tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post6716223739920442314..comments2024-03-27T20:34:09.464+01:00Comments on zmkc: The Glad Possessionzmkchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-23489554131815430482014-10-31T09:28:18.507+01:002014-10-31T09:28:18.507+01:00Yes, wealth without responsibility is the problem....Yes, wealth without responsibility is the problem. Odd that, when you mention widening gaps between rich and poor, I think immediately for some reason of Russian kleptocrats buying flashy rubbish in Knightsbridge - odd, in the sense that they are the end product of the Soviet system, impossibly wealthy but without any sense of obligation to anyone less well off than themselves. I think the rush to destroy the wealthy (at least those who haven't stolen their money - I'd like to get rid of the Russians with ill-gotten gains) will never work out well for the rest of society, although it seems to be the usual solution put forward to society's ills. My idea would be to ensure the wealthy recognise that they can help others - Bill and Melinda Gates seem to be good models in this respect for the modern world (until someone comes along with an article tearing them down as only being philanthropists out of self-interest, which will possibly happen - or already has)zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-36274101529189303862014-10-30T22:18:26.502+01:002014-10-30T22:18:26.502+01:00Yes, 48 hours in 'socialist' Prague was en...Yes, 48 hours in 'socialist' Prague was enough for me - a miserable, wretched place that reeked of depression and decay. But I'm concerned about the widening gap between the very richest and the lumpen proletariat. Also, I'm not sure if some of today's rich are a patch on their predecessors - the Carnegies, Gettys and Vanderbilts. In our pseudo-egalitarian society, there seems to be a lamentable lack of <i>noblesse oblige</i> (accompanied by an equally deplorable absence of cap doffing to local magistrates and other worthies). I despair.<br /><br />I'm halfway through STW - I listen to the download in my car - and thought that Susan Neiman got away with a rather lazy point about unfairness. Surely there's a difference between unfairness - the random misfortunes that life throws at us - and institutionalised injustice. Perhaps it will be addressed when I turn on the ignition tomorrow morning<br /><br />As for Russell Brand, he lost me the moment he suggested that scrapping the Royal Family would result in a more democratic society. The list of European countries with monarchs versus those without would clearly suggest otherwise. Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.com