that far too many of the poor are in countries with little or no respect of private property rights. These people stay poor because they and their property is not protected. nothing you give them will mean anything when someone else can simply take it because of their position of power. we see this everyday, aid goes to the powerful except for a few select media staged events. all comes back to the rule of law, not the rule of man.
clavalle 11y ago
That's one half of it. The other half is making sure that people can bargain from a position of power rather than getting stuck in a spiral of exploitative transactions.
- jpadkins 11y ago
  how do you do that? Which people get to be in a position of power? Who decides?
  - clavalle 11y ago
    It's easy, from a conceptual standpoint: Make sure everyone has enough to eat, a place to live, and access to healthcare etc. Basically, make sure no one is in a position where they have to bargain away something of value in exchange for their life or to avoid pain. A 'position of power' in this case means not bargaining to avoid death or pain. ALL people should be in such a position; no need to pick and choose. That is also how you decide -- just ask 'Will lack of this cause someone physical pain or death?' If the answer is 'yes' society should do its best to provide it to those who are not in a position to get it for themselves. The goal is to make sure when people engage in a transaction that everyone walks away with more value than they brought to the table. That's the magic of the market. But when people either need to strike a bargain or pay a dreadful price -- well, that's why muggings don't lead to market efficiency, isn't it?
    - Solarsail 11y ago
      Picking a nit, but: That isn't from a 'position of power'. That's avoiding transactions where the other party has a position of power. Two countries wishing to operate from a position of power may engage in a cold war or the like. Not to say a social safety net to ensure life never hangs in the balance wouldn't prevent some unfair transactions from occurring...

amelius 11y ago

Obviously, yes, this is the preferred long-term solution. This doesn't buy anything for the people suffering at this very instant. Also, if you are struggling to survive, how are you going to even think about getting education?

jpadkins 11y ago
Give a man a fish, he becomes dependant on your fish. Yes, teaching him to fish takes longer, but it's better. > how are you going to even think about getting education? You start with an education on how to survive better. You don't need to start with an advanced education.
- Matumio 11y ago
  You can teach people how to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but some of them have no boots, so it's not entirely fair.
  - swasheck 11y ago
    life's not fair ... but expecting someone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when they have no boots is cruel and denies the advantage that "you" (the teacher) most likely started with a pair of boots, at least.
- swasheck 11y ago
  the whole teach-a-man-to-fish thing is a nice saying that really helps with things outside of the jurisdiction of macroeconomics. at its core, it makes more sense to me to interpret it from the one lending aid than the one being aided. in other words, it's advice given to the teacher to seek systematic justice and fairness and not simply engage in simple, punctiliar acts of mercy. however, neither of these should exist in a vacuum. act with mercy and work toward justice. the hard part about this is that there needs to be more of an emphasis on understanding and contextualizing justice within any given culture. "fishing" in guyana may look very different than "fishing" in guinea which may look very different than "fishing" in the philippines.
- Fargren 11y ago
  Unless he starves while you are teaching him because you didn't give him the fish. Or he's so famished that he can't realisitically pay enough attention to learn. Many people are already dependant in "the fish", whether or not you give it to them.
- DanBC 11y ago
  "I live in drought ridden land locked Africa. Stop teaching me to fish; there are no fish here."
- DasIch 11y ago
  Unless of course that man is competing against heavily subsidized large scale fishing companies from industrialized countries, that export to his own country and can undercut his prices. Free trade and free markets are truly amazing, aren't they?
  - pdeuchler 11y ago
    If it's "heavily subsidized" then it's not free trade and free markets... (unless you were going for sarcasm there)
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
Shivetya 11y ago
this is both a long term and short term solution. The issue is that far too many of the poor are in countries with little or no respect of private property rights. These people stay poor because they and their property is not protected. nothing you give them will mean anything when someone else can simply take it because of their position of power. we see this everyday, aid goes to the powerful except for a few select media staged events. all comes back to the rule of law, not the rule of man.

clavalle 11y ago

That's one half of it. The other half is making sure that people can bargain from a position of power rather than getting stuck in a spiral of exploitative transactions.

jpadkins 11y ago
how do you do that? Which people get to be in a position of power? Who decides?
- clavalle 11y ago
  It's easy, from a conceptual standpoint: Make sure everyone has enough to eat, a place to live, and access to healthcare etc. Basically, make sure no one is in a position where they have to bargain away something of value in exchange for their life or to avoid pain. A 'position of power' in this case means not bargaining to avoid death or pain. ALL people should be in such a position; no need to pick and choose. That is also how you decide -- just ask 'Will lack of this cause someone physical pain or death?' If the answer is 'yes' society should do its best to provide it to those who are not in a position to get it for themselves. The goal is to make sure when people engage in a transaction that everyone walks away with more value than they brought to the table. That's the magic of the market. But when people either need to strike a bargain or pay a dreadful price -- well, that's why muggings don't lead to market efficiency, isn't it?
  - Solarsail 11y ago
    Picking a nit, but: That isn't from a 'position of power'. That's avoiding transactions where the other party has a position of power. Two countries wishing to operate from a position of power may engage in a cold war or the like. Not to say a social safety net to ensure life never hangs in the balance wouldn't prevent some unfair transactions from occurring...