Roles in and of Society, pt.1
I think some people have a weird misunderstanding regarding the purpose of "Society" in its citizens lives. Politically, Democrats and Republicans see things differently, although I doubt many people actually spend time to think about such things properly. Recently, however, someone did, and I'd like to share his idea:
"I feel that everyone should contribute what they can to society, and that they should reap rewards proportional to the usefullness of their contribution to society"
There are so many vague, useless statements within that sentence it's hard to know where to start. But off the top of my head; "Contribute what they can" in what way, proportional to finances, to time, to physical ability or proficiency? "Reap rewards" what kind of rewards does that even mean? Awards, like medals and commendations? Money? Christmas presents? "Proportional to the usefulness of their contribution to society" is the big one. What qualifies as a "Contribution to society"? Who decides what is "Useful" and how do we judge different degrees of usefulness? And then, who decides what is "Proportional" to that usefulness?
The whole process is ridiculous and amusing. Society doesn't exist to reward people for doing their jobs. The entire concept of the "Social Contract" as established by Socrates and developed further by Locke states that societies were created and exist to help and protect individuals from hostile outside or inside forces, and that by staying in a society, you're implicitly agreeing to follow their rules and play within their system. And that system is designed to help ALL of those people, not some absurdly defined minority who are the most "Useful" to society, and when ALL people cannot be helped, the majority is substituted.
So here's a thought; when people make claims about how society "Should" be, keep in mind what it actually is, and how it got there. And don't make vague statements in the "Ought" form, since they're generally poorly-formed and irrelevant. Society exists to help the majority, and when those few thousand very privileged people (who generally INHERITED that position coughBushcough) start ranting about how they should be treated differently because of their position in society, they should keep in mind that the millions of people upon whom THEY rely could easily shove a pitchfork up their privileged asses at a moment's notice.
"I feel that everyone should contribute what they can to society, and that they should reap rewards proportional to the usefullness of their contribution to society"
There are so many vague, useless statements within that sentence it's hard to know where to start. But off the top of my head; "Contribute what they can" in what way, proportional to finances, to time, to physical ability or proficiency? "Reap rewards" what kind of rewards does that even mean? Awards, like medals and commendations? Money? Christmas presents? "Proportional to the usefulness of their contribution to society" is the big one. What qualifies as a "Contribution to society"? Who decides what is "Useful" and how do we judge different degrees of usefulness? And then, who decides what is "Proportional" to that usefulness?
The whole process is ridiculous and amusing. Society doesn't exist to reward people for doing their jobs. The entire concept of the "Social Contract" as established by Socrates and developed further by Locke states that societies were created and exist to help and protect individuals from hostile outside or inside forces, and that by staying in a society, you're implicitly agreeing to follow their rules and play within their system. And that system is designed to help ALL of those people, not some absurdly defined minority who are the most "Useful" to society, and when ALL people cannot be helped, the majority is substituted.
So here's a thought; when people make claims about how society "Should" be, keep in mind what it actually is, and how it got there. And don't make vague statements in the "Ought" form, since they're generally poorly-formed and irrelevant. Society exists to help the majority, and when those few thousand very privileged people (who generally INHERITED that position coughBushcough) start ranting about how they should be treated differently because of their position in society, they should keep in mind that the millions of people upon whom THEY rely could easily shove a pitchfork up their privileged asses at a moment's notice.
posted by Burn1nMyLight at 6:23 PM
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