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Thanks for the spot @mcraddock. However, I know. I've known for a long long time that as the sea level rises then my home, my village will be under water and I'll be living in a caravan whilst paying to see my home demolished (a legal requirement for homes lost to sea). https://twitter.com/Yakus/status/1327542716931186688
X : If you've known then why haven't you sold your home?
Me : Then somebody else would have that problem. I know the old maxim of "buyer beware" but I won't knowingly cause harm to others.
Me : Then somebody else would have that problem. I know the old maxim of "buyer beware" but I won't knowingly cause harm to others.
There are several things I won't knowingly do ... I won't cause harm to others, I won't lie, I won't exploit my situation for gain or unfair advantage and I won't allow harm to be done by others. The last bit is the most important but has got me into numerous tricky moments ...
... but inaction is an action. So in order to "do no evil", you cannot simply say "it wasn't me" because inaction in the face of evil is support of the evil that is being done.
For me, the wealth of a person is in the kindness of their actions not the size of their bank account. I have friends who are millionaires, billionaires and stony broke. The money is immaterial, a stupid game that divides and prevents us from being the best that we could be.
That some have excess and others scramble to survive is simply a symptom of the utter idiocy of our market system and the complete failure of our political leadership. This hampers the progress of our society.
Even obvious steps like Universal Basic Income are continuously beaten with the mace of "individual choice". But "We" are not just individuals, "We" belong to a society. Our progress and success is as a society, as a collective. That matters more than the tools (market) we use.
At some future point we are going to need to have that discussion on the balance between "Me" vs "We", between "the ethics of choice" vs "the ethics of care", between "the market" vs "the society", between "the instrument" vs "the purpose".
As it currently stands, especially in the UK, then we are growing weaker on purpose, on society, on care and on "We". Instead we are growing stronger on the instrument, the market, choice and "Me". I doubt this is sustainable and COVID has exposed us for all our failings.
X : Are you a pacifist?
Me : No. Tolerance requires the intolerance of intolerance. In the same way - to allow no harm to be done requires harm to be done to those who would do harm. These are the great debates, the balance between one and the other.
Me : No. Tolerance requires the intolerance of intolerance. In the same way - to allow no harm to be done requires harm to be done to those who would do harm. These are the great debates, the balance between one and the other.
X : Example?
Me : The purpose of Government is to serve its citizens according to their needs. If you have people hungry then Gov needs to provide and can raise funds through taxation. Obviously that tax impacts on the needs of others ... so it becomes a balancing exercise ...
Me : The purpose of Government is to serve its citizens according to their needs. If you have people hungry then Gov needs to provide and can raise funds through taxation. Obviously that tax impacts on the needs of others ... so it becomes a balancing exercise ...
... i.e in this example whether the harm caused to many (through hunger) outweighs the harm caused to a few (through excessive taxation). It's a question of balance, of harm and needs, of the many and the few. Where we draw the line says a lot about the values of our society.
X : The US?
Me : The US is a very complex beast.
X : Why?
Me : The US by nature is a highly socialist country but it is in total denial over its own socialism mostly because of its own mechanisms of education i.e. Fox news viewers being pro national healthcare but anti socialism.
Me : The US is a very complex beast.
X : Why?
Me : The US by nature is a highly socialist country but it is in total denial over its own socialism mostly because of its own mechanisms of education i.e. Fox news viewers being pro national healthcare but anti socialism.
This is then just compounded by complete misunderstandings of how the economy works and relentless efforts by bad actors for reasons of naked self interest to equate socialism with communism.
X : Try explaining that to the stupid poor.
Me : The poor aren't stupid, they're just under immense pressure and stress. The narrative of stupid poor is simply one of the privileged justifying to themselves that their wealth is due to ability when it rarely is.
Me : The poor aren't stupid, they're just under immense pressure and stress. The narrative of stupid poor is simply one of the privileged justifying to themselves that their wealth is due to ability when it rarely is.
X : Executives suffer stress.
Me : Not comparable, that's just pandering. Take the relentless pressure and stress of a single mum living in poverty with no end in sight ... your average executive would collapse into a total wreck with a month of that with no escape route.
Me : Not comparable, that's just pandering. Take the relentless pressure and stress of a single mum living in poverty with no end in sight ... your average executive would collapse into a total wreck with a month of that with no escape route.
It's not just the condition (i.e. having to make hard choices on who to feed) that gets you but the ongoing relentlessness with no escape route that destroys you. Anyone could do "poor for a day" but not when there is no clear path out. Most with privilege have never faced that.
X : Are you saying executives don't face stress?
Me : No, it's just not comparable to the widespread pressure and stress of poverty. Poverty is classified as a disease by the WHO due to horrendous deaths it causes. I don't remember the WHO adding executive stress to that list.
Me : No, it's just not comparable to the widespread pressure and stress of poverty. Poverty is classified as a disease by the WHO due to horrendous deaths it causes. I don't remember the WHO adding executive stress to that list.
