I do believe most political positions gain the support they do because they speak to some truth, or at least a partial truth. The problem comes from applying those truths to the wrong situations, trying to make grand sweeping statements, and (of course) our tendency to confuse our own self-interest with the public good.
So I did want to discuss some of the problems with common political positions, though I've kind of cycled through which ones and where to start. One day it's the liberal side of things, the next it's the conservative. (I used a rather general term here, because critiquing the Christian conservative movement is different from critiquing the Libertarian movement, as is critiquing other more liberal positions.)
I wanted to start with a hypothetical allegory:
Imagine a 10 yr old boy learning to cook. He just loves sweets, and making brownies or cookies whenever he wants is appealing. But, like most of us, he absolutely hates doing the dishes. So after mixing up the batter, licking clean the beater, and scraping it all into a pan to bake, he decides to just throw away all the dirty dishes and buy new ones.
He can afford to do this, after all. So those dirty dishes get thrown in the trash, and perhaps wind up in a landfill. Or perhaps they get sent somewhere for recycling, and people sort through the trash and find a way to reuse these perfectly good mixing bowls, beaters, and spatulas. Sure, they're dirty...and the bits of food left on them have started to mold. But someone can take the time to clean them off and find a use for them.
Meanwhile, the boy is creating demand for new mixing bowls and beaters...since every time he decides to make a sweet he is buying new cookware. (Granted, one boy by himself might not do that...but if enough other boys do the same, it would.)
You could argue that this is good for business - it makes money for the mixer, beater, and spatula factories. It employs people to meet the demand. It may even help employ people further down the supply chain, with whoever is sorting the trash and recovering useful bits.
Though, at the same time, the resources used to create those mixers, beaters and spatulas could perhaps be used to make something else. And the people employed by that business could perhaps find jobs in a different industry. The higher demand for mixers, beaters and spatulas could lead to a price increase that makes it harder for some families to buy them (they would, of course, wash their own dishes and reuse them.) And the people at the other end, the ones who sort through waste to find useful products, could probably find a different industry as well.
And if you asked him to do the dishes (after years of throwing them away and buying new dishes instead) would throw a fit about how what you're demanding is bad for business. He can't make as many brownies or cookies if he has to wash the dishes every time!!! And what about the people who are employed making those dishes?
All of which may, superficially, be true. And, on another level, is a lie.
At the end of the day, you still have a spoiled rich kid who doesn't want to clean up after himself.
(Btw, do take a look at what happens to some of our waste when we're done with it.)
So I did want to discuss some of the problems with common political positions, though I've kind of cycled through which ones and where to start. One day it's the liberal side of things, the next it's the conservative. (I used a rather general term here, because critiquing the Christian conservative movement is different from critiquing the Libertarian movement, as is critiquing other more liberal positions.)
I wanted to start with a hypothetical allegory:
Imagine a 10 yr old boy learning to cook. He just loves sweets, and making brownies or cookies whenever he wants is appealing. But, like most of us, he absolutely hates doing the dishes. So after mixing up the batter, licking clean the beater, and scraping it all into a pan to bake, he decides to just throw away all the dirty dishes and buy new ones.
He can afford to do this, after all. So those dirty dishes get thrown in the trash, and perhaps wind up in a landfill. Or perhaps they get sent somewhere for recycling, and people sort through the trash and find a way to reuse these perfectly good mixing bowls, beaters, and spatulas. Sure, they're dirty...and the bits of food left on them have started to mold. But someone can take the time to clean them off and find a use for them.
Meanwhile, the boy is creating demand for new mixing bowls and beaters...since every time he decides to make a sweet he is buying new cookware. (Granted, one boy by himself might not do that...but if enough other boys do the same, it would.)
You could argue that this is good for business - it makes money for the mixer, beater, and spatula factories. It employs people to meet the demand. It may even help employ people further down the supply chain, with whoever is sorting the trash and recovering useful bits.
Though, at the same time, the resources used to create those mixers, beaters and spatulas could perhaps be used to make something else. And the people employed by that business could perhaps find jobs in a different industry. The higher demand for mixers, beaters and spatulas could lead to a price increase that makes it harder for some families to buy them (they would, of course, wash their own dishes and reuse them.) And the people at the other end, the ones who sort through waste to find useful products, could probably find a different industry as well.
And if you asked him to do the dishes (after years of throwing them away and buying new dishes instead) would throw a fit about how what you're demanding is bad for business. He can't make as many brownies or cookies if he has to wash the dishes every time!!! And what about the people who are employed making those dishes?
All of which may, superficially, be true. And, on another level, is a lie.
At the end of the day, you still have a spoiled rich kid who doesn't want to clean up after himself.
(Btw, do take a look at what happens to some of our waste when we're done with it.)
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