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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank
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To: average joe who wrote (20743)8/7/2001 1:24:21 AM
From: Dayuhan  Read Replies (3) of 82486
 
In a government of elected aristocrats the spirit of Nobless Oblige must prevail. I.e. senseless acts of altruism performed without any thought for reward. Any risk/reward assessment introduced to a young mind may lead to a dangerous spiral of self-esteem, perhaps even virtue.

If we ask young people to decide whether to have sex or not based on some abstract moral standard, rather than on the basis of enlightened self-interest, is that not equivalent to invoking the spirit of noblesse oblige?

I think you err, though, in attributing acts of public or private charity to noblesse oblige. They are more frequently a result of a calculation of enlightened self interest. Common sense tells us that if we create a society in which people are free to succeed or fail, some will fail. Experience of human nature tells us that they will inevitably blame their failure on someone else, and get angry. It doesn't take an abacus to calculate that it is cheaper to dull their anger with an occasional doleout than it is to deal with the results of undulled anger.

As the Romans used bread and circuses, so we use welfare and MTV. Of course we have privatized the circuses. That was a good capitalist move, but anathema to conservatives whose fondness for good capitalist moves is outweighed by their shock at the demand-driven content of the private sector circus.
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