16th July 2015, 8:47 AM
I flirted with that philosophy, but the biggest issue is that it ignores that people don't start out on equal footing. In the real world, some people are born into incredible wealth, and others are born into utter destitution, and nothing about that sort of negative freedom (freedom from certain actions) actually does anything about this situation at all. Further, in common practice, most that hold this philosophy naively believe that it's possible for ANYONE to become a billionaire from nothing with enough hard work, ignoring the simple fact that the majority of cases where that actually happens depend on an immense amount of sheer luck, for just the right circumstances to present themselves to ALLOW them to get that chance.
I also had to abandon it because technically a stringent application of that philosophy means parents shouldn't be obligated to take care of their own children and should be allowed to abandon them in the woods should the mood strike them.
I also had to abandon it because technically a stringent application of that philosophy means parents shouldn't be obligated to take care of their own children and should be allowed to abandon them in the woods should the mood strike them.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)