3 ms·
> upside is just so much larger than the harms Or more importantly, the harms are to me, and the upsides are to you, so who cares?
by boring_twenties 3y ago
> upside is just so much larger than the harms
Or more importantly, the harms are to me, and the upsides are to you, so who cares?
- iandanforth 3y agoYou're correct in pointing out that people are inherently selfish, however one major purpose of collective government is to do those things which are necessary and not always in-line with selfish motivations. Just as most Americans would be horrified to have their salary posted publicly for fear of stigma, jealousy, reprisals etc, Norway has demonstrated that those fears are unfounded, and salary data doesn't even have the opportunity to save thousands and thousands of lives.
- systemtest 3y agoWhat I earn and what my assets are is nobodies business other than the government. That is not selfish, and I am not American.
- PragmaticPulp 3y agoYou don’t think you benefit from medical research?
- boring_twenties 3y agoIn the nightmare scenario proposed by GP, of everyone's medical records being open to the public, I would simply stop consuming all medical services. So no.
- genocidicbunny 3y agoOh sure, but you know, I also probably benefited a little bit from the Tuskegee Syphilis experiments, and heck, if nuclear war ever comes, the things learned from keeping Hisashi Ouchi alive after his radiation expose, will probably help too. Doesn't make them any less fucking wrong.
- boring_twenties 3y ago> Hisashi Ouchi That was a punishing read
- cloverich 3y ago> the Tuskegee Syphilis experiments The primary issue with this was the lack of ethical research, not the privacy of medical records. In fact the opposite argument could be made, with a more open and connected system, we could likely glean such information without the trial in the first place.
- genocidicbunny 3y agoUsing medical records without direct informed consent is unethical, so the there's not nearly the distinction you're trying to make there.
- cloverich 3y agoIf you view letting infections play out in people because "We view black people as sub-human" is or can be equivalent to sharing medical records for patient care, research, or outbreak surveillance, and that there isn't a meaningful distinction between those categories, it is unlikely we could have a productive conversation on the topic.
- vinceguidry 3y agoYou've just described social policy. Everything anyone does hurts someone's interest.