Should Government Stay Out of Social Policy Altogether?

[Banefull]

Originally Posted by redpaintednavi

Well, fredom is relative. Poor people are never free in a capitalist society. They are always limited in their actions because of lack of resources.



Most people are not unemployed or poor because they are not willing to job, that is just a typical American (and capitalist) myth that obscures reality. Most people are poor because there is unequality in the distribution of resources in a society. And that unequality is there because the system allows a parasitic class that thrives on others work.
Many people that are poor actually work, some have even two or three jobs and are still not able to fully support themselves or their families. Instad the revenues of their jobs goes to others that are more apt at using the system to their own benefit.
Such injustices ofcourse create alienation among many people, leading some of them into antisocial behaviour (like crime, using drugs and similar).
To decrease alienation all people must have a fair share of societal resources, those resources can not be limited for just a few.
So if people want to live in a society that is not full of violence and drugs and other social problems they just have to be prepared to share with others.

Is anyone completely 100% free? The resources of the rich aren't unlimited.

I agree that poverty is not a result of laziness or any lack of trying on their part, its something they are born into; however, when it comes to violence I disagree. There is a high association between violence and poverty these days but there isn't a direct cause and effect relationship. There are plenty of poor people who live perfectly happy lives around the world. A lot of poor people in third world countries are happier than most rich people in the developed world. If you go back in history, the crime rate among the poor people in 1st world countries was not always so high amongst the poor.

Something had to change but what? I would say that its our values.