Re:Panama: The Hidden Trillions
by sliverstorm on Sunday October 09, 2016 @03:04PM
(#12672784)
It's less a matter of what you are entitled to, and more that society doesn't work very well with gross disparity. I always argue it's in the interests of the wealthy to mind that everyone else is happy with the way things are. Otherwise you get violent populist uprisings. Stability & happiness of the whole country are in the interest of those on top of it.
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Re:Panama: The Hidden Trillions
by mr_spothawk on Sunday October 09, 2016 @05:28PM
(#12673583)
enter the NFL, MLB, NBA & Netflix + cheap flat screen televisions.
Keeping the population in line by fattening them up and distracting them only works if they believe in something bigger than themselves.
With the lack of community and the focus on individual and the self, people will not be fulfilled if they know someone else is doing so much better.
It's the classic monkey experiment with cucumbers. If all monkeys get cucumbers, they are all okay with it. If one monkey gets a cherry while the other gets a cucumber, the cucumber monkey feels it's unfair and gets angry.
You can keep humans in shitty conditions if they believe in something bigger than themselves. That the shitty conditions are justified and therefore fair.