Is it possible to possess socialist principles while executing economics like an anarchist?
MatthewF: TelfordUS:In a dog-eat-dog environment, it would be nearly impossible to desire such satisfaction. I might disagree. In an environment where many people were in need and few were willing to help, wouldn't the marginal utility of any amount of help offered be valued higher both by the giver and the reciever? If so this would seem to only encourage more help to be given the more that people are in need.
TelfordUS:In a dog-eat-dog environment, it would be nearly impossible to desire such satisfaction.
I might disagree. In an environment where many people were in need and few were willing to help, wouldn't the marginal utility of any amount of help offered be valued higher both by the giver and the reciever? If so this would seem to only encourage more help to be given the more that people are in need.
It's possible, but that is a system that would be rather difficult to start. If the environment is especially cutthroat, your first priority wouldn't be to help others, but to help yourself. Why help someone when you need that energy to help yourself, when the rest of the population will most likely not help you?
Imagine, if you will, a middle school dance where the boys and girls have a severe case of Wallflower Syndrome. If you were one of these boys or girls, it would be nerve wracking to ask someone to dance since nobody else is doing it. To ask someone to dance would be to stretch your neck under a guillotine, as you would lay yourself out completely vulnerable to rejection. However, if you see one couple dancing it would be easier to ask someone, thus starting a chain reaction until everyone is dancing.