[extropy-chat] Robin Hood (was: Bush wants another $75 billion forwars)

[Brian Lee]

I think the concern is that the extension of the "Robin Hood" mantra is that 
there will always be some group who perceives another group as having 
wrongfully acheieved wealth. Stealing it and redistributing is not the 
solution. But it sounds good so people like Robin Hood. "Steal from the 
rich, give to the poor."

The rich consist of anyone who has more wealth than you and the poor are 
anyone with less wealth. So then it should be ok for me to steal from you to 
give to me since you have more money than I (for the sake of this argument). 
It's a slipperly slope.

Who the rich bastards are varies based on cultural influences, etc. So 
taking money from the rich bastards today could be tomorrow's saints.

BAL

>From: "Nicholas Anthony MacDonald" <namacdon at ole.augie.edu>
>To: extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
>Subject: [extropy-chat] Robin Hood (was: Bush wants another $75 billion 
>forwars)
>Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 14:36:50 -0500
>
>Mike Lorrey wrote:
>
>"The concept of the "Robin Hood" is possibly the most corrosive idea in
>western history."
>
>
>Ah, I remember reading that in Atlas Shrugged, and thinking- "wait a 
>second, Ayn.  'Robin Hood' was stealing wealth that belonged to the 
>'statists' of the time, the feudal lords who held their subjects in a 
>condition of slavery or near-slavery, with few, if any real freedoms and no 
>chance for upward mobility.  The lords did little to deserve their income 
>other than possess horses, armor, and weaponry that the commoners lacked- 
>they were just like the dictators of today.  So, by that reckoning, who is 
>to say that Robin Hood was doing anything wrong at all?  In fact, Robin 
>Hood seems remarkably similiar to the rest of the heroes of your dreary 
>novel..."
>
>-Nicq MacDonald
>
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