11 ms·
> When you isolate the party people and the lushes, you are left with people who simply feel like they don’t count. Correct, which is why fixing income inequal
by Thriptic 9y ago
> When you isolate the party people and the lushes, you are left with people who simply feel like they don’t count.
Correct, which is why fixing income inequality will not solve this problem. Giving someone basic income or access to safety nets doesn't give them the meaning derived from earning a living through hard work and creativity, it doesn't bring back all the friends that moved away, it doesn't replace fallen communal institutions or religious identity. In fact, these locales consistently vote against any sort of government intervention which may provide services which suggests that they don't want what you are trying to provide.
A naive solution which might help is formation of a large infrastructure program providing good jobs, consolidation of gutted communities, government funded social spaces and encouragement of community leaders to use them etc.
- ryandrake 9y agoThis seems like a step closer to a world where society pays half of people to dig holes and the other half to fill them in, all because of this inescapable idea that a living is something that must be earned. Fixing income inequality might not give people meaning, but it might free them from financial constraints and give them the opportunity to go out and find that meaning, rather that being trapped in this cycle of always needing to make ends meet.
- Thriptic 9y agoLong term I agree, we need societal change, but changing perceptions about the meaning of work is a multi-generational problem. We need a solution which is going to fix this problems over 10-20 years. It's going to be far easier to get traction if you are providing things which conform to peoples' existing belief systems, rather than dictating to them that their belief systems are wrong and need to change.