Population growth ideals, wealth distribution

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wut

[chefarzt]

Y u no shakespeare?

[Vermillion_Hawk]

Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!

[chefarzt]

I only rush and entrench hereby being foolish

[Masacree]

On the case of wealth redistribution.

It is well-known in economics that although - on average, people have been objectively getting better off in the West over the past 40-50 years - weirdly enough, they have not actually become any happier. .....

I disagree with your interpretation: I think the more logical explanation is that it shows the relative unimportance of material wealth in terms of happiness.

Furthermore - perfect equality means nobody has an incentive to actually work any harder or to strive to achieve anything other than the bare minimum required of them.

* This only applies to fuckheads who care for nothing beyond material wealth.

[Mysthalin]

* This only applies to fuckheads who care for nothing beyond material wealth.

Too bad that's most of the human population. Given the choice between doing something constructive and doing something fun (if the two are mutually exclusive) - any rational human being will chose the fun thing to do unless there's something in it for him, and the benefit from doing the constructive task outweighs the fact it's boring as shit to do.

You assume that I imply only money matters. Not true - I imply fun matters just as much, if not more than money - but I hold the more reasonable world assumption that most work is boring as shit and nobody REALLY wants to do it - is why they get paid for it. You can, of course, disagree and live in lala-land where we are all latent brain-flowers just waiting to bloom into scientists and inventors, but it's just "The Man" keeping us all down.

[Sachaztan]

Too bad that's most of the human population. Given the choice between doing something constructive and doing something fun (if the two are mutually exclusive) - any rational human being will chose the fun thing to do unless there's something in it for him, and the benefit from doing the constructive task outweighs the fact it's boring as shit to do.

You assume that I imply only money matters. Not true - I imply fun matters just as much, if not more than money - but I hold the more reasonable world assumption that most work is boring as shit and nobody REALLY wants to do it - is why they get paid for it. You can, of course, disagree and live in lala-land where we are all latent brain-flowers just waiting to bloom into scientists and inventors, but it's just "The Man" keeping us all down.

There's plenty of occupations where people typically work because they think it is fun and not for the money.

Artists, scientists, writers, painters etc...

I think you know this too and that this is implied in your post, but I just wanted to point this out.

[Mysthalin]

There are some professions that can be done just for fun (although money does still trickle down) - but my point is that these occupations are few and far between. The world will only need ever so many artists, painters and actors - and I don't think you'll disagree with me when I say that very few people actually have the capabilities to become scientists (and that even scientists there's only ever so many that we can actually afford to keep).

Most people end up with boring jobs that are not really that fun to do - but they do pay a steady salary and that's what people go for. And not all boring jobs have to be menial - I mean, when's the last time you heard accounting is easy to do? Or that it's fun? Or auditing?

[Sachaztan]

There are some professions that can be done just for fun (although money does still trickle down) - but my point is that these occupations are few and far between. The world will only need ever so many artists, painters and actors - and I don't think you'll disagree with me when I say that very few people actually have the capabilities to become scientists (and that even scientists there's only ever so many that we can actually afford to keep).

Most people end up with boring jobs that are not really that fun to do - but they do pay a steady salary and that's what people go for. And not all boring jobs have to be menial - I mean, when's the last time you heard accounting is easy to do? Or that it's fun? Or auditing?

Yes I agree.

But about accounting and auditing...this might sound a bit strange but I know a few that work in that sector and they all think that it is actually fun. To me it all sounds incredibly dull...

I don't however, agree with this "Too bad that's most of the human population.".
Just because most only work to get money doesn't mean money is all they care about.

[AmPM]

Yes I agree.

But about accounting and auditing...this might sound a bit strange but I know a few that work in that sector and they all think that it is actually fun. To me it all sounds incredibly dull...

I don't however, agree with this "Too bad that's most of the human population.".
Just because most only work to get money doesn't mean money is all they care about.

For most people, their jobs is a means to an end. You work to get money, you use money to do the things you want.

Do you seriously think you would have anyone to serve food, collect your trash, etc if they didn't get paid? Or that most people are willing to work hard to give other people something without any benefit to themselves?

Shit, I wouldn't do anything that I didn't want to if we all got the same amount of money. I would just hang out with my gf and kid. Fuck work. Life is far too short to spend it working for no reason.

[Masacree]

Too bad that's most of the human population. Given the choice between doing something constructive and doing something fun (if the two are mutually exclusive) - any rational human being will chose the fun thing to do unless there's something in it for him, and the benefit from doing the constructive task outweighs the fact it's boring as shit to do.

You assume that I imply only money matters. Not true - I imply fun matters just as much, if not more than money - but I hold the more reasonable world assumption that most work is boring as shit and nobody REALLY wants to do it - is why they get paid for it. You can, of course, disagree and live in lala-land where we are all latent brain-flowers just waiting to bloom into scientists and inventors, but it's just "The Man" keeping us all down.

I think there's value to be found in every sort of work, I just wish people were given more opportunity to actualize themselves. In fact, I think work is in itself valuable. The days when you've felt most satisfied, at your best, were those the incredibly busy days where you managed to succeed, the days in which you acquired lots of material wealth, or the days you sat in bed all day beating off?

There's an interesting tribe which Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discusses in his book Flow,

"The Shuswap region was and is considered by the Indian people to be a rich place: rich in salmon and game, rich in below-ground food resources such as tubers and roots—a plentiful land. In this region, the people would live in permanent village sites and exploit the environs for needed resources. They had elaborate technologies for very effectively using the resources of the environment, and perceived their lives as being good and rich. Yet, the elders said, at times the world became too predictable and the challenge began to go out of life. Without challenge, life had no meaning.
So the elders, in their wisdom, would decide that the entire village should move, those moves occurring every 25 to 30 years. The entire population would move to a different part of the Shuswap land and there, they found challenge. There were new streams to figure out, new game trails to learn, new areas where the balsamroot would be plentiful. Now life would regain its meaning and be worth living. Everyone would feel rejuvenated and healthy. Incidentally, it also allowed exploited resources in one area to recover after years of harvesting."

I think this illustrates my point well: the meaning to be found in life is forged in struggle.

[AmPM]

Actually, the days I feel best are the ones where I make a lot of money. Because that means I can do awesome stuff for my loved ones with it. Like take them on vacation, or go do something fun. How about you and I can do some of this utopian behavior. You send me all your money, and I will have a great time on it.

[Masacree]

Actually, the days I feel best are the ones where I make a lot of money. Because that means I can do awesome stuff for my loved ones with it. Like take them on vacation, or go do something fun. How about you and I can do some of this utopian behavior. You send me all your money, and I will have a great time on it.

So the days when you actually do 'awesome stuff' with your loved ones aren't the best? How bizarre.