Two Moralities

[arbat]

Paul Krugman decided that he had acquired just the reputation one needs to write a post on moralities. Here is a quote:

One side of American politics considers the modern welfare state — a private-enterprise economy, but one in which society’s winners are taxed to pay for a social safety net — morally superior to the capitalism red in tooth and claw we had before the New Deal. It’s only right, this side believes, for the affluent to help the less fortunate.

The other side believes that people have a right to keep what they earn, and that taxing them to support others, no matter how needy, amounts to theft. That’s what lies behind the modern right’s fondness for violent rhetoric: many activists on the right really do see taxes and regulation as tyrannical impositions on their liberty.

Now, one part of this statement is a lie. This is a standard liberal lie (apparently, repeating it leaves conscience of a liberal undisturbed). They pretend that the difference between us and them is that they think "it’s only right for the affluent to help the less fortunate", and we think that there should be no help.

True truth, of course, is - we do believe that people should help each other. Which is why we do help. On our own, and from our own pockets. Liberals help from someone else's.

The difference is not that they are willing to help others and we are not. The difference is, - they believe they have the right to choose charitable cause for me, and then force me to contribute to it.

The difference is they believe that they are so much better people than me, that they are entitled more than me, - to decide what to do with the fruits of my labor.

P.S. Don't even start with "liberals contribute their own money too". When one wants to contribute his own money, one does not need government's help to do that. The only purpose of creating the government run charity is to force contributions from other people.

Comments

[tristes-tigres.livejournal.com]

I have not read anything in the user arbat's journal except this thread. However, I am willing to bet arbat's income bracket is at least an order of magnitude below that of his interlocutor larvatus

[arbat.livejournal.com]

May I ask what do you base your estimate on?
And, second question - how would you propose to structure the bet?

[tristes-tigres.livejournal.com]

> May I ask what do you base your estimate on?

My experience suggests that vehement libertarians tend to belong to the social strata that is likely to need some form of social assistance now or in the future. Case to the point - Ayn Rand: An interview (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-ford/ayn-rand-and-the-vip-dipe_b_792184.html) with Evva Pryror, a social worker and consultant to Miss Rand's law firm of Ernst, Cane, Gitlin and Winick verified that on Miss Rand's behalf she secured Rand's Social Security and Medicare payments which Ayn received under the name of Ann O'Connor (husband Frank O'Connor).

[arbat.livejournal.com]

Yes, I am aware of this habit of the left: first, you force us to buy government-run insurance. Than, if we ever dare to try getting OUR money back from that scheme, - you pretend that you did us a favor and blame us for being hypocritical. Quite disgusting, if I may say so.

That out of the way, let's get back to your proposal.

First, I do not want anyone to say that I took advantage of you. So, in this case I will offer you all the benefits of my wisdom, ability to read and knowledge of the subject.

So, let me help you do a brief analysis. From my "all tags" page, one can conclude that I am a programmer. Further, reading my programming tag (going through the comments helps too), one can conclude that I am quite possibly a good one. On the same page one can find evidence that I am not a novice either.

Just as is easily you can figure out that I live in the New Yorke Metro area.

So, you need to make an estimate of an annual income of a reasonably good, experience software developer in that region.



Now, onto my second question: how would you propose to structure the bet?