[extropy-chat] Heinlein and thinking for yourself

[Adrian Tymes]

--- Stephen Van_Sickle <sjvans at ameritech.net> wrote:
> --- Mike Lorrey <mlorrey at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Doesn't matter. Your comments do not fit the
> excuse
> > making that Damien
> > states. What you are saying is that productive
> > people owe a living to
> > the unproductive or else, period.
> 
> That isn't what was said.  What I got out of it was
> that it can be in the interests of the productive to
> sometimes support the unproductive.  Not right, but
> expedient.

That is what I meant to convey, yes.  (The
unproductive might agree with Mike's take on it,
though.  Same action, different perceived causes.)

> Of course, that doesn't work in the long run, but it
> is a long enough run that the people who start down
> this road are usually all long dead when it all
> falls
> apart.

Even these days, that's not neccessarily true any
longer.  But it was true enough in days past, and the
most popular alternative (moving people into the
productive classes) is both less than successful
enough and takes long enough, that the short term
strategy is still widely followed today.