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Although I largely agree I don't really like the "promoting the general welfare" line of reasoning for justifying things.
by muninn_ 9y ago
Although I largely agree I don't really like the "promoting the general welfare" line of reasoning for justifying things.
- kevin_thibedeau 9y agoThen please stop using the internet. You know, that taxpayer funded military thing opened up to the public to promote the general welfare.
- muninn_ 9y agoOk sure, and maybe I'll also stop using the TSA and funding war. Both easily justified under "promoting the general welfare".
- 3131s 9y agoSeriously, what other metric is better than "promoting the general welfare"? Isn't that exactly what governments should be doing?
- muninn_ 9y agoWell, it's not even a metric, so that's the first issue. Second, I'm not a utilitarian. But the issue with it, for me, lies in the ambiguity of what "general welfare" means. If you have a bunch of people driving cars, building stupid highways might promote the general welfare even though we should build bike paths and sidewalks instead.
- Broken_Hippo 9y agoSo, if that is the overall and encompassing reason one does things, what reason are we supposed to use? Should we lie? Should we list all the things that "general welfare" includes? Do you have a more specific term that relays the same meaning? Or any sort of suggestion?