But, KC, if you wish and feel and can be charitable towards the poor or the dispossesed, as an individual, why may the Govt ( in expression of such charity in the hearts of its citizens ) not be so charitable and take the lead at institutionalising such charity, perhaps with the participation of NGOs ?
That is, why can we not have both capitalism and socialism, if we can judge their respective rightful place in the society ? After all, the Govt does step in, say in infrastructure, when it is not ' profitable ' for the capitalist to invest. Or, organise transportation or postal services in more inaccessible or sparsely populated areas ... the so called non - commercial areas. Again, we know what happens when things are left free to market dynamics. It all works fine within a range or band of conditions, not at ' critical ' points. Even in fine conditions, the market practices need to monitored and constrained, which is the Govt's job, so that things remain fine and not turn exploitative. My take is there always critical points in the society, that otherwise seems fine to the middle or upper class in urban and semi - urban areas. I speak of the poor everywhere ... They too need to be served and helped, not left to the charity of mere individuals but aided by the State as a matter of State policy, duty and people's right. The market is a good servant but an unwise master, KC ! As Gandhi said, there's enough for all our need, not greed. On Jan 22, 10:43 am, Kierkecraig <[email protected]> wrote: > > Poor means a lot of things to a lot of people. Until you've experienced the > > factual inability to buy your baby the medicine he or she needs to get > > better, no matter what you do, because there's nothing to pawn, no bill you > > can delay, simply nothing in the bank, hell, no bank account to even write a > > bad check on, then you will continue to operate from the perspective that > > all poor people need to do is pick themselves up by their bootstraps and > > "choose" a different life for themselves. Believe me when I say, self > > determination only leads you to the port of Opportunity. You still have to > > wait for a ship to pull in. I've been hangin here harborside for better than > > a decade now. > > Medicine for the baby, bank accounts, and all the other marvels of our > modern world can all be accredited to free market capitalism. Should > we forsake the project, just because not everyone benefits equally? I > never claimed that capitalism was perfect. There is nothing perfect > in this world we live in. Democracy is far from perfect. Capitalism > is far from perfect. But they are the best we have. Capitalism, I > believe is much better than socialism. Democracy, I believe, is much > better than Communism. They aren't perfect theories, or systems, but > they are the best. > > I do feel for the poor, and that is why, when I can, I contribute to > charity. Right now I can't as much as I'd like to since I'm in a > position where it would be nice to have contributions flowing my way > (I'm unemployed), but I will certainly do so when I get in a position > to. Thats what being a part of humanity is all about. That is what > it means to be "charitable." That is what it means to be virtuous. > Having the government come in and take my money away and give it to > someone else is not me being virtuous. It is me being pissed off. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
