I came across this old thread on 
. The question brings out the core Conservative belief that some people are lazy or “worthless” and “why should I pay for lazy people” or “why should I have to work for someone else to live off my labor?”
Many, many people on this thread say outright that people who they deem “lazy” don’t deserve food or shelter or anything a human needs to live.
Is there a good counter to this talking point? It’s pretty disgusting TBH being confronted with this. I know it’s what they really believe but it still stings to read it out over and over again.
I don’t understand how some people can think humans don’t have an inherent right to exist. Not very “pro-life” of these people.
“Lazy” is an opinion and our society is built to treat people who aren’t helping a Capitalist make profit or become a Capitalist themselves like they’re burdens on society.
Life isn’t fair, it never has and it never will be. Maybe some of your money goes to help a person who doesn’t “work as hard as you”? There’s also people who are born millionaires, people who have investments paying them for no work, people who win lotteries and jackpots or marry into wealth and never have to lift a finger again.
Forcing people to work in order to live doesn’t sound fair to me. It sounds like slavery with extra steps. What kind of freedom do we truly have if we can’t choose to withold our labor or check out of the system altogether?
I’m struggling a little mentally with feeling guilt around my failing job search. Technically I’m working on building three income streams, maybe four, but it feels like “failure” because I’m not making enough just yet to cover all bills. It’s not for a lack of trying but there’s ti.es where I have no energy to do much and it makes me feel terrible. This part of Conservatism always drove me up a wall. Hopefully some of you have good ways to fight against it.
A functioning society takes care of everyone wherever they’re at. Don’t let people who’ve succumbed to propaganda pressure you into feeling guilty.
Look at the material conditions. Humanity produces more food than it needs. Because of technological process and efficiency, we have enough food to feed every hungry person, the only problems are transportation and access (aka capitalism and imperialism). It is literally more difficult for us to NOT give food to the hungry people who need it than it is to just let them have it. The leftovers restaurants/stores throw away could feed all the needy.
As for housing, we have the space, technology, and materials to build safe and comfortable housing for everyone on earth. But instead, cities are seeing a boom in “luxury housing” and simultaneously in slums where the poor and working class are forced to live with roommates or their families. This is an economic problem, and ARTIFICIAL shortage of housing, not an actual shortage of material needs. To go to the most extreme case, why can’t the government just build a bunch of new apartments all over, give control over them to social services, and comfortably house all the homeless? Or even run them with the assistance of charity groups or even religious charity groups in certain countries/regions where that’s the norm? Capitalism and imperialism are the only thing getting in the way of that. Ideology is the obstacle, not material reality.
I’m sure if every person had the financial means to support their “lazy” or even physically disabled family members, they would. They would build ramps/elevators in their houses, get them physical therapy, and counseling for their mental health needs. But in America everyone is forced to work, and housing, food, and healthcare are only given to those who sacrifice their lives to work, or who collaborate in the power structure that helps the working class control the workers. When Elon Musk plays video games, he is demonstrating his genius. When the peasants play video games, they are lazy. When Donald Trump golfs, he’s closing high-level business deals. When the peasants kick a soccer ball around, they are wasting time. When George W. Bush paints, he is bravely facing his trauma. When the peasants paint, they are choosing a useless career path.
Laziness is not a real thing in America, it is simply a word used to blame the working class for their own economic situation. “Grind more. Get another job. Invest. Get up early. Stay late. Be your own boss.” It’s the same mentality that leads to laws preventing people from buying chips or cookies with food stamps - the poor do not deserve to be happy, and in fact they deserve to be miserable, in order to incentivize them to stop being poor.