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Comment by smitty1e | Hacker News Reader

I greatly enjoy your casting of the existential struggle into fantasy role-playing terms. This is a relatively fresh treatment that is worth celebrating for its own sake.

In this context, what seems missing is the Ecclesiastes realization that 'fulfilling' (for some) is always going to mean becoming a dragon.

That is, the purported us/them separation between 'we' and 'dragons' is a mirage--there is only the full spectrum or humanity in view.

One example of a dragon was Saddam Hussein, who characterized oppression of the marsh Arabs as "being firm".

So it goes. One possible exit from the cycle is the realization the 'fulfilling' is not necessarily measured in materialistic units.

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>I greatly enjoy your...fantasy role-playing terms

It's not that, dragons hoarding mountains of gold has always historically been an allegory for the rich hoarding wealth.

>'fulfilling' (for some) is always going to mean becoming a dragon.

Luckily we have anti dragon tools, like progressive taxation, wealth taxes, and robust social programs to prevent the dragons from sitting on too much gold.

>One example of a dragon was Saddam Hussein, who characterized oppression of the marsh Arabs as "being firm". So it goes. One possible exit from the cycle is the realization the 'fulfilling' is not necessarily measured in materialistic units.

Yeah, the fulfillment is the downstream byproduct of not having to worry about the difficulty of meeting daily material needs, not the justification for the policy itself.

> Luckily we have anti dragon tools, like progressive taxation, wealth taxes, and robust social programs to prevent the dragons from sitting on too much gold.

1. If you think that a Bezos, or a Buffet, or a Musk, is paying a "fair" amount, then fine. Your faith in mortal systems stands rewarded.

2. This is less a question of basic needs--look at how fat and unhealthy so many are today--and perhaps more a question of envy. Do I really think that joy is a function of loot? Is more stuff the answer to our existential questions?

Sorry, I guess I should've been clearer and added Properly implemented anti dragon tools. I assumed that was self evident. I suspect it is, given you clearly are capable of recognizing the problematic dragons I allude to.

>2.

No, it's definitely a question of basic needs. I exclusively mentioned income, healthcare, housing, food security as the policy objectives, and not cheap consumable goods/treats. There's a wealth of evidence that a society that provides guarantees around those basic needs has way fewer issues downstream. For a start, look to the healthcare outcomes in countries that have universal healthcare vs the US.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say.

> There's a wealth of evidence that a society that provides guarantees around those basic needs

I'm totally in agreement, in the abstract. It would take a sick mind to enjoy observing poverty/starvation.

The details of how a sustainable economy that affords all the opportunity to thrive is provided is still non-trivial.

The Five Year Plans of the Soviet Union, to drop a specific example, were full of great ideas, but the society was corrupt and everyone lied about the reality, until the lies collapsed at the three-quarter-century mark.

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