Artwork © Richard Spisak

 

Chapter 10

Rousseau, in “Discourse on Inequality,” states that the scarcity of wild vegetation forced mankind into predatory herds, dissolving all forms of innocence that were imbued by being in a state of nature. The development of language, which should have been bridges linking insular minds to truth and understanding, was misused to lie and manipulate. Mere mortals in more urbanized environments began making claims of everlasting ownership of property. Thus, it can be inferred, the powerful, possessing land like usurers of capital, forced exploited workers to pay exorbitant rent, food, and other living expenses. Although no one can claim to devise a realistic plan to eradicate poverty altogether without altering the very fabric of society, in which each egocentric individual emphasizes surviving and thriving above all other considerations, it can be curtailed. Counterintuitively, novel approaches to this issue are probably not the best means forward. Sometimes, even imperfect attempts at emulating ancient approaches are the best solution, especially at this critical juncture in which global society is so certain to feel the effects of artificial intelligence—effects to which, as yet, there is no functioning simulation to predict the impact as possibilities of AI are so endless. The best prediction is that job elimination will be more rife than even the first impacts of industrialization on farming.

A mixture of grassroots and government-sponsored initiatives of giving those who are marginalized opportunities to succeed, as well as universal basic income contingent on positive contributions to society, are the most viable strategies. Being compassionate enough to give some form of job and living allowance to those who require it and to be cognizant that artists, philosophers, and other intellectuals, no different than the hapless, the uneducated, the addicted, and those suffering from mental or physical impairments, need organizational or governmental sponsors and advocates is an old idea that dates back to Ancient Rome with its tradition of patrons and clients. During both the Republic and the Empire, a wealthy man’s reputation was enhanced by the more clients he had. It is true that the succor often referred to as the “grain dole” which was given out freely to the hungry masses by the first Roman emperors onward was not a form of solicitude done out of compassion but self-preservation as the Empire did not want to be torn apart yet again by protracted civil wars and that it was given out unconditionally. However, unconditional giving, even when well-intended, often exacerbates other social ills such as indolence and “milking” or taking advantage of the system. Thus, Marx had the right idea of “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” Even the elderly and frail need not only to connect but to contribute to others, and it is mutually beneficial to all parties that it be so. To quote John Donne, “No man is an island, Entire of itself; / Every man is a piece of the continent, / A part of the main.” Retiring from life is never a good solution, which is why the ending of Voltaire’s “Candide” is so poignant as the protagonist decides that in such a violent world the best option is to tend one’s garden. We are, as Aristotle points out in “Politics,” social creatures that are interdependent on each other and so retiring into ones sequestered state serves no good.

It is certainly paradoxical how there is rife acknowledgment of the uniqueness of every human being as well as his or her inherent value, with vast constituencies, for sound enough reasons, especially when there is a detectable heartbeat, even ascribing rights to unborn embryos. The French philosopher Montaigne maintained that conjoined twins, for example, instead of being perceived as a grotesque abnormality in the flaws of nature, are in fact manifestations attesting to the vast variety that nature is capable of generating. Yet, conversely, this is conflated with a sense that one is what he or she does for a living, and as the monetary worth of one’s job is based upon its rarity, or at least so Adam Smith claims in “Wealth of Nations,” so status is built around ostentatious displays of wealth. That which one does can be as rare as gold, as useful and common as sand in the making of concrete, or less useful and more common like dirt.

The very disparity of salaries is the essence of poverty, and that poverty is twofold as it is society allocating unequal sums for hard work, but it is also society mirroring whether and to what degree the jobs people do to make a living make them worthy of being alive. In a world still grappling with the insoluble question of whether an unborn fetus is alive and should be afforded the same protections, economic disparities are a blatant contradiction to the idea that everyone is equal and has innate worth. Plato in “The Republic” makes a bold claim that irrespective of all people having inherent worth, it is the role of government to condition them into thinking that they are.

Adam Smith, sensibly enough, does mention that those who create business ventures should expect the vast share of any profits that are generated as they are the ones who risk their capital, that everyone from a baker to even a beggar must understand that basic relationships are transactional and reciprocal, and that an apprentice learning from experience how to mass-produce a product quickly and efficiently could save his earnings and open a similar business. Perhaps in Smith’s day that could be done, but the common worker of Ronald McDonald will certainly not be able to save his earnings to open up his own McDonald’s restaurant in contemporary society. Marx believed that money should not be hoarded in bank accounts, but kept in circulation at all times, ostensibly, so that enough would be in the hands of all to make necessary transactions. This would, of course, end the dire poverty of individuals even if it were to make a whole country relatively poor and stop private investors from researching and engineering new initiatives.

The only means forward in reducing poverty is to understand that government and individuals of means must become patrons and that clients must, out of gratitude and decency, serve the patrons for their good and the good of society. As Aristotle states in “Nicomachean Ethics,” friendships of inequality are important and that the man of means giving to the friend who is a recipient of those means must not complain that the relationship is a one-way street, for the giver is getting something: he is getting virtue for his efforts.

 

Steven David Justin Sills is a literary writer living in Phuket, Thailand. His book of poetry is in many libraries in the United States and a copy of one book owned by a library was scanned by the Internet Archive. Sills’ work can also be found on the Online Book Page at the University of Pennsylvania. Sills finished his last literary novel The Three Hour Lady over two years ago, and until recently, he was devoting that time to writing a long war poem about what is happening in Ukraine. Most of those 25 poems including his most recent poem are at this particular journal. As his graduate degree is great books of the Western Canon he has been wanting to write his own ethical treatise, and this forum affords him that opportunity.

Richard Spisak began his artistic career as a light artist in the Lumonics Studios of Mel Tanner, a legendary Light Artist. After serving under Jack Horkheimer as a planetarium operator at the Miami Space-Transit Planetarium, he left to begin traveling with Lumist Kenvin Lyman, whose show Dazzleland Studios traveled across America. Richard later worked as a Laserist with LASERIUM and Laser Productions, served as a technical producer for the festival company PACE Concerts, and later as operations Manager and Senior Producer at WWHP and WTCN-TV in Stuart Florida.

Richard writes for Theatre, TV, radio, and the web. He published two short story collections, Two Small Windows, in a Pair of Mirror Doors, and Between the Silences. Followed by his poetry collection 7370 Allen Drive and the recently released STONE POETRY. Richard also produces “POETS of the East,” a televised webcast featuring poets from across the globe.