"…Set a man on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life."

[wolven7]

So, you ever actually taught someone to fish? Who doesn't bring snacks along, to that? I mean really.

In case the metaphor is escaping, what I'm saying is that while we're teaching people to take care of themselves, whatever that's supposed to mean*, you can also keep them from dying in the immediate short term.

*"Taking care of yourself" is a meaningless phrase. What we actually teach people is how to navigate the system--or the ways in which the system is SUPPOSED to be navigable--with greater or lesser facility.

Which inherently involves a bit of doublethink so that we can continue to ignore how interdependent we all are, and continue to congratulate ourselves/judge each other on how industrious and entrepreneurial we all are.

Comments

[nausved.livejournal.com]

I'm shocked by the number of people who use this analogy to argue against welfare, yet don't actually want to teach anyone to fish. They oppose government programs to provide free education and job training to the unemployed just as much as they oppose putting food in their bellies.