LH: "I prefer a philosophy that encourages us to stand on our own two feet as much as possible as opposed to one that encourages its citizens to expect the world (or its government) to provide it a living."
This is a poor definition of a welfare state as I understand it. Rather than 'providing the individual with a living', the aim is to ensure that every individual has a minimum standard of life. And while there are certainly some, perhaps many, that are happy to live a life on benefits, they know full well that they'll never get rich doing it. A welfare state does not prevent hard working or innovative people from moving up in the world but it provides a safety net that stops them falling too far down in it.
To my mind, this is what being civilised is about. Why allow people in a society to live in poverty if the society can afford to lift them out of it? Rather that than have them stepping on someone else to achieve it.
Simon ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
