Nation Of Pete: Robert Wyatt

Saturday, October 13, 2007

"I'm not a great believer in individualism. I think things are around to be done and if one person doesn't do it another will."

At 8:09 PM, kww said...: Why is individualism about what we do? Couldn't it also be said, I don't believe in individualism. There are qualities of people and if one does not posess that quality someone else will? Which is really the basis of many economic and social contract questions--the free rider problem and self interest rightly understood. And what then is there to aspire to--if you are not the one to make things right, or to be a pecemaker in the world because if you don't someone else will? Will they? I find it disheartening when someone says if I don't take advantage of the system someone else will and then I will be worse off than they are. I am thinking specifically of my friend ex-boyfriend who wanted to shelter his money in states with tax loopholes because he didn't believe he should have to pay for public schools or roads. And, he was losing money because other folks WERE taking advantage of tax loopholes, so how was he to stay ahead. ...
But I digress.