Thursday, February 26, 2009

Our Obligation To Help The Vulnerable

Some of my more malicious students ask impertinent and libelous questions such as: "To what extent are we responsible for assisting the poor and the vulnerable?"


Well...aside from removing any possibility of getting a passing grade, such questions also require legal action that holds these "students" (traitors, really) personally liable for damages. And, yes, this is a remarkably stupid question, completely beneath my stature to answer, and an incredibly inefficient use of my massive brain power.

That said.

Let's start with a state of nature, where wealth can be measured on a scale. Let's say that the poorest person is a "0" and the richest person is a "10". We, as a society, as a community, and as a nation, collectively decide to follow the advice of our moral leaders who decide that no person shall have a wealth beneath a "3".

At that point, people from "3" to "10" are asked to voluntarily contribute money to the impoverished "0" to "2" crowd in order to avoid imprisonment. And we use democratic principles to ensure that most people do not pay this tax; preferably, only the "8" through "10" people will pay it. And with any luck, these richest people (formerly "8" to "10") will become "7" people, as no one has the right to be rich in the presence of so much human suffering.

Now, after this transfer, our improved society has a wealth distribution of "3" to "7" instead of the original "0" to "10".

Do you know anything about scales? Probably not. So pay attention: The "3" people are rescaled to "0" because they are the poorest, and the "7" people are rescaled to "10" because they are the richest. That brings us back to an unjust "0" to "10" society.

And because injustice requires justice, and since we as a society, a community, and a nation have already declared that "0" to "2" is unacceptable (to say nothing of the unequal distribution of wealth), we repeat the process to eliminate poverty -- and spread the wealth -- once again. And, again, it is done in a democratic fashion, since the majority of people, "0" through "7", will either get a well-deserved government check in the mail, or are unaffected.

Rescale the old "3-to-7" to the new "0-to-10".

Redistribute.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Does a "0" still look different from a "10"?

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

In the end, we will achieve social and economic justice when everyone has the same "wealth number".

4 comments:

trickyDick said...

Professor, your commentary is as always insightful. Unfortunately i am not in your class but on the other hand it makes possible for me to ask you the following question without risking my academic carreer. Are you really suggesting that redistribution will end after the same wealth number is achieved? Then what about the opressed - the womyn, sun people, transgendered and the like? Should the opressors (you and me in particular) not compensate them beyond what is considered "equal" by the economists? And what is equal anyways? Is it not yet another notion produced by the KKKapitalist science? Can we really apply our outdated scientific paradigms to the new reality? In other words how does one measure Hope or Change? I presume, today's science should be shattered like the chains of KKKapitalism were, you and me should step back and give way to the opressed and the diverse.

Speaking of diversity. While browsing the interwebs in search of thoughtcrime to report i came upon this profoundly diverse video: http://p5y.org/pages/peace-five-years . I am sure it will make you weep with joy and roll in your bodily fluids. Note how they reject only the politically-organized wars! This means that the Palestinian People's struggle against the zionist opression can go on further even after the deadline! Or can it be a kind of a deadline for the Iran to deal with the Zionist Entity in a politically-organized way?

Anonymous said...

gee wally, that's why we have wars,

and for your 4th PhD

the word Shame derived from someone being caught fucking the sheep before slaughter.

I give freely, no need to thank

Anonymous said...

Hint: just print out my comments all the way down this page

you will find IAMS ( sorry can't say my name it just kills people)
e-mail

well just don't print them out I just learnt it won't be like movin pictures when you flip them like roman cards (and if you ain't heard of them that was my biggest ass woppin on ....hmmm jews got the PhD! Oh! And whose Your daddy?

Anonymous said...

oh and the sheeps comments are not about you being gay so relax and enjoy

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