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I'm all for basic income and minimum wage, but I think the luck mindset is quite detrimental. It strips men of their own agency and fosters cynicism. > I even

I'm all for basic income and minimum wage, but I think the luck mindset is quite detrimental. It strips men of their own agency and fosters cynicism. > I even said some dumb things like, 'Why should they have granite countertops when I don't.' However, I've come around. Unfortunately, he ends with However, I've come around to realize that this makes financial sense. Silly me, I thought the change of mind was about empathy.

scotty79 11y ago
Empathy does not result in social change. Economy does.
- seszett 11y ago
  Yes - I'm sure that's how slavery came to be abolished for example.
  - rwallace 11y ago
    It was a significant contributing factor. Consider, for example, the American Civil War - the outcome would have been very different if not for the fact that the North's non-slave industrial economy worked.
  - fwn 11y ago
    This is in fact a highly interesting debate. Other than economic circumstances, I would argue that we have little reason to believe that human empathy changes substantially. Slavery went away for farming and balancing reasons, child labour for productivity reasons and working women came for demand reasons (e.g. war).
dghf 11y ago
> Unfortunately, he ends with However, I've come around to realize that this makes financial sense. Silly me, I thought the change of mind was about empathy. Enlightened self-interest that results in action is worth any amount of empathy that doesn't.
learnstats2 11y ago
> Silly me, I thought the change of mind was about empathy. It's important that it's economic. If I work my median job, and live my median lifestyle, and I observe that people who don't work are getting more than I am, that's very challenging. I immediately feel resentful about the fact that I had to work for this when others didn't. It makes it seem like the economic system is broken and unfair. As soon as that happens, there's no chance you will feel empathy to those people who are benefiting more. Recognising that the economics is OK is therefore very important - it allows you to start to have empathy.
- knodi123 11y ago
  > I immediately feel resentful about the fact that I had to work for this when others didn't. I already feel this to a shameful degree in regard to wealthy scions like the Walton kids, or children of mega hollywood stars. The economic system is broken and unfair.
  - learnstats2 11y ago
    Ah, yes, I agree the economic system is broken and unfair. Unfortunately the way to fix this is not by giving you the wealth of the Waltons. It's by bringing everyone else up to the level of personal security that you already have.
stephengillie 11y ago
Luck is applied probability. Good and bad happen randomly. It's up to us to use the events around us as tools to shape reality and the future into patterns of events that we want. While we cannot influence all cosmic events related to ourselves and others, we can still influence some.
sospep 11y ago
> Unfortunately, he ends with However, I've come around to realize that this makes financial sense. Silly me, I thought the change of mind was about empathy My guess would be that the "formerly homeless" of Medicine Hat, appreciate the "roof over their head", much more than any amount of "empathy"
na85 11y ago
>It strips men of their own agency and fosters cynicism. Does it do the same to women?

scotty79 11y ago

Empathy does not result in social change. Economy does.

seszett 11y ago
Yes - I'm sure that's how slavery came to be abolished for example.
- rwallace 11y ago
  It was a significant contributing factor. Consider, for example, the American Civil War - the outcome would have been very different if not for the fact that the North's non-slave industrial economy worked.
- fwn 11y ago
  This is in fact a highly interesting debate. Other than economic circumstances, I would argue that we have little reason to believe that human empathy changes substantially. Slavery went away for farming and balancing reasons, child labour for productivity reasons and working women came for demand reasons (e.g. war).

dghf 11y ago

> Unfortunately, he ends with However, I've come around to realize that this makes financial sense. Silly me, I thought the change of mind was about empathy. Enlightened self-interest that results in action is worth any amount of empathy that doesn't.

learnstats2 11y ago

> Silly me, I thought the change of mind was about empathy. It's important that it's economic. If I work my median job, and live my median lifestyle, and I observe that people who don't work are getting more than I am, that's very challenging. I immediately feel resentful about the fact that I had to work for this when others didn't. It makes it seem like the economic system is broken and unfair. As soon as that happens, there's no chance you will feel empathy to those people who are benefiting more. Recognising that the economics is OK is therefore very important - it allows you to start to have empathy.

knodi123 11y ago
> I immediately feel resentful about the fact that I had to work for this when others didn't. I already feel this to a shameful degree in regard to wealthy scions like the Walton kids, or children of mega hollywood stars. The economic system is broken and unfair.
- learnstats2 11y ago
  Ah, yes, I agree the economic system is broken and unfair. Unfortunately the way to fix this is not by giving you the wealth of the Waltons. It's by bringing everyone else up to the level of personal security that you already have.

stephengillie 11y ago

Luck is applied probability. Good and bad happen randomly. It's up to us to use the events around us as tools to shape reality and the future into patterns of events that we want. While we cannot influence all cosmic events related to ourselves and others, we can still influence some.

sospep 11y ago

> Unfortunately, he ends with However, I've come around to realize that this makes financial sense. Silly me, I thought the change of mind was about empathy My guess would be that the "formerly homeless" of Medicine Hat, appreciate the "roof over their head", much more than any amount of "empathy"

na85 11y ago

>It strips men of their own agency and fosters cynicism. Does it do the same to women?