(March 6, 2017 at 4:06 am)InquiringMind Wrote:
What are your thoughts?
That a good proportion of people want equality but not everyone and certainly not the majority at this point in time. I, for example, like the idea of the type of comfort that being wealthy or selfish might bring however I realise that comes at a price that others pay on my behalf therefore I have to reject that social model because I want to reduce the amount of harm I do to others, directly or indirectly. Many people feel the same however one of the biggest mistakes that socialist thinkers have made in recent times is assuming that, deep down, everyone wants equality. Brexit and Trump are perfect examples of what I mean, as is the success of right-wing politics in Europe. Certain demographics have been convinced that their well-being is more important than that of others, taking advantage of their fear and desire for comfort, feeding their selfishness. This has caused measurable harm to those both out and in the 'in' group demonstrating a powerful message; people will actively harm themselves to perpetuate a social model that provides privilege because the notion exists that they might become one of the privileged and that they should fear not being privileged. It's a powerful message to some and they'll trample on the rights and opportunities of others to that end.
It is, in socio-liberalist terms, deplorable behaviour and the sting is that it's completely avoidable. Social studies have demonstrated that behaviour such as this is learned. We are teaching each other harmful lessons and doing a piss-poor job of policing the consequences, both in opposing those lessons to minimise their propogation, in acting to prevent any harmful actions of those who have learned them and in providing support to those who feel the consequences of those actions.
For me, the most powerful equaliser is the demonstration that no end is achievable if you remove any critical point of added value. A company requires a CEO however without a salesman, the CEO has nothing but a corporate shell; the salesman is nothing without those creating the product; groups of people, working together, require managers to help them organise effort but without the work, management is meaningless; an office may provide a suitable place for work to be carries out but without sanitation, the workforce will quickly fall ill and inoperative. There are countless examples of this however we continue to consider the CEO as more important than a cleaner. The phrase I use to counter that perspective is that 'all work of value is of equal value' consequently, given the value provided by a process or set of processes, all participants should be equally rewarded.
I also see certain governmental responsibilities as necessary to support that type of society: a median level of remuneration, housing, healthcare, education and sustenance must be provided but I think that's a different thread.
Sum ergo sum
