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Sometimes people say I must have my economic opinions because my family is rich To set this straight: my family sometimes had trouble affording food. I couldn't afford college. As an adult I went hungry because I couldn't afford food. I worked on a factory floor for a year.

245

Aella

@Aella_Girl

Jul 24, 2020

I went into sex work when I was homeless, sleeping on a friend's couch, and desperate for money but I didn't want to go back to working at the factory. I still had libertarian-leaning economic views even when I was scraping change off the ground to eat.

118

Aella

@Aella_Girl

Jul 24, 2020

I was like "I'm willing to do anything to survive." I remember applying to a job working in poop sewage because I was so determined. I think that my belief in the intense "libertarianish" ideals helped motivate me; if I'd been upset nobody was helping me it would have been worse.

Aella

@Aella_Girl

Jul 24, 2020

and to be clear libertarianism has its problems, but the general attitude - intense 'It's you. You have to do this. Nobody else is here for you. The pain is part of life' resulted in such intense blossoming and drive. It's a difficult but useful attitude to hold about the world.

170

Aella

@Aella_Girl

I'm afraid of the impact of the messaging that other people are responsible for your wellbeing. It seems like it has a bad effect on motivation and drive. It seems like it would redirect energy into anger at the people who aren't helping you, instead of helping yourself.

7:11 AM · Jul 24, 2020

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I feel like that’s someone religion can bring to the table. If I were a libertarian I would be much more likely to pay for carnal desires. Let’s say I grew up in a more religious household it would be hard to justify paying for sex when I could be donating that money instead.

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I do not know much about libertanrism but I think the people read to deep into the message and just expect others to help. Others can help you but you need to put in work to stay afloat first. Correct me if I am wrong

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100% agree. People who grew up with things being made readily available lost the sense of urgency to set goals and to strive to achieve. Complacency has become the norm and people blame everyone but themselves for what they don’t have, or what they weren’t handed

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Complacency, envy and resent have become household names and because we glorified a couple of bad apples and deplorables, the majority of society has began to feel entitled to the same benefits and if you earn something that they didn’t work for, you’re automatically a sellout

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Life is about how you overcome obstacles, learn to succeed, achieve growth & find your place in this world. The problem is that most people have lost their drive, & they anyone who runs, not walks to their dreams, because they want to be taken for the ride, not left behind

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On an individual level "you should try to help yourself" leads to better outcomes (sometimes you can!), on a societal level "the poor should just help themselves out of poverty" leads to worse outcomes (not everyone can!). [This isn't data-based, just my impression.]

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Agree, think at the heart of it is an adult responsibility for oneself - which should be allied with a sense of responsibility to society (which we all create, and benefit from). The aim of help should be to up the chances to help yourself and avoid the dark choices of despair

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At this moment in time when technology increasingly offers individuals more & more ways to realize prosperity, education, security etc. without government interference, it’s people who cling to old & inefficient political systems who need to explain themselves, not libertarians.

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I understand and share that concern. I'm also afraid of the impact of the messaging that one's own actions are the primary determinate of success. Because even in your short summary story here, yours weren't.

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a society supporting responsible behavior while buffering ppl against likely failures on the path is a more balanced approach that won't discard the lives of those more overwhelmed than that of the success story above, which seems interpreted through the availability heuristic.