Welfare state

A friend of mine sent me this story about a successful corn farmer who would share his seeds with his neighbours even though they were his competitors at the annual agricultural contest. When asked why helped his neighbours, he replied that it was important for his neighbours to grow good corn so that his crop would be cross-pollinated with good pollen. A simple allegory with deep implications.

This simple allegory reminded me of debates with my friends over the kind of economy that is preferrable, especially in a developing country. I am of the opinion that it's better to have high taxes that pay for welfare measures for the people (such as free education for everyone, subsidized medical care etc).

There are those who feel they'd rather the government left things alone and didn't tax people much. In my mind, such a model would only result in continued widening of the gap between rich and poor. The consequences of such a disparity between classes can only be violence and unrest. These would in turn lead to mass histeria - the people will willingly allow themselves to be controlled, desperate for security or at least an illusion of it... even at the cost of their lierties. Attempts to quell the violence without alleviating the misery that spring is it will only result in its perpetuation. End result: FASCIST POLICE STATE or ANARCHY - either way, it will ultimately lead to a downward spiral. This is a point I've alreay made in my previous post - Cycle of Violence.

Only by sharing the fruits of development equally among all levels of the socio-economic spectrum can equality be attained. Growth will be sustainable only if everybody benefits from it equally. To achieve this, taxation is a viable and ultimately fair means of redistributing wealth. Ultimately everyone has to be happy for anyone to be happy. There will always be the dissatisfied among us, but we can at least eliminate the desperate. We must remember, great deeds are accomplished when mortals strive for ideals.

PS. I am, by no stretch of imagination, an alarmist. There are things that we should be concerned about and our concern must result in action, in change. There is no point in getting scared and running around flapping.

PPS. I'm no commie either. I'm all for supporting individual achievement and to hell with state ownership...nobody's comin near my stuff...ever! All I'm saying is that the spirit of philanthropy in us (those without it must change, if at least for selfish reasons) must be reflected in the system of our economy.