<Wrong, Christine. It is the savage who demands something he/she has no right to just because they have a need for it.>
I disagree, Terrence. Man is a social animal (except for the Libertarians and Randians, of course). Our species became civilized when, among other things like burying the dead with rituals, the stronger members started showing compassion for the younger, older or weaker ones. In the world of archaeology, there are remains from distant times where investigation of the skeletons determines that because of arthritis, or other diseases or injuries, some people could not have survived on their own. And yet their families and clan members sustained them, caring for them, moving them from place to place, loving them and helping them for long periods of time.
This change represents the evolution of savages into civilized beings. That compassion, and cooperative living in groups of weak and strong members, represents a higher state of consciousness and a more intelligent and caring society. It is a fact of life that not everyone has the same talents, or is equally healthy or aggressive. Someone in a group which is not highly valued, school teachers, for example, may make an incredibly larger contribution to the society as a whole than an entrepreneur or a commodities trader, even though they make much less money. Civilization is not strictly about money, and it is definitely about cooperation and sharing.
Only a savage would be unable to comprehend that this is a more advanced way of life. |
