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This is a beautiful sentiment from one of my favorite writers, but it also highlights why these arguments are so often unproductive. Obviously, there are people
by dionidium 12y ago
This is a beautiful sentiment from one of my favorite writers, but it also highlights why these arguments are so often unproductive. Obviously, there are people who think that handouts result in a net loss in happiness for the world. Especially in progressive nations with functioning economies. You might disagree with that calculus, but it's silly to think that the people on the other side are just big meanies.
- dionidium 12y agoTo elaborate, I'll paraphrase Adam Carolla by pointing out that the worst thing you can do is give someone a free house in a place they don't want to live. You'll find that person unhappy, clinging to the free house 30 years from now. Indeed, I think most of us here derive our most intense satisfaction from creating and pushing forward. It's not hard to see how a system that makes a handout contingent on not advancing could have unintended effects. Again, I'm not suggesting that we let people die in the streets. I'm suggesting that the stuff DFW is sympathetic to is a much softer form of charity than that.