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Produce more value, enjoy the fruits thereof. Yes, one has a moral duty to help those unable, by circumstance, to reach up to that bottom line; provide food, sh
by ctdonath 10y ago
Produce more value, enjoy the fruits thereof. Yes, one has a moral duty to help those unable, by circumstance, to reach up to that bottom line; provide food, shelter, and education until a minimum is reached and they can provide - so long as the individual is making a fair effort to get there, and not just enjoying a free ride. Compelling others to provide, and giving what's taken to the wantonly idle, is immoral.
My thought experiment addresses those who seem to think no effort should be required for survival. If you are at all capable of that minimum level of productivity, it is expected of you; if you truly aren't capable, I'll choose to help you out.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago>the wantonly idle This is a really silly phrase: achieving idleness and ease is the very purpose of work.
- ctdonath 10y agoThere is a vast difference between "idle" in terms of enjoying the fruits of your labors, vs "idle" in terms of enjoying the confiscated fruits of the labors of others. It's the difference between retiring early vs living on welfare checks.
- eli_gottlieb 10y agoThere's a vast ideological difference to you.
- ctdonath 10y agoThe difference is between "I did the work and am living off my own productivity" vs "I didn't do the work and expect other producers to feed me". Huge difference, unless you reject the notion of ownership - which has repeatedly been proven an unsustainable ideology.