I've worked with young people barely making any money out of school, who still religiously went to the pub with their mates for the proverbial pint, and never skipped on Costa del Sol holidays. I'd argue they are barely making ends meet because they're having avocado toast at a coffee shop, and multiple other expenses they can't responsibly afford. But that's not the point the point is that people who are barely making ends meet having avocado toast at a coffee shop have the wrong mindset. An avocado toast and a coffee every morning won't add up to a real estate deposit. Unpopular opinion (therefore throwaway account): avocado toast guy is right. By removing knowledge of the natural inequalities that give people unfair advantages, it becomes irrational to choose principles that discriminate against any particular group. As such, they do not deserve any benefits or harms that come from them. Rawls thought these facts are morally arbitrary: individuals do not earn or deserve these features, but simply have them by luck. You do not know your gender, race, wealth, or facts about your personal strengths and weaknesses, such as their intelligence or physical prowess. > One set of facts hidden from you behind the Veil are what we might call ‘demographic’ facts. > The Veil is meant to ensure that people’s concern for their personal benefit could translate into a set of arrangements that were fair for everyone, assuming that they had to stick to those choices once the Veil of Ignorance ‘lifts’, and they are given full information again. You can think of it as "What we'd all decide for the world if each of us did not know ahead of time which circumstance we'd be born into". Moral philosopher John Rawls's uses the concepts of original position and veil of ignorance for a thought experiment that is the only fair basis for making decisions about moral principles and how society should be structured. I can think of times in my life where each view was helpful and warranted, even if they're hard to reconcile with each other. > In this situation, though, what's medicine to one is poison to the other. Sounds like you're saying we shouldn't bother trying. So, until we know, I guess it's whatever view gets you where you need to go. In this case, the 'truth' isn't really knowable because we can't objectively observe a system we're a part of. In this situation, though, what's medicine to one is poison to the other. In these cases, some of the stories of 'self-made' optimism can help get you out of a spot of hopelessness into action. This provides psychological solace but can prevent you from moving forward because you're convinced you won't be able to. Sometimes, it's easy to blame everything and lament how everything is stacked against you. On the other end of the spectrum is feeling like an endless victim. Sometimes, learning that it was something beyond your control (ie social forces were stacked against your particular endeavor) can be liberating and break the person out of personal blame an hopelessness and let them start again. When they don't, they blame themselves endlessly. Some people think they control everything about their lives - they do think that if they put in the time, effort, and energy, they can achieve anything. It's a very interesting problem with psychology and the locus of control - I think, ultimately, it depends on what works for you and solves your current psychological funk at the time.
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