Reply #80: May I take the liberty of a re-post on this?

[TygrBright]

>> The Real Cost of Living in a Conservative/Libertarian Society
Posted by TygrBright in General Discussion: Politics
Fri Aug 11th 2006, 01:31 AM
I’ve read a lot of threads/posts on DU lately that run something like this:

1. News article is posted describing dire consequences for ordinary citizens who undertake some investment or risk of modern American life.

2. Group A of DU readers comment on how terrible it is that people suffer so.

3. Group B of DU readers point out that the people in the article TOOK A RISK and it’s their own fault if they didn’t ‘do enough homework’ to know it was too risky, or were too heedless or greedy or otherwise culpable, and personal responsibility is an important and desirable characteristic of adult citizens.

4. A mixed bag of Group A readers and new (Group C) readers expresses umbrage at Group B for ‘blaming the victim’ or insufficiently understanding why people NEED to take those risks, etc.

5. The thread evolves into a discussion of responsibility vs. need, including reams of ‘Well, when *I* was in those peoples’ situation’ stories that illustrate either how the people in the article SHOULD have handled the situation, or how unavoidable such dire consequences can be based on various factors beyond the control of an otherwise reasonable and responsible person.

And it seems to me that we’re missing the point we should be discussing, which is, what types of risks, and to what degree, should a community attempt to shield its members from? And what are the consequences to the community of ‘over-shielding’ versus ‘under-shielding’ people from risks?<<

The rest of it can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

opinionatedly,
Bright