At 27, I could still go out every night of a three day weekend and be spry as a spring chicken come Monday. At 28, I’d have 5 beers on Friday, and I’d still be recovering Sunday.
I agree with most of what you said, re. hard working being necessary, and you’re right that I extrapolated the author’s beliefs on the poor too much. That said, I think it’s much too common that we complain about our generation not working hard enough, and I think that’s self defeating. Do I have a few friends who, at 28, are still smoking too much and coasting by? Sure. But 95% of the people I know work more than 60 hours a week. And all of them are saddled with debt, struggling to pay their bills, and wondering when they’ll be able to work a mere 40 hours a week. It doesn’t make us, as a generation, weak to say, “our elders fucked us.” It makes us honest. Most of us are still working our asses off despite the enormous disadvantage we started off with – a disadvantage that is, in large part, due to unregulated capitalism.
I’m sorry that I added a bit of reality to your fantasy. And that you responded in the least original, most facile way possible. Not with facts or a counter argument. But with a GIF from a boring show. I wasn’t arguing against capitalism being the best economic system we’ve yet devised. I was merely saying that unbridled capitalism is as evil as unbridled communism. Everything in moderation. And I take umbrage with this fantasy people perpetuate that “the poor get what they deserve.” You know why I take umbrage? Because it’s bullshit. I’ve worked white collar jobs and I’ve worked blue collar jobs. I work in publishing right now. And you know what? No one in America works harder than the poor. No one. Try telling a 40 year old father of 4 who grew up impoverished and who now works 70 hours a week between 2 jobs, making 8 dollars an hour at both, that he doesn’t work hard. Again, I’m sorry to bring reality into this amazing fantasy world you live in. But I’m glad you’ve responded with the maturity, intelligence, and spirit befitting someone who isn’t a Post-Graduate, let alone a middle schooler.
Where to start? First off, America doesn’t have the highest standard of living. That would be pretty much any northern European country – Norway, Denmark, Sweden; take your pick.
Secondly, “we owe everything to capitalism”? Did capitalism build the roads needed to distribute goods? Did capitalism fund the grants that helped to develop the internet? What about the Fulbright scholarships and grants and public universities that have provided from of the greatest innovations known to man? Yeah, capitalism has done some incredible things – but it’s always done its best work in conjunction with a strong public sector. Capitalism run amok does exactly what we’re seeing it do now: create a self perpetuating “gilded” class that is absolutely no different from a non-capitalist feudal system where you have a much, much better chance of success if you’re born into wealth. Do hard work and marketable skills help? Sure. But let’s cut out this American myth that all you need is a little gumption to get ahead. What you need above all else is to be born rich. And this, more often than not, means being born rich and white.
Above all, what this article seems to profess is a dangerous lack of empathy for anyone other than number 1. Which, you know, is great if you want a society of selfish assholes. But if you want an actual society, where neighbors look out for neighbors, you need some limits on humanity’s worst tendencies. If you want a pure meritocracy – a true survival of the fittest – without any pesky government intrusion, go to Iraq or Syria. How are those working out?
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At 27, I could still go out every night of a three day weekend and be spry as a spring chicken come Monday. At 28, I’d have 5 beers on Friday, and I’d still be recovering Sunday.
I agree with most of what you said, re. hard working being necessary, and you’re right that I extrapolated the author’s beliefs on the poor too much. That said, I think it’s much too common that we complain about our generation not working hard enough, and I think that’s self defeating. Do I have a few friends who, at 28, are still smoking too much and coasting by? Sure. But 95% of the people I know work more than 60 hours a week. And all of them are saddled with debt, struggling to pay their bills, and wondering when they’ll be able to work a mere 40 hours a week. It doesn’t make us, as a generation, weak to say, “our elders fucked us.” It makes us honest. Most of us are still working our asses off despite the enormous disadvantage we started off with – a disadvantage that is, in large part, due to unregulated capitalism.
I’m sorry that I added a bit of reality to your fantasy. And that you responded in the least original, most facile way possible. Not with facts or a counter argument. But with a GIF from a boring show. I wasn’t arguing against capitalism being the best economic system we’ve yet devised. I was merely saying that unbridled capitalism is as evil as unbridled communism. Everything in moderation. And I take umbrage with this fantasy people perpetuate that “the poor get what they deserve.” You know why I take umbrage? Because it’s bullshit. I’ve worked white collar jobs and I’ve worked blue collar jobs. I work in publishing right now. And you know what? No one in America works harder than the poor. No one. Try telling a 40 year old father of 4 who grew up impoverished and who now works 70 hours a week between 2 jobs, making 8 dollars an hour at both, that he doesn’t work hard. Again, I’m sorry to bring reality into this amazing fantasy world you live in. But I’m glad you’ve responded with the maturity, intelligence, and spirit befitting someone who isn’t a Post-Graduate, let alone a middle schooler.
Where to start? First off, America doesn’t have the highest standard of living. That would be pretty much any northern European country – Norway, Denmark, Sweden; take your pick.
Secondly, “we owe everything to capitalism”? Did capitalism build the roads needed to distribute goods? Did capitalism fund the grants that helped to develop the internet? What about the Fulbright scholarships and grants and public universities that have provided from of the greatest innovations known to man? Yeah, capitalism has done some incredible things – but it’s always done its best work in conjunction with a strong public sector. Capitalism run amok does exactly what we’re seeing it do now: create a self perpetuating “gilded” class that is absolutely no different from a non-capitalist feudal system where you have a much, much better chance of success if you’re born into wealth. Do hard work and marketable skills help? Sure. But let’s cut out this American myth that all you need is a little gumption to get ahead. What you need above all else is to be born rich. And this, more often than not, means being born rich and white.
Above all, what this article seems to profess is a dangerous lack of empathy for anyone other than number 1. Which, you know, is great if you want a society of selfish assholes. But if you want an actual society, where neighbors look out for neighbors, you need some limits on humanity’s worst tendencies. If you want a pure meritocracy – a true survival of the fittest – without any pesky government intrusion, go to Iraq or Syria. How are those working out?