Evan Prodromou
Thanks everyone who replied. I really appreciate to see the overwhelming support for judging societies by the wellbeing of the least powerful and wealthy. John Rawls used this metric in his milestone work "A Theory of Justice".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Theory_of_Justice?wprov=sfla1
Evan Prodromou
I mentioned in the comments how often we judge societies by their most powerful and wealthy, especially for societies of the past. The powerful leave behind monumental and durable artifacts, and are often the only people referenced in histories, so it is hard to judge past societies by any other means.
Bruce Elrick
@evan
The number of people with power I've seen treat wait staff as non-people is... disappointing.
Evan Prodromou
Mostly, though, I've become concerned with discussions of electoral politics after the 2024 elections. I have heard a number of commentators suggest indirectly or directly that the US Democratic Party may be able to win elections and do good for the average American by turning against the most vulnerable populations, like Palestinians, trans people, and immigrants.
Evan Prodromou
A transphobic society with universal healthcare is a loathsome society.
A country with universal childcare that funds or supports the eradication of 7M Palestinians from Israel/Palestine is a criminal country.
A nation that has a $15 minimum wage and turns away political and climate refugees is a nation that has lost its humanity.
Evan Prodromou
Human sacrifice will not regain the White House.
Evan Prodromou
Anyway, I'm "least". Thanks again for responding.
M. Grégoire
@evan I picked the standard answer out of the three. But there are other valuable ways of judging a society beyond what Rawls suggests. Here's an amusing one: https://evetushnet.substack.com/p/a-habsburg-behind-the-veil-of-ignorance
Evan Prodromou
@mpjgregoire sure. I was only asking along this spectrum.
Evan Prodromou
I should probably also point out that authoritarian societies often redraw the boundary on which groups it is fair to sacrifice, and which ones will benefit from that sacrifice.
I think the famous Niemöller poem ("First they came...") is an example of that line continually moving, with new groups becoming the outgroup as the previous group is eliminated.
Evan Prodromou
@trochee my touchstone also!
Jeremy Kahn
@evan some of us — many of us, in fact — would still walk away from Omelas
…if there were anywhere else to go
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