I wanted to make a thread where we can discuss the potentially huge topic of society, what it is, how it should be and so on. What inspired me was the current discussion going on in the recreational drug thread. Since I considered the discussion there off-topic, I started this thread.
Anyways, I would say that a community is something you can be inside or outside and so there has to be something governing that difference. It is a kind of social contract which is this : people that are part of a community agree to give up certain freedoms. Those who do not give up these freedoms are not considered part of the community and should not gain the same priveleges of those who are. This description is a bit basic, but in most cases it works. In the recreational drugs thread, I mentioned that I happily give up the freedom to do heroin because I consider the drug to have an overall negative effect not just on an individual level for suffering addicts, but also on society as a whole. I also happily give up my freedom to kill and rob other members of my community. From this comes laws (don't sell heroin, don't kill, don't rob) and those who break them are removed from society -> f.ex put in jail. Freedoms are given up to governing bodies (police, government, law courts etc.) that are ultimately made up by or subject to people from the community so that they represent the will of the people and are able to change when that will changes.
Aside from possible changes to the above scenario like making it a dictatorship rather than a democracy, what I wrote should be fairly basic and is roughly how most democratic societies work.
For me, looking at those basics carries with them immediate implications. A society is something made by the people for the people. On the whole, it should be beneficial (otherwise, why do it?) and being a part of it should be better than being outside it. However, I feel like I see a lot of anti-government thinking and I tend to think of some of those ideas to be anti-society. Some might think that rather than a group of people lifting eachother up, a society should be made up by people competing against eachother for the largest piece of the cake. However, I think a society should be made in such a way that basically, everyone gets a large piece of cake - there's a chance of getting a bigger or smaller, but at least there should be a nice piece in it for you and noone else should steal the whole cake to themselves.
Here's an example of how I think society should benefit me : I think if I get sick, I should be taken care of by the society. In principle, I agree that if it goes for me, it should go for all other members of society. Since I'm rational, I know that medical care costs money (despite the term "free health care") and so I agree that everyone including me should pay taxes so that we can all stay healthier.
Some people think you can get stuff for free, for example : "Less government!! Less taxes!! Better schools!! Better health care!!"
I'm prepared to give to everyone as long as everyone gives something back to me. What do you think?
( This thread is not specifically about USA by the way .. just so you know.
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