I Live In America

@MarkPaul the invisible hand? Self interest is what drives our society

@SW-User That was an economic term invented by Adam Smith. It wasn't adopted into the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, or the Constitution.

I'm sorry, but it appears you will be failing the class.

@MarkPaul whatever

@Shade70 I dunno. I'm feeling pretty burdened by the fact that my taxes pay for all the nosey neighbor expeditions the US is going on both abroad and at home.

From the Meuller probe to the war on drugs to the war in the middle east that we have screwed ourselves into having no choice but to "finish" (as far as isis goes anyhow).

If we would all just adopt a policy of sweeping our own front porches then shit would get less sticky and way less pricey

Would it though? It seems to me any conception of morality disappears under a "worry about yourself" doctrine. For example, can i steal from my neighbor if they have something i need? If worrying about myself is the core edict, it would seem I could, at least in certain cases where my meed for the item is of greater import than theirs. Environmental laws? Pretty much all vanish because who cares if we screw the planet, we're just worrying about ourselves, right? The whole concept of a social contract between government and citizenry -- which WAS a core principle in the nation's founding -- loses all footing in such a mindset.

From where i sit, it appears just a way to push sticky/pricey issues off of one person and kick them down the road to some future generation who wont have the luxury or ability to ignore them.

@Shade70 I get what you're saying but self preservation is included in worrying about yourself.

You're less likely to steal from your neighbor if they are more likely to shoot you dead because theres no courts to prosecute him for it.

And environmental laws are in everyone's benefit. We live here.