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[deleted] t1_j04mcct wrote

Yeah I mean human behavior, motives, and their placement in a society are far more complicated and nuanced. No person is an absolute parasite or absolutely productive.

I mean by this standard all retired old people are useless parasites.

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DirtyOldPanties OP t1_j04ppme wrote

> Yeah I mean human behavior, motives, and their placement in a society are far more complicated and nuanced. No person is an absolute parasite or absolutely productive.

I agree most people do live in contradiction to some degree but I don't know why there would be some arbitrary absolute that declares "No person is an absolute parasite or absolutely productive."

> I mean by this standard all retired old people are useless parasites.

I very much disagree. I think most retired old people live off their past productive effort (for the most part).

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[deleted] t1_j04vexb wrote

Yes there are some, that maybe an absolute case, but again are products of environment and genetics. In general most everyone is not an absolute.

Again in what country. In a tribal society you would get taken care of. If you have no pension or retirement then you don't have much to live off of. Social security is not enough. But many American don't have a retirement and work their lives away. A good example would be a migrant worker that is illegal, but will never receive Social Security, even though they work and produce.

You are thinking in another default of cultural assumptions etc.

Also being both isn't necessarily a contradiction.

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