Earlier quoted context omitted.
> So what level of sacrifice should be required of those that don't make it The same as it has always been for all living things: pain, suffering, and death. > low wage workers both locally and globally who aren't making it Pretty sure quality of life is up by pretty much every measure for "low wage workers" both locally and globally. > none of this is new, but it doesn't have to be this way. > We know how to solve m…
>Pretty sure quality of life is up by pretty much every measure for "low wage workers" both locally and globally. Wages are stagnant and certainly haven't kept pace with productivity. They can buy more TVs because electronics are cheaper, but costs for basics are going up. Metrics don't capture "having to pee in a bottle" because of work demands. >You could have made this statement at any point in history, and people…
Wages have never been tied to productivity. They're derived from supply and demand for labour. Gold miners are very productive fiscally speaking, but they don't make any more than coal miners.
> Metrics don't capture "having to pee in a bottle" because of work demands.
Why do you think people shouldn't have to pee in bottles? Or be exposed to dangerous conditions? You seem to be operating from a moral ideal that gives a very clear idea of how things ought to be. Where do you derive it from?
> Was it true in 2500 BC that they had the resources to feed everyone on the planet consistently? 1500 AD?
You'd be surprised how much grain was hoarded by ancient Pharaohs and Medieval Lords. It was likely enough to prevent much of the starvation their populations experienced. We could always feed more people than we do, and people with wealth and power have always preferred expensive trinkets and shows of status to feeding the hungry.
The US is fundamentally build on individual liberty. This idea is in opposition to involuntary social obligation. If a person doesn't want to use their wealth/time/energy to the benefit of others, do they have to? Should you force them? To what degree? Are people entitled to be helped or should they have to ask? People disagree axiomatically on these things.
In absence of an oracle to tell us who is right and who is wrong, and given that we are all morally equal, it seems to follow that no one has a strong case to impose their answers to these questions on anyone else. Why are you so sure that helping people is "right"? Why do you think everyone has to work towards your idea of a "healthy society"?
> So why do we structure society to encourage and reward these behaviors instead of trying to mitigate their effects?
I'd say our current social structure is the best we've got for mitigating these effects. Entrepreneurship allows people to harness their self-interest to the benefit of others. Democracy limits the effects of corruption. This is why our society is able to innovate as much as it does, and therefore prevail in the ongoing competition with other societies and other ideas.