A Trite Parable
(Before I start, Ive been a bad, neglectful, SG friend and participant lately. Sorry.)
There were two islands, far enough away to take a long boat ride to travel between them. One of the islands, Fruitopia, was surrounded by many fish and well stocked with fruit trees, and the islanders could make a living fishing the rich waters, or harvesting the fruits that grew in abundance. The other island, Oilivia, was differently blessed, more arid in foodstuffs, but with many deposits of oil and minerals underground.
Over time, the citizens of Fruitopia fished and harvested, some harder and more diligently than others. Those who worked harder (and smarter) and made more effort tended to reap their rewards, and built up their wealth. As years went by, some of the fishers and farmers became built up their own businesses and quite rich, while others less diligent were less financially affluent, but had to work less hard and take less responsibility.
Over on Oilivia, the people searched around for oil and minerals. Those who did strike it lucky were indeed lucky. Many people expended much time and effort searching and digging hopefully, but only some were successful. Over time, those who were successful early were able to invest in more and better exploration techniques to try and improve their chances of future success in their efforts. The result was, as further time passed, wealth started to accumulate in the coffers of certain families, while others who had not managed to make successful strikes earlier were unable to take advantage of the newly developing technologies that improved chances of successful drilling.
On both islands, as the populations grew wealthier and more numerous, they sought to elect officials to lead and administer the affairs of their respective islands, their economies and societies. One day, the two elected leaders had a meeting to discuss their islands relationship and compare notes.
The leader of Fruitopia noted that taxes were moderate on the island, and used to fund a few basic services. The income distribution on the island was not too unequal, and there was a sense that those who were wealthy had worked hard to earn it. Fruitopias leader mused that some social services might need to be put into place.
Some of the folks on the island end up in a bad way. Boats sink, people get injured, and some families lose their ability to earn. Mostly, we have insurance now, so most of these cases are sorted out by peoples private arrangements. But you have some cases, like the family whose husband drank and was violent. Hes in jail now, his wife spent time in hospital, and their kids had to be looked after by neighbours. I want to set up a better system, where we find ways to look after people in real trouble, although it requires a slight increase in taxes. How are things on your island?
The other leader said Well, things are interesting. We have quite a situation with some people getting quite rich, and other people doing it quite tough. Ive been trying to get support from the citizenry for a slight increase in taxes to fund some social programs to look after some of the people who are having a hard time making ends meet, but often these initiatives get voted down, since the rich folks are quite influential as you can possibly imagine. And I worry about what it means for our islands future, since already were dividing into those with and those without. The children of the wealthy go to the best new schools that have been built, and they go into their family businesses and have all the advantages, while other children simply dont start with the same possibilities. Ive met some of the richer children and theyre distinctly untalented, while some of the kids not born into wealth are smart and determined. Im not sure quite what to do about this. Its not just that it seems somewhat unfair, but I dont think it augurs well for how we will develop as a society in future.
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The point is not that these correspond to particular countries or societies. What the point is, is that the world is complicated, and some types of wealth creation rely more on luck than others, and not all inequality is indicative of who earned or deserved whatever they end up with.
(Before I start, Ive been a bad, neglectful, SG friend and participant lately. Sorry.)
There were two islands, far enough away to take a long boat ride to travel between them. One of the islands, Fruitopia, was surrounded by many fish and well stocked with fruit trees, and the islanders could make a living fishing the rich waters, or harvesting the fruits that grew in abundance. The other island, Oilivia, was differently blessed, more arid in foodstuffs, but with many deposits of oil and minerals underground.
Over time, the citizens of Fruitopia fished and harvested, some harder and more diligently than others. Those who worked harder (and smarter) and made more effort tended to reap their rewards, and built up their wealth. As years went by, some of the fishers and farmers became built up their own businesses and quite rich, while others less diligent were less financially affluent, but had to work less hard and take less responsibility.
Over on Oilivia, the people searched around for oil and minerals. Those who did strike it lucky were indeed lucky. Many people expended much time and effort searching and digging hopefully, but only some were successful. Over time, those who were successful early were able to invest in more and better exploration techniques to try and improve their chances of future success in their efforts. The result was, as further time passed, wealth started to accumulate in the coffers of certain families, while others who had not managed to make successful strikes earlier were unable to take advantage of the newly developing technologies that improved chances of successful drilling.
On both islands, as the populations grew wealthier and more numerous, they sought to elect officials to lead and administer the affairs of their respective islands, their economies and societies. One day, the two elected leaders had a meeting to discuss their islands relationship and compare notes.
The leader of Fruitopia noted that taxes were moderate on the island, and used to fund a few basic services. The income distribution on the island was not too unequal, and there was a sense that those who were wealthy had worked hard to earn it. Fruitopias leader mused that some social services might need to be put into place.
Some of the folks on the island end up in a bad way. Boats sink, people get injured, and some families lose their ability to earn. Mostly, we have insurance now, so most of these cases are sorted out by peoples private arrangements. But you have some cases, like the family whose husband drank and was violent. Hes in jail now, his wife spent time in hospital, and their kids had to be looked after by neighbours. I want to set up a better system, where we find ways to look after people in real trouble, although it requires a slight increase in taxes. How are things on your island?
The other leader said Well, things are interesting. We have quite a situation with some people getting quite rich, and other people doing it quite tough. Ive been trying to get support from the citizenry for a slight increase in taxes to fund some social programs to look after some of the people who are having a hard time making ends meet, but often these initiatives get voted down, since the rich folks are quite influential as you can possibly imagine. And I worry about what it means for our islands future, since already were dividing into those with and those without. The children of the wealthy go to the best new schools that have been built, and they go into their family businesses and have all the advantages, while other children simply dont start with the same possibilities. Ive met some of the richer children and theyre distinctly untalented, while some of the kids not born into wealth are smart and determined. Im not sure quite what to do about this. Its not just that it seems somewhat unfair, but I dont think it augurs well for how we will develop as a society in future.
_________________________________________________
The point is not that these correspond to particular countries or societies. What the point is, is that the world is complicated, and some types of wealth creation rely more on luck than others, and not all inequality is indicative of who earned or deserved whatever they end up with.
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that thread officially makes my head hurt. paternalistic crap makes me want to vomit. especially when followed by worthless excuses for why SG is different.