Do you believe laziness to be a natural vice of humanity?

Question

... and if so, should social contract consider vices when freedoms/protections are to be enumerated? For example, some say that the creation of welfare as a protection of against poverty is immoral because humans would naturally exploit it to avoid working. What are your thoughts on this? I'm looking for a philosophical perspective, not political banter.

Answer 1

In my opinion, yes, laziness is a natural vice of humanity(and
most species for that matter). Laziness is a vicious trait
because the lazy believes they are conserving energy.
The oversight is that no profit is deserved. Therefore,
the lazy would naturally extinguish their own energy
if it weren't for the fact that the lazy often leech off
of other people's energy. In order to sustain balance
energy should be cycled from the individual into the
environment and back around to the individual. Ideally,
the return on the invested energy should produce
a profit. Therefore, the individual should be gaining
ground over time if a reproducible cycle can be
instantiated. For example, a job which pays the bills
with extra money going into the bank afterwards.

Ideally, social contract should consider vices, but
the system becomes unwieldy if the society becomes
to large to supervise the individual contingency; the
one size fits all inefficiency. Even if the supervision
remains aware to its constituents the issue is still
complicated. How can the vices be moderated?
Should an individual have their wages redirected
if they buy too many hats on the premise that no one
could need so many hats. Sounds overly restrictive
to me. Should an individual have their wages redirected
if they have a student loan that they have been avoiding
payment on. It depends on the circumstances. Money
is a one size fits all token. The premise is that the money
is a proportional indicator of the contribution an individual
has/is making to the society. Obviously, money is not always
an objective measure. If you have read the Bible or other
religious manuscripts there are many lessons on
being a good neighbor, and most of them promote
helping a neighbor in need. Not charging them an
exorbitant amount of money for the aid provided.
Therefore, following the lessons in the Bible might
lead someone to own less currency, but donating
services obviously improves and maintains society.
The point being, large quantity of money ownership
does not necessarily imply that the owner is entitled
to vices. That said, ownership of large quantity of
money doesn't imply that the owner has any vices.
Quantities of money spent is a more appropriate
indicator of vices; the frugal millionaire isn't labelled
a glutton.

Laziness being a state which can potentially afflict any
member of humanity, the exploitation will likely be mutual
in many different forms. Exploitation should be prosecuted
judiciously with consideration to the circumstances
of what any random member of humanity might be
expected to do in a similar situation.

Answer 2

Yes, a little free money for doing nothing will cause many people not to work. It does indeed create a "welfare society" and a large anchor tied around the neck of the taxpayers.

Let's look at the alternative. Welfare of all types is eliminated. No social security. No welfare. No nothing. The cost of having people with no money to a society will change the society from compassionate to cruel. Those beggars and theives that are left will become a "scurge" on the decent people and some will say need to be eliminated. Those with no money will begin to mutilate themselves to get more from begging, because able-looking people should be working. The old, the mentally ill, the mentally challenged will be begging in the streets, as was the case in the eary 19th century. Is this how you want to live? This is the difference between the 3rd world and the 1st world. Pray you never experience life in the 3rd world.

Answer 3

Laziness is a judgment about others that is often incorrect.

A person with learning disabilities may not be able to read the newspaper, complete job applications, or score in aptitude tests. Over time and without the necessary supports or resources, it becomes very easy to judge them as "lazy".

In a culture that is quick to pass judgment, the embarrassment of things just as mental illness, learning disabilities and other barriers to employment are over looked. After all, it is easy to say "I work, so can they" without appreciating what another faces.

Most people are one or two cheques away from welfare. A capitalist society with an evaporating middle class has less room to fluctuate.

Where there are humans, there are likely to be abuses, however, there are those who have legitimate need where our social institutions have let people down.

From parents, to the school system, from a health care system to social interventions, there are many places for our "enlightened" society to break down.

Welfare is "wrong" as it breed dependence. Being dependent is harmful to anyone in the long run. it's no better than a parent bailing an adult child out each time that they run into a problem -- financially or otherwise. However, in a capitalist society, that is more common than not.

Welfare is also a protection against our guilt at having where we see others who don't have. Welfare is also consistent with what many religions teach in terms of helping each other out -- often to the detriment of those being "helped".

Envy or avarice and greed is also a problem. Most philosophies and religions speak against these, but these are sometimes motivations for taking advantages of social systems such as welfare. Any society that has the "haves" and "have nots" is going to produce envy and greed, unless we each work towards addressing those issues.

Answer 4

I don't believe so, I think laziness is a product of society that encourages convenience and a strong sense of worthlessness in the grand scheme of things.

if you look around systems exists that don't place any emphasis on an individual, your just part of the process. You can be replaced tomorrow like you didn't exist.

I think it can be hard to gain a sense of worth or satisfaction from what you do. How many accountants go home feeling like they made a difference in the scheme of things today? How many bin man drew motivation from emptying the trash? If your life holds little purpose for you, then your likely to put little purpose back into it.

If laziness exists its because the world doesn't have a place for everybody of all the time, not because its inherent to humanity.

I understand there's a very clear argument for people to find a purpose but if your trying to understand laziness i believe those to be the factors which create it.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

No, it is not a natural vice. Some people could not be lazy if they tried. They have to be doing something all the time. There are lazy people, but simply because they are a member of society, they are entitled to at least a minimum standard of life. Otherwise, they need not be a member of that society. While lazy people are taking advantage of the duty of a society to its members, they don't get much in the bargain. But those in real need of such standards, find the gifts of society indispensable.

Answer 7

Well in many ways this is very true. Why work if you can get by just fine without it. This is why any welfare should only provide the very minimum standard of living necessary to survive. The biggest problem with that line of argumentation is that almost everyone on welfare is on it not because they can't get by themselves, it's because they can't feed their kids.
There in lies the problem. We can't force kids to work, but yet it's not there fault if they have lazy parents. So if you cut a parent off of welfare, because they're to lazy to work, you're not just leaving them to fend for themeselves, but you are also leaving their children, who very likely cannot fend for themselves.

Answer 8

Laziness is an artificial configuration of the illusive human ego, and most DEFINITELY has no connection to the coherency we possess.

Answer 9

the FDA is making the American people fat and lazy..sorry if that sounds political ..

Answer 10

yes