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Just because a person was dealt a crap hand doesn’t mean they can’t make good choices. And their decisions can legitimately be judged and used as the factor in
by wang_li 9y ago
Just because a person was dealt a crap hand doesn’t mean they can’t make good choices. And their decisions can legitimately be judged and used as the factor in choosing to help them or not.
There is no moral or ethical failing in refusing to give to those who will waste what is given.
- ddingus 9y agoWaste from whose point of view? Yours? Mine? When they get help, that buys time. May not buy it as efficiently as it could, but that's a nit. Given time, their luck can change. Help can get them there.
- wang_li 9y agoSociety wide utility. Every time resources are diverted to someone who uses them unproductively we lose the opportunity to use them productively.
- ddingus 9y agoNo. That assumes perfect information and perfect availability. We do not, nor cannot actualize those things. We don't even need to. People, society are not machines. There are costs, risks, balances to be made. And of course, productive from whose point of view? I value helping people far more than I do actualizing peak efficiency, and I do that because the human costs are generally undesirable.