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It is so very important that we all understand this: not everything worth doing is profitable. Not everything which creates value for the economy or protects so

It is so very important that we all understand this: not everything worth doing is profitable. Not everything which creates value for the economy or protects society is profitable. A system that expects all worthwhile things to be profitable will simply fail to do all worthwhile things and society will be worse for it. That society may appear to be functioning but it will not be the best society possible.

dapf 2y ago
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ffsm8 2y ago
> A system that expects all worthwhile things to be profitable will simply fail to do all worthwhile things and society will be worse for it I agree with the spirit of your message, but you're going way too far using all there. Some are not profitable, and the society is likely better off to socialize these. As a simple example: it's not profitable to provide food and housing for people without means, but if you don't, your society will be worse off - simply because these people will be forced into directions that are generally harmful to your living spaces. Sure, you could increase police presence in this particular example, but that'd still be an effective socialization, because now you just put them on jail, which is even more costly then just providing them housing and food.
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  Medical is pretty much the worst of both worlds. It generally isn't profitable and you need some of the most skilled personnel in the world to perform it. Thus, it is nigh impossible to socialize in the same way you can at least attempt to create shantytowns or gangs as socialized substitutes for enforcement and housing
  - AnthonyMouse 2y ago
    Where does "it generally isn't profitable" come from? The US healthcare system has many flaws, but lack of profitable medical facilities doesn't seem to be one of them. General healthcare is a very ordinary market. You want to go to the doctor once a year to get checked out, they send your blood to a lab to check your cholesterol etc., you pay them money for this. If they find some condition with a known treatment, you pay for the treatment. In case the treatment is very expensive, you buy insurance ahead of time. The reason people hate it is that people are willing to do anything in order to not die, so they want that level of resources to be available to them, but they don't actually want to pay anything, or to be denied if they decline to pay an extraordinarily large amount, because the alternative is death. But "pay a lot of money or people die" is the nature of it. You can try to paper over it with insurance or taxpayer subsidies but that trade off is inherent and that it makes people uncomfortable doesn't change the fact.
- meristohm 2y ago
  "These people" who, uncared for, are "generally harmful to [our] libing spaces" are part of us; we are here alive together, and I help out my fellow humans because it feels part of being a good human, not to avoid discomfort.
- MiguelX413 2y ago
  I think that the usage of all perfectly agrees with you, actually.
yencabulator 2y ago
I'll frame that in a more European way for you: Preventative care and managing contagious diseases is cheaper in the long run. Framing it as "not profitable" is conservative messaging trying to drown out the idea that externalities exist.

dapf 2y ago

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ffsm8 2y ago

> A system that expects all worthwhile things to be profitable will simply fail to do all worthwhile things and society will be worse for it I agree with the spirit of your message, but you're going way too far using all there. Some are not profitable, and the society is likely better off to socialize these. As a simple example: it's not profitable to provide food and housing for people without means, but if you don't, your society will be worse off - simply because these people will be forced into directions that are generally harmful to your living spaces. Sure, you could increase police presence in this particular example, but that'd still be an effective socialization, because now you just put them on jail, which is even more costly then just providing them housing and food.

johnnyanmac 2y ago
Medical is pretty much the worst of both worlds. It generally isn't profitable and you need some of the most skilled personnel in the world to perform it. Thus, it is nigh impossible to socialize in the same way you can at least attempt to create shantytowns or gangs as socialized substitutes for enforcement and housing
- AnthonyMouse 2y ago
  Where does "it generally isn't profitable" come from? The US healthcare system has many flaws, but lack of profitable medical facilities doesn't seem to be one of them. General healthcare is a very ordinary market. You want to go to the doctor once a year to get checked out, they send your blood to a lab to check your cholesterol etc., you pay them money for this. If they find some condition with a known treatment, you pay for the treatment. In case the treatment is very expensive, you buy insurance ahead of time. The reason people hate it is that people are willing to do anything in order to not die, so they want that level of resources to be available to them, but they don't actually want to pay anything, or to be denied if they decline to pay an extraordinarily large amount, because the alternative is death. But "pay a lot of money or people die" is the nature of it. You can try to paper over it with insurance or taxpayer subsidies but that trade off is inherent and that it makes people uncomfortable doesn't change the fact.
meristohm 2y ago
"These people" who, uncared for, are "generally harmful to [our] libing spaces" are part of us; we are here alive together, and I help out my fellow humans because it feels part of being a good human, not to avoid discomfort.
MiguelX413 2y ago
I think that the usage of all perfectly agrees with you, actually.

yencabulator 2y ago

I'll frame that in a more European way for you: Preventative care and managing contagious diseases is cheaper in the long run. Framing it as "not profitable" is conservative messaging trying to drown out the idea that externalities exist.