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  4. Why I support Social Darwinism

Why I support Social Darwinism

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loungelearning
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  • L Lost User

    Christian Graus wrote:

    why is the most efficient insurance possible, evil

    Private insurance company's need to produce a profit for their shareholders. The greater the efficiency the greater the potential profits can be. And while having copious quantities of "fine print" that is incorporated within the contract, any minor deviation, or negligence or indiscretion, that you as "the customer" has that call into play such fine print. It is not unreasonable for insurance providers to have complex terms and conditions, but the failing is where you (and them) need lawyers to argue the meaning of such terms and conditions. And, of course, the lawyers for the insurance company are specialists in finding cause to not provide that for which you, the customer, thought did. But what would be reasonable is if the "fine print" was written in larger text and in plain English rather than gobbledygook that no ordinary person can hope to comprehend. Mind you, "efficient", that could be explained in other ways and not necessarily in the way above.

    Christian Graus wrote:

    I favour the AU system,

    Yep, and I also appreciate the UK's NHS. There is private healthcare available in the UK and sometimes our NHS uses (as in purchase) such facilities as well.

    Christian Graus wrote:

    You guys pay a lot more than we do.

    National Insurance in the UK is expensive. The monies collected from National Insurance and general taxation has, to some extent, got blurred by our Treasury. The money going into NHS maybe more or maybe less than collected from National Insurance contributions.

    modified on Sunday, May 30, 2010 4:13 PM

    C Offline
    C Offline
    Christian Graus
    wrote on last edited by
    #23

    Richard A. Abbott wrote:

    Private insurance company's need to produce a profit for their shareholders. The greater the efficiency the greater the potential profits can be.

    Bollocks. You're living in a dream. Private insurers need to make a profit. A state run insurance, does not. That's the first point at which it is cheaper. The second is the point at which the risk is shared by more people, b/c everyone is in it. Every inefficiency that could exist in government, can equally exist in the business sector.

    Richard A. Abbott wrote:

    But what would be reasonable is if the "fine print" was written in larger text and in plain English rather than gobbledygook that no ordinary person can hope to comprehend.

    A private insurer does not have the interest that government has, in society being healthy. The clauses are designed to increase profit, not to meet people's needs.

    Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.

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    • L Lost User

      Christian Graus wrote:

      why is the most efficient insurance possible, evil

      Private insurance company's need to produce a profit for their shareholders. The greater the efficiency the greater the potential profits can be. And while having copious quantities of "fine print" that is incorporated within the contract, any minor deviation, or negligence or indiscretion, that you as "the customer" has that call into play such fine print. It is not unreasonable for insurance providers to have complex terms and conditions, but the failing is where you (and them) need lawyers to argue the meaning of such terms and conditions. And, of course, the lawyers for the insurance company are specialists in finding cause to not provide that for which you, the customer, thought did. But what would be reasonable is if the "fine print" was written in larger text and in plain English rather than gobbledygook that no ordinary person can hope to comprehend. Mind you, "efficient", that could be explained in other ways and not necessarily in the way above.

      Christian Graus wrote:

      I favour the AU system,

      Yep, and I also appreciate the UK's NHS. There is private healthcare available in the UK and sometimes our NHS uses (as in purchase) such facilities as well.

      Christian Graus wrote:

      You guys pay a lot more than we do.

      National Insurance in the UK is expensive. The monies collected from National Insurance and general taxation has, to some extent, got blurred by our Treasury. The money going into NHS maybe more or maybe less than collected from National Insurance contributions.

      modified on Sunday, May 30, 2010 4:13 PM

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #24

      State health services typically run at 90% efficiency. HMOs in the US run at 70%.

      Join the cool kids - Come fold with us[^]

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      • C Christian Graus

        Richard A. Abbott wrote:

        Private insurance company's need to produce a profit for their shareholders. The greater the efficiency the greater the potential profits can be.

        Bollocks. You're living in a dream. Private insurers need to make a profit. A state run insurance, does not. That's the first point at which it is cheaper. The second is the point at which the risk is shared by more people, b/c everyone is in it. Every inefficiency that could exist in government, can equally exist in the business sector.

        Richard A. Abbott wrote:

        But what would be reasonable is if the "fine print" was written in larger text and in plain English rather than gobbledygook that no ordinary person can hope to comprehend.

        A private insurer does not have the interest that government has, in society being healthy. The clauses are designed to increase profit, not to meet people's needs.

        Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.

        L Offline
        L Offline
        Lost User
        wrote on last edited by
        #25

        Christian Graus wrote:

        Every inefficiency that could exist in government, can equally exist in the business sector.

        Not unless the private insurer is acting as though they are a monopoly. In the business sector, the inefficiency of dead wood is not usually tolerated, and chopped out, otherwise it affect the bottom line.

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        • L Lost User

          RichardM1 wrote:

          Did you have such a boring weekend that you decided to troll?

          No. It is a serious response to Captain SeeVee's post. He did not respond to a request for his concept of Social Darwinism, so I posted my concept, the working of free market capitalism, to which the term was originally applied.

          Bob Emmett

          R Offline
          R Offline
          riced
          wrote on last edited by
          #26

          Bob Emmett wrote:

          the working of free market capitalism, to which the term was originally applied.

          I thought it came from the likes of Herbert Spencer and was used to justify unbridled free market economics. It seems to be a conflation of misinterpreted Darwinism and a particular political stance. And, as GE Moore rightly pointed out, it's founded on a logic that commits the naturalistic fallacy.

          Regards David R --------------------------------------------------------------- "Every program eventually becomes rococo, and then rubble." - Alan Perlis The only valid measurement of code quality: WTFs/minute.

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          • L Lost User

            Social Darwinism is the philosophy of true free market capitalism. It holds that the main purpose of government is to defend the nation against foreign invasion and to protect citizens and their property from criminals. It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity. It maintains the rights of property owners. It opposes laws that regulate housing, sanitation, and health conditions, together with working conditions, maximum hours and minimum wages, as interfering with those rights. It supports the freedom of individual workers to negotiate their terms of employment, rather than have them imposed by unions. It rejects the concept of a government funded school system, which places the burden of education on the taxpayer. Simply put, parents are responsible for the literacy and numeracy of their children. Should industry require specific skills in its workforce, it must meet the cost of selecting and training individuals through scholarships and apprenticeships. It rejects the concept of government funded healthcare, again placing the responsibility upon the individual to make provision for their, and their family's, health. It encourages the characteristics of industriousness, frugality, the desire to own property, and the ability to accumulate wealth, as being beneficial both to the individual and society. Social Darwinism thus ensures the evolution of civilization towards a peaceful, industrious, society, by a form of 'natural selection'.

            Bob Emmett

            D Offline
            D Offline
            Distind
            wrote on last edited by
            #27

            Bob Emmett wrote:

            It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity.

            In theory, in practice it's the most blatant display of entitlement by those who consider themselves to be above everyone else, who are obviously simply idle and stupid, otherwise they'd be successful and have money too. Because what is there possibly that could cause someone to not be able to have money? While at the same time is used to declare that those successful people should not have to pay those stupid, idle loafers any more than a pence a day because if they were worth anything, they would have money. It's fucking asinine. Personally, I just say take the safety labels off anything short of industrial equipment. That should curb stupidity fairly quickly.

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            • D Distind

              Bob Emmett wrote:

              It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity.

              In theory, in practice it's the most blatant display of entitlement by those who consider themselves to be above everyone else, who are obviously simply idle and stupid, otherwise they'd be successful and have money too. Because what is there possibly that could cause someone to not be able to have money? While at the same time is used to declare that those successful people should not have to pay those stupid, idle loafers any more than a pence a day because if they were worth anything, they would have money. It's fucking asinine. Personally, I just say take the safety labels off anything short of industrial equipment. That should curb stupidity fairly quickly.

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              P Offline
              phannon86
              wrote on last edited by
              #28

              I saw an interesting label on a bottle of English mustard yesterday, under the allergens section on the back, it stated: "This product contains mustard". :|

              He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.

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              • P phannon86

                I saw an interesting label on a bottle of English mustard yesterday, under the allergens section on the back, it stated: "This product contains mustard". :|

                He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.

                J Offline
                J Offline
                Jorgen Sigvardsson
                wrote on last edited by
                #29

                I've seen similar labels on peanut bags: "May contain traces of nuts". NO SHIT SHERLOCK? :-D

                -- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit

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                • J Jorgen Sigvardsson

                  I've seen similar labels on peanut bags: "May contain traces of nuts". NO SHIT SHERLOCK? :-D

                  -- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit

                  I Offline
                  I Offline
                  Ian Shlasko
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #30

                  "Hold stick near centre of its length. Moisten pointed end in mouth. Insert in tooth space, blunt end next to gum. Use gentle in-out motion. 'It seemed to me,' said Wonko the Sane, 'that any civilization that had so far lost its head as to need to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a packet of toothpicks, was no longer a civilization in which I could live and stay sane.'" -- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

                  Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
                  Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

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                  • C Christian Graus

                    Bob Emmett wrote:

                    But there is no right to be the best you can be, merely an aspiration on one's own part.

                    It's not a question of rights, it's a question of what benefits society as a whole. It benefits society for people like the Wright Brothers and Bill Gates to be able to invent and innovate. OK, not Bill Gates. You get my point.

                    Bob Emmett wrote:

                    Parents are responsible for ensuring that their children are literate and numerate. That does not mean that they have to teach the children themselves. As stated, the equivalent of a Dame School is all that is required to teach the basics.

                    Well, again, you're saying that the poor cannot afford schooling, so their kids stay poor. The issue is not one of right, it's that society wins when people are educated.

                    Bob Emmett wrote:

                    Secondary education is obtained by applying for scholarships awarded by corporations. Similarly, further and higher education are provided by apprenticeships and scholarships.

                    So, capitalism is our friend, the companies shower us with benevolence, etc ? Why did they not do this then, before an element of socialism in government forced them to not exploit workers ?

                    Bob Emmett wrote:

                    Scholarships and apprenticeships are awarded on assessment of aptitude and ability. The education obtained is free at point of entry, but the successful are indentured to the corporation providing the education.

                    Ability and aptitude are not inate. They need to be nurtured. Those who cannot afford schooling will never show their ability or their aptitude,

                    Bob Emmett wrote:

                    There will always be uneducated manual labourers, and they will always be exploited, because they are not very bright.

                    So long as they can expect to have a roof over their head, and to be decently fed, and to not have to risk their lives at work, I have no problem with that.

                    Bob Emmett wrote:

                    Reworded slightly as: Lots of people looking for work, they get paid the market rate to do it, before being replaced by someone younger with newer credentials, and it describes IT. Not many uneducated manual labourers there.

                    Well, does it ? That's not my experience. I was 30 when I started and am 41 now, and my wage just keeps rising

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #31

                    Christian Graus wrote:

                    It's not a question of rights, it's a question of what benefits society as a whole.

                    And what benefits society as a whole is the generation of wealth. Didn't the Wright brothers build bicycles and so finance their innovation in aeronautics?

                    Christian Graus wrote:

                    Well, again, you're saying that the poor cannot afford schooling, so their kids stay poor.

                    You are also failing to note that we are starting from 21st century - not the 19th. We now have a large number of literate and numerate pensioners capable of providing a basic education.

                    Christian Graus wrote:

                    So, capitalism is our friend, the companies shower us with benevolence, etc ? Why did they not do this then, before an element of socialism in government forced them to not exploit workers ?

                    Capitalism is not your friend and is not benevolent. When the need for a numerate and literate workforce became apparent, government began to provide schooling, corporations were not required to provide it themselves - other than as craft apprenticeships. Capitalism will always make use of a 'free' resource. Workers are not exploited by being offered the market rate for their skill set. Offering any more renders a company less competitive in the market place. Unions become as exploitative as corporations, damaging the country's economy.

                    Christian Graus wrote:

                    Ability and aptitude are not inate.

                    They are. They are revealed by circumstance. Hence Gray's contemplation of the unrealised potential among the occupants of the Country Churchyard. Some Christian Grauss inglorious here may rest. Some Bill Gates, guiltless of his Microsoft. Any chance of a programming career in 1751? Where a corporation requires skills it will nurture them. It will provide the schooling (or poach from others who have done so - hence the indenturing).

                    Christian Graus wrote:

                    So long as they can expect to have a roof over their head, and to be decently fed, and to not have to risk their lives at work, I have no problem with that.

                    Great, then you will be among the first to contribute to the charitable concerns that will make this so. Though, as for risking their lives at work, that is a choice they must make for themselves.

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                    • L Lost User

                      Christian Graus wrote:

                      Every inefficiency that could exist in government, can equally exist in the business sector.

                      Not unless the private insurer is acting as though they are a monopoly. In the business sector, the inefficiency of dead wood is not usually tolerated, and chopped out, otherwise it affect the bottom line.

                      C Offline
                      C Offline
                      Christian Graus
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #32

                      Richard A. Abbott wrote:

                      n the business sector, the inefficiency of dead wood is not usually tolerated, and chopped out, otherwise it affect the bottom line.

                      So the story goes. But, it's not really true. So long as the business makes money, there are all sorts of reasons for inefficiencies to be allowed to exist.

                      Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.

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                      • L Lost User

                        Christian Graus wrote:

                        It's not a question of rights, it's a question of what benefits society as a whole.

                        And what benefits society as a whole is the generation of wealth. Didn't the Wright brothers build bicycles and so finance their innovation in aeronautics?

                        Christian Graus wrote:

                        Well, again, you're saying that the poor cannot afford schooling, so their kids stay poor.

                        You are also failing to note that we are starting from 21st century - not the 19th. We now have a large number of literate and numerate pensioners capable of providing a basic education.

                        Christian Graus wrote:

                        So, capitalism is our friend, the companies shower us with benevolence, etc ? Why did they not do this then, before an element of socialism in government forced them to not exploit workers ?

                        Capitalism is not your friend and is not benevolent. When the need for a numerate and literate workforce became apparent, government began to provide schooling, corporations were not required to provide it themselves - other than as craft apprenticeships. Capitalism will always make use of a 'free' resource. Workers are not exploited by being offered the market rate for their skill set. Offering any more renders a company less competitive in the market place. Unions become as exploitative as corporations, damaging the country's economy.

                        Christian Graus wrote:

                        Ability and aptitude are not inate.

                        They are. They are revealed by circumstance. Hence Gray's contemplation of the unrealised potential among the occupants of the Country Churchyard. Some Christian Grauss inglorious here may rest. Some Bill Gates, guiltless of his Microsoft. Any chance of a programming career in 1751? Where a corporation requires skills it will nurture them. It will provide the schooling (or poach from others who have done so - hence the indenturing).

                        Christian Graus wrote:

                        So long as they can expect to have a roof over their head, and to be decently fed, and to not have to risk their lives at work, I have no problem with that.

                        Great, then you will be among the first to contribute to the charitable concerns that will make this so. Though, as for risking their lives at work, that is a choice they must make for themselves.

                        C Offline
                        C Offline
                        Christian Graus
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #33

                        Bob Emmett wrote:

                        And what benefits society as a whole is the generation of wealth.

                        Rubbish. If you remove the existence of a middle class, you remove the possibility of wide spread wealth because you remove the market for most non essential services. The generation of wealth benefits the person who is wealthy, not society as a whole.

                        Bob Emmett wrote:

                        You are also failing to note that we are starting from 21st century - not the 19th. We now have a large number of literate and numerate pensioners capable of providing a basic education.

                        So you're saying they will do so for free ? Or you're saying if we don't pay a pension, they'll be forced to do it for whatever money people can afford to give them ? You're also neglecting that a truly free system resulted in boys being hired to do manual work from age 8 or 9. The issue is not just finding teachers, it's that if the market is free to exploit basic labourers any way it wants to, their kids will often be co-opted in to work at an early age to help make ends meet. At the end of the day, the differences between the 21st and 19th centuries, are the result of society NOT pursuing the policies you suggest.

                        Bob Emmett wrote:

                        Workers are not exploited by being offered the market rate for their skill set. Offering any more renders a company less competitive in the market place. Unions become as exploitative as corporations, damaging the country's economy.

                        Well, that depends on if you believe humans have any intrinsic value or worth, or if they are merely fleshy robots, free to be exploited for the good of the system. Walmart wants to sell goods as cheap as it can. So, it wants to keep it's costs down. If they can pay as little as they like, and if people have no other options, then the price they pay will push ever downwards, until people are working for less than it costs to live. Hell, I think that's already happened. People who have more than enough money to live benefit, because they can get cheaper goods as a result. A fair society has a real, livable minimum wage, which pushes prices up at Walmart, but the people with better jobs can afford that, they are simply required to pay a price for goods that reflects the people who make it possible being paid enough to live. That is a form of socialism, but it is also fair. That is an example of how pure capitalism works to ben

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                        • D Distind

                          Bob Emmett wrote:

                          It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity.

                          In theory, in practice it's the most blatant display of entitlement by those who consider themselves to be above everyone else, who are obviously simply idle and stupid, otherwise they'd be successful and have money too. Because what is there possibly that could cause someone to not be able to have money? While at the same time is used to declare that those successful people should not have to pay those stupid, idle loafers any more than a pence a day because if they were worth anything, they would have money. It's fucking asinine. Personally, I just say take the safety labels off anything short of industrial equipment. That should curb stupidity fairly quickly.

                          C Offline
                          C Offline
                          Christian Graus
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #34

                          Distind wrote:

                          In theory, in practice it's the most blatant display of entitlement by those who consider themselves to be above everyone else, who are obviously simply idle and stupid, otherwise they'd be successful and have money too

                          You forgot the joke icon.

                          Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.

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                          • L Lost User

                            Social Darwinism is the philosophy of true free market capitalism. It holds that the main purpose of government is to defend the nation against foreign invasion and to protect citizens and their property from criminals. It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity. It maintains the rights of property owners. It opposes laws that regulate housing, sanitation, and health conditions, together with working conditions, maximum hours and minimum wages, as interfering with those rights. It supports the freedom of individual workers to negotiate their terms of employment, rather than have them imposed by unions. It rejects the concept of a government funded school system, which places the burden of education on the taxpayer. Simply put, parents are responsible for the literacy and numeracy of their children. Should industry require specific skills in its workforce, it must meet the cost of selecting and training individuals through scholarships and apprenticeships. It rejects the concept of government funded healthcare, again placing the responsibility upon the individual to make provision for their, and their family's, health. It encourages the characteristics of industriousness, frugality, the desire to own property, and the ability to accumulate wealth, as being beneficial both to the individual and society. Social Darwinism thus ensures the evolution of civilization towards a peaceful, industrious, society, by a form of 'natural selection'.

                            Bob Emmett

                            T Offline
                            T Offline
                            thrakazog
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #35

                            Some of these ideas are good. Others not so much.

                            Bob Emmett wrote:

                            It holds that the main purpose of government is to defend the nation against foreign invasion and to protect citizens and their property from criminals.

                            Good

                            Bob Emmett wrote:

                            It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity.

                            Good

                            Bob Emmett wrote:

                            It opposes laws that regulate housing, sanitation, and health conditions, together with working conditions, maximum hours and minimum wages, as interfering with those rights.

                            Er what? Does "housing" include things like fire and building codes that keep a errant cigarette from destroying an entire building. Sanitation? I don't want the streets flowing with raw sewage... For the rest, I guess if the workers are unhappy they are free to quit.

                            Bob Emmett wrote:

                            It rejects the concept of a government funded school system

                            It would be great if the breeders would pay for all this. Except for the fact that A: Not all of them would. B: If little Johny doesn't get a minimum edumucation the chances of him carjacking me skyrocket. Kicking in some money up front for book learning will probably help keep crime down.

                            Bob Emmett wrote:

                            It rejects the concept of government funded healthcare

                            Good

                            Bob Emmett wrote:

                            It encourages the characteristics of industriousness, frugality, the desire to own property, and the ability to accumulate wealth, as being beneficial both to the individual and society.

                            Good

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                            • T thrakazog

                              Some of these ideas are good. Others not so much.

                              Bob Emmett wrote:

                              It holds that the main purpose of government is to defend the nation against foreign invasion and to protect citizens and their property from criminals.

                              Good

                              Bob Emmett wrote:

                              It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity.

                              Good

                              Bob Emmett wrote:

                              It opposes laws that regulate housing, sanitation, and health conditions, together with working conditions, maximum hours and minimum wages, as interfering with those rights.

                              Er what? Does "housing" include things like fire and building codes that keep a errant cigarette from destroying an entire building. Sanitation? I don't want the streets flowing with raw sewage... For the rest, I guess if the workers are unhappy they are free to quit.

                              Bob Emmett wrote:

                              It rejects the concept of a government funded school system

                              It would be great if the breeders would pay for all this. Except for the fact that A: Not all of them would. B: If little Johny doesn't get a minimum edumucation the chances of him carjacking me skyrocket. Kicking in some money up front for book learning will probably help keep crime down.

                              Bob Emmett wrote:

                              It rejects the concept of government funded healthcare

                              Good

                              Bob Emmett wrote:

                              It encourages the characteristics of industriousness, frugality, the desire to own property, and the ability to accumulate wealth, as being beneficial both to the individual and society.

                              Good

                              C Offline
                              C Offline
                              Christian Graus
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #36

                              thrakazog wrote:

                              If little Johny doesn't get a minimum edumucation the chances of him carjacking me skyrocket.

                              Exactly. It's not about welfare, it's about the common good. It's not just a handout, society wins when people have access to education.

                              Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.

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                              • L Lost User

                                Social Darwinism is the philosophy of true free market capitalism. It holds that the main purpose of government is to defend the nation against foreign invasion and to protect citizens and their property from criminals. It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity. It maintains the rights of property owners. It opposes laws that regulate housing, sanitation, and health conditions, together with working conditions, maximum hours and minimum wages, as interfering with those rights. It supports the freedom of individual workers to negotiate their terms of employment, rather than have them imposed by unions. It rejects the concept of a government funded school system, which places the burden of education on the taxpayer. Simply put, parents are responsible for the literacy and numeracy of their children. Should industry require specific skills in its workforce, it must meet the cost of selecting and training individuals through scholarships and apprenticeships. It rejects the concept of government funded healthcare, again placing the responsibility upon the individual to make provision for their, and their family's, health. It encourages the characteristics of industriousness, frugality, the desire to own property, and the ability to accumulate wealth, as being beneficial both to the individual and society. Social Darwinism thus ensures the evolution of civilization towards a peaceful, industrious, society, by a form of 'natural selection'.

                                Bob Emmett

                                J Offline
                                J Offline
                                James L Thomson
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #37

                                Bob Emmett wrote:

                                Social Darwinism thus ensures the evolution of civilization towards a peaceful, industrious, society, by a form of 'natural selection'.

                                The rest has been taken care of, but I didn't see where anyone had taken on this little gem. Social Darwinism is to Evolution what Time Cube is to Quantum Theory. Social Darwinism is an attempt to sound all scientifical about what in previous generations was called Divine Right (That is, the idea the rich and powerful can use the poor however they like because they "deserve" to be rich and powerful). Ignoring the obvious fallacy of confusing "is" and "ought" for one second, anyone actually attempting to have humans "naturally select" for the better specimens would give all humans in the exact same starting wealth and education opportunities, so as to lessen the effects of dumb luck on the selection process.

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                                • T thrakazog

                                  Some of these ideas are good. Others not so much.

                                  Bob Emmett wrote:

                                  It holds that the main purpose of government is to defend the nation against foreign invasion and to protect citizens and their property from criminals.

                                  Good

                                  Bob Emmett wrote:

                                  It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity.

                                  Good

                                  Bob Emmett wrote:

                                  It opposes laws that regulate housing, sanitation, and health conditions, together with working conditions, maximum hours and minimum wages, as interfering with those rights.

                                  Er what? Does "housing" include things like fire and building codes that keep a errant cigarette from destroying an entire building. Sanitation? I don't want the streets flowing with raw sewage... For the rest, I guess if the workers are unhappy they are free to quit.

                                  Bob Emmett wrote:

                                  It rejects the concept of a government funded school system

                                  It would be great if the breeders would pay for all this. Except for the fact that A: Not all of them would. B: If little Johny doesn't get a minimum edumucation the chances of him carjacking me skyrocket. Kicking in some money up front for book learning will probably help keep crime down.

                                  Bob Emmett wrote:

                                  It rejects the concept of government funded healthcare

                                  Good

                                  Bob Emmett wrote:

                                  It encourages the characteristics of industriousness, frugality, the desire to own property, and the ability to accumulate wealth, as being beneficial both to the individual and society.

                                  Good

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                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #38

                                  Our mutual friend posted asking why we 'supported' such a pathetic concept as Social Darwinism. As he declined to define what he meant by Social Darwinism (probably Eugenics, Genocide, ...), I posted this to demonstrate that the free unfettered market was, in fact, the original model for Social Darwinism. My to-and-fro with CG was simply me being perverse.

                                  Bob Emmett New Eugenicist - The weekly magazine for intelligent parenting.

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                                  • J James L Thomson

                                    Bob Emmett wrote:

                                    Social Darwinism thus ensures the evolution of civilization towards a peaceful, industrious, society, by a form of 'natural selection'.

                                    The rest has been taken care of, but I didn't see where anyone had taken on this little gem. Social Darwinism is to Evolution what Time Cube is to Quantum Theory. Social Darwinism is an attempt to sound all scientifical about what in previous generations was called Divine Right (That is, the idea the rich and powerful can use the poor however they like because they "deserve" to be rich and powerful). Ignoring the obvious fallacy of confusing "is" and "ought" for one second, anyone actually attempting to have humans "naturally select" for the better specimens would give all humans in the exact same starting wealth and education opportunities, so as to lessen the effects of dumb luck on the selection process.

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                                    Lost User
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #39

                                    My reply to thrakazog[^] explains all.

                                    Bob Emmett New Eugenicist - The weekly magazine for intelligent parenting.

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                                    • D Distind

                                      Bob Emmett wrote:

                                      It decries the payment of benefits as inculcating an attitude of 'entitlement', and thus being conducive to idleness and stupidity.

                                      In theory, in practice it's the most blatant display of entitlement by those who consider themselves to be above everyone else, who are obviously simply idle and stupid, otherwise they'd be successful and have money too. Because what is there possibly that could cause someone to not be able to have money? While at the same time is used to declare that those successful people should not have to pay those stupid, idle loafers any more than a pence a day because if they were worth anything, they would have money. It's fucking asinine. Personally, I just say take the safety labels off anything short of industrial equipment. That should curb stupidity fairly quickly.

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                                      Lost User
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #40

                                      Distind wrote:

                                      It's f***ing asinine.

                                      I agree.[^]

                                      Bob Emmett New Eugenicist - The weekly magazine for intelligent parenting.

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