"The world owes you nothing"

[PC2]

Whenever you talk about economic, interpersonal, societal and other struggles, some smartass eventually shows up with the age-old argument of "the world owes you nothing".

If the world owes you nothing, it follows that you don't owe the world anything either. That means you are free to act like an asshole, break laws and destroy the environment.

The world does, in fact, owe you something. If you are to be a member of society, that society owes to treat you with respect. You, in return, owe to treat the society with respect as well.

"The world owes you nothing" line of thinking leads to destructive behaviors.

Basically it comes down to consent. If both parties did not consent to an obligation then neither is owed anything from the other. But if both parties consent then there is a mutual obligation. They owe each other based on the nature of the contract.

[Kayytee]

Once you move away from mommy and daddy you will begin to realize the truth to those words.

[Aphrel]

There is nothing wrong with accepting reality.

The sooner that people realise the universe does not care if you live or die, and random influence has a huge impact on your life - the sooner you can stop blaming yourself for everything and start focusing on changing the things you can control.

"The world" in this statement generally prefers to people, society, goverments etc.
And theres a real discussion to be made about what society really owes its people. We expect safety, equalty, possibilitys, working infrastruktures, help when disaster strikes like forest fires, hurricanes, flu epidemics and so on.

The world does owe you stuff, and in return you owe the world to carry your weight to make it work (generally in the form of taxes), else it all falls apart and we end up with none of the above.

[msdos]

"It's just one way for supporters of authoritarianism or exploitative capitalism to tell you you don't have a right to complain."

The type of people who even say the phrase, "you aren't entitled, the world owes you nothing", are always vicious scumbags. I've never heard an actual good person say anything like that, it just doesn't roll off the tongue.
A dictation like that comes from people who try to assert their opinions on you. Like the only time I would say something like "the world doesn't owe you anything" is if some A-hole was complaining out loud about what is owed to him. What other context is there for that phrase, lol.

[schwarzkopf]

"The world" in this statement generally prefers to people, society, goverments etc.

Indeed, I just use the term 'universe' to represent all the stuff that impacts you and you have no control over.

And theres a real discussion to be made about what society really owes its people. We expect safety, equalty, possibilitys, working infrastruktures, help when disaster strikes like forest fires, hurricanes, flu epidemics and so on.

What society owes you - that's also nothing.

HOWEVER - like many other useful shared delusions (such as money), society can elect to deem some things to be a right.

However - that right is still not deserved, it is granted. Sometimes it is granted at a cost.

[Flutterguy]

When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world!

[NihilSustinet]

Seems like you are on the verge of realizing how diabolically evil democracy is, and how western society is run by sociopathic religious zealots who believe they are good people.

i dont think democracy is evil by default. its onlt as evil as the people who use it to gain power. capitalism is the real evil that the world needs to rid itself of. and religion.

[Aphrel]

Indeed, I just use the term 'universe' to represent all the stuff that impacts you and you have no control over.



What society owes you - that's also nothing.

HOWEVER - like many other useful shared delusions (such as money), society can elect to deem some things to be a right.

However - that right is still not deserved, it is granted. Sometimes it is granted at a cost.

Its already been decieded, and as a consequence of that decision. Society now really does owe me things. It started owing me and everyone else things the moment the decision was made. Its not a handout or a gift, its a decision about to how much anyone is entitled to, and also indierctly how much an able person (read working person) is due to pay to make the whole endeavour go around.

We arent talking about some existensialism here, its just terms and agreement. Wich varies from country to country. If we dont like it, theres a thing called democracy to change the terms and agrement.

[Flarelaine]

Basically it comes down to consent. If both parties did not consent to an obligation then neither is owed anything from the other.

Except, of course, when one party is a government. They don't need anyone's specific personal consent to collect taxes, for example.

[Razzako]

What a reach lmao

Laws exist to promote order, not to "help" people. Without them we would have chaos, and that has nothing to do with helping people. Breaking the law and being an asshole isn't the opposite of helping people. I'd say the best opposite is becoming a billionare and keeping all the money to yourself.

Laws exists because of assholes, pretty much.

[Super Kami Dende]

Whenever you talk about economic, interpersonal, societal and other struggles, some smartass eventually shows up with the age-old argument of "the world owes you nothing".

If the world owes you nothing, it follows that you don't owe the world anything either. That means you are free to act like an asshole, break laws and destroy the environment.

The world does, in fact, owe you something. If you are to be a member of society, that society owes to treat you with respect. You, in return, owe to treat the society with respect as well.

"The world owes you nothing" line of thinking leads to destructive behaviors.

The World does indeed owe you nothing. You CAN feel free to act like an asshole, break laws and destroy the environment. It is other people that will punish you, not the World.

Your entire point is inane.

[XDurionX]

♫I decree today that life is simply taking and not giving
England is mine, it owes me a living
But ask me why, and I'll spit in your eye
Oh, ask me why, and I'll spit in your eye
But we cannot cling to the old dreams anymore
No, we cannot cling to those dreams♫

[AlmightyGerkin]

The world doesn't owe us anything. We owe the Earth everything. The one that provides resources for us to live by and sadly abuse, demolish, and not replenish at an equal rate.

[Drusin]

What a reach lmao

Not really, I do whatever I know I can do where I am

in a position where not even the law can touch you.

The fun thing about rules is that they let you know what you can get away with

[Mojo03]

It's just one way for supporters of authoritarianism or exploitative capitalism to tell you you don't have a right to complain.

Pretty much this.

[d00mGuArD]

Actually, when you are paying taxes, the society you live in owes you things: Roads, bridges, and general infrastructure... fire department protection, police protection, military protection, justice system etc.

[arandomuser]

social darwinian philosophy facilitates eugenics, which i am of the belief is morally wrong.

[MatadorMedia]

The world (nature, the universe) does not owe you anything, no. The social contract (shared agreement amongst people) guarantees you things, but those are not always delivered. I guess in a social context the saying is referencing that people can break the contract at any time and screw you over.

[Contego]

I typically avoid commenting on people who try to puzzle my RL together (and get it hilariously wrong).

But no, I'm neither a communist NOR pretending to be a gangster. Did I grow up in a wealthy crime family however? Yes. It gives you a very different perspective on the world, and no, I live in West-Europe, but it's just the same in the USA. Crime families have close ties with politicians and both tend to be above the law. I've seen horrible things in my life, things most people wouldn't ever have to witness.

And please kind sir, real talk, how is someone supposed to interpret the world when you see millions of people slaving their ass off at their 9 to 5 job (or longer) while you know other people just go around murdering and raping and making more money in a day than 99,9999% of the rest of the world would make in their entire lives? How would you feel when you know the government condones it and the cops take bribe money to let all that happen (or take part in it since they have the training) while putting their faces on the media and pretending they're against it?

I've very little motivation to comment further on it in this thread, but no... the world is exactly that, a nice little pen with walls of lies and deception and keeping the common people misinformed and ignorant about all the shit that is really going on above their heads or behind their backs.

This isn't even meant as a brag, this is half meant as me not knowing what else to think or do. I never WANTED to see or know all these shitty things. It leaves a scar on people, it fucks with their heads, it makes sure they'll never be or think like other people again. Part of me actually feels really bad about it all, like a victim would.

And secondly, I'm no communist. I do not support communism. So not sure where you got that idea.

But where in the world would people get the idea that they're not nice little penned up domesticated creatures is far beyond me. No, it isn't. I understand it as a self-defense mechanism. As trying to keep some sense of self-worth they perpetuate the lie to themselves that they aren't.



Note: I'll avoid replying to many comments made on this post, because every time discussions pop up about how "sheeple" people are the moderators come driving through with their infractions. And honestly the best place for me to talk about my life would be with a psychiatrist, not on mmo-c. Maybe it just partly saddens me that I can't without some asshats thinking I'm trolling. It only isolates me further from everyone else when I can't mention my RL or own experiences ever.

If you've seen and experienced things most others don't have to, doesn't that make you quite a major dickwad for calling everyone that is not you a sheep and a law-abiding dolt? Considering you had to experience these things not to be a sheep and a law-abiding dolt, you surely would understand that it's not easy for us gullible sheeple who never experienced the same? You should pity us, not belittle us. You're like Usain Bolt laughing at grandmothers for moving slowly, that's just dickish.

It's just one way for supporters of authoritarianism or exploitative capitalism to tell you you don't have a right to complain.

This analogy is dumb on so many levels and serves more as useless propaganda... "the world owes you nothing" is not a response to people asking for more welfare, or crying because their driver's license was revoked. It is a response to people who are crying because the "world" is against them, not the immediate surrounding political society. Complaining about something that happens due to politics is quantifiable.

People are crying because no girl/guy wants to sleep with them, because they never win the lottery but their neighbor just did, because they didn't work hard enough to get the grades they wanted, because they feel lazy someday and still have to work. All of these act like the "world" owes them justice, and it has nothing to do with authoritarianism or capitalism. Stop trying to politicize everything.

[schwarzkopf]

Its already been decieded, and as a consequence of that decision. Society now really does owe me things.

The difference is that society can change the shared delusion at any time.

That's the difference between stuff that is real and stuff that is not.

Whilst society might 'currently' owe you things, there are no inherent laws of the universe making that so.

My experience is that I know society owes me nothing inherently, because if it did - then society would be assisting me with preventing my preventable incoming death. They are not - and if society doesn't owe me life, then anything else it purports to owe is irrelevant.