2011年9月19日 星期一

The Role of the Government and Rights of People

Yaron Brook, the president of the Ayn Rand Institute, argued for a minimalist government, saying that medicare and social security are immoral, and that the only role of the government is to enforce the rule of law and to defend the country.  It should leave people to protect and take care of themselves.

Yaron says that our society should eliminate social programs so we encourage citizens to stand up and take responsibility for themselves.   To him  Social Security and Medicare are "theft" because the money to pay for them is "stolen" from those who don't believe in or need the programs.   This is so notwithstanding the fact that these programs were set up through a legal process.

Think of people hit by a disaster waiting for help.  Yaron says charity will take care of the unfortunate.  But can we sensibly rely on charity to help organize the rescue effort, say, after a tsunami or a hurricane like Katrina?

Sensible people want to build a reasonable, sustainable social safety net that will come to one's help automatically when one is hit by misfortune of all kinds.  Building a society that cares makes
life that much more fulfilling.  Access to a social safety net is not a "right" as such, but something that we would all like to establish, if we would put ourselves in the shoes of others and consider their plight.

沒有留言:

張貼留言