Spot on, Mr. Hitchens!
When a psychopath finds himself saying about another that they give psychopaths a worse name than we already have, you know it’s got to be REALLY bad.
……….
I have been asked why I, as a psychopath, care about doing ‘something good’. I have also tried to answer but perhaps not as clear as I would want to, so here below is an example of my reasoning and how it in my opinion leads naturally to the conclusion that what is good for me is good for everybody – in the long run, at least.
There is undeniably a shift from the more immediate presence oriented gratification seeking which ruled my motivation during my teens and earlier adulthood, but – as I believe I have stated elsewhere – there is also an element of me wanting to try something new which – combined with all that I have learned over the past 5-6 years since I began looking deeper into what kind of person I am and how it affects not only my past but also the possibilities for my future – has lead to what I guess I will call a wider perspective that allows me to include more elements into my considerations when I decide what kind of achievement to aim for and with which approach to do so.
I hope the following gives some insight into my thinking and how I form what to me are logical conclusions.
As for welfare, I believe it’s possible to find a place between zero aid and completely giving over all your money and freedom of choice in exchange for an illusion of complete security (as we see it done in some Northern European countries).
I believe medical aid, schools and minimum wage should be available to everybody regardless of economical or social status. If we don’t make sure to provide these basic things we’ll miss out on a lot of people who could have grown up to become acknowledged as great geniuses and the country’s greatest contributors. Without these basic rights things like mere survival, good health and education would simply be passed down almost exclusively within the families of those who are wealthy and rich, but there’s no reason to expect the most ingenious and talented people to be born in these families more than they do in any other group of society.
Some will argue that genes run within families, but propensity for developing skill, gaining knowledge and for using these in a way that contributes to and helps the country has only little to do with genetics but a good deal more with a combination of nurture, circumstance and chance. It has furthermore been proven that goodwill and consideration toward others is more often found and taught within less well to do groups in society (for obvious reasons).
So for the sake of the country and thereby for the individual citizen’s chance and freedom to pursue personal happiness, we have better take providing fundamental circumstances that allow for everyone to acquire medical aid and education into consideration since it will benefit each of us, not only in terms of personal survival here and now in the form of achievement and wealth, but also in terms of a more long term survival in the form of passing on our genes, and finally in terms of the country’s survival and thereby the best possible circumstances for our families to thrive and continue our legacy.
