ANSWERS: 14
  • It depends. What basic needs are we talking about? Is government considered part of "society"?
  • Not in the US. Here, it's society's responsibility to make sure everyone has the same opportunity.
  • no..i do not...its society's ,people's self benevolence to help poor,unfortunates, fatherless and widows...but society is not responsible for user and abusers of society....everyone ,every family needs help at times....but they are supposed to be responsible to themselves, their own family...not others...or living off charity and others. thats the worst 'greed' there is... we are our brothers keepers ....but not when those brothers use and take advantage of benevolence and hospitality.... there is plenty of WELFARE and HELP out there.that society, WE provide, the taxpayers...there is chips,(for children, and it is awesome, provides better than those insured), medicare,medicaid, charity hospitals,food stamps, we provide housing,utilities paid, educations, etc.....its just the greediness and covetness ,of the idle and unproductive , that is ruining this land....by taking advantage and using and abusing the SYSTEMS...
  • "...it's society's responsibility to make sure everyone has the same opportunity. " But society, our government, has many other responcibilities to our fellow citizens and to the rest of the inhabitants of the planet we share.
  • It would be nice, but far fetched. No, I do not believe it is societies responsibility to make sure everyone's basic needs are met. Why would you want to get an education, a job, or work hard if someone is going to provide you with your basic needs. You would have nothing to work for, except for luxuries. I'm sure there are people who would be perfectly happy without them.
  • Certainly I believe this. And every Christian thinking person should believe it also.
  • Sure it is! Let's outline the 'basic' needs. . 1- Place to live... give me an apartment in NYC. . 2- Make sure I have enough food to eat... basic food. . 3- Basic cable service... so I won't feel inferior. . 4- Cell phone... in case I get a call for a job. . 5- Internet connection... a la al gore who said internet connection is a basic right. . 6- Car... Mass. welfare office is giving out cars to all receipants... where is my cadilac? . 7- Air jordans... my dignity must be maintained! . 8- Health care that provides viagra... oops we get that now. . Did I forget something?
  • It's individuals responsibility to provide for their own.
  • First, would you care to define: 'basic needs'?
  • It's really not. As individuals we should help other individuals but that is not a responsibility. Rather it is a kindness.
  • How about we start by defining Society! I regularly see it taken as being some distant body who has boundless resources without recourse to taxation. God maybe? If that's your definition then I don't see how it involves me and sure, whatever! If Society is less remote and slighly less bountifull, sort of needs to pass round the hat now and then, it's still an OK. But if Society is that organization with no resources of it's own. That relies on coming round with a gun for donations and calls them taxes, then I want it restricting quite a bit.
  • I believe it is society's responsibility, and by protraction, a decent government will find a way to provide this. But it's complicated and takes a lot of work and determination to provide this and protect from fraud. Tertiary societies, such as those found in the Americas and the Pacific Islands at the time of European discovery practiced these responsibilities within their tribes for internal security and longevity purposes. Today, there are governments in western European countries, especially in Scandinavia, that try to provide basic needs as interpreted by the first two levels of Maslow's Pyramid (1. Biological and Physiological Needs: air, water, food, shelter. 2. Safety Needs: Protection, safety, order, law, stability) in order to provide the opportunity for the individuals their society to attain the top level, which Self Actualization, in other words, each person's ultimate potential. In Sweden, the provision of these first two levels of the pyramid is called Existence Minimum and is guaranteed to every citizen and most legally registered permanent resident non-citizens. http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm NOTE: In many modern models, Maslow's pyramid includes sex on the first level. This is NOT guaranteed to the citizen by the Scandinavian governments. In this respect, they are on their own. These two levels include heavy emphasis on universal healthcare, unemployment compensation and retraining, pensions for the elderly, and education from daycare through advanced university degrees (providing one can pass the stringent academic requirements). The result is a healthy, highly skilled work force and an educated, well-informed citizenry that is active in a strong democracy. In practicality, to avoid the country going bankrupt due to fraud in individual welfare compensation cases, an individual who is determined qualified to receive "extraordinary" government assistance (beyond that wich is guaranteed all citizens encompassed by education, healthcare, pensions, etc.), is legally considered a ward of the state and they lose their rights as an adult, and are given only rights as a minor for the time in which they are on assistance. This means that they become a child of the state and the state essentially becomes their parent. They are heavily monitored in their spending and lifestyle, and certain conditions and responsibilities are placed upon them, such as showing up for job training, parenting classes, etc. They must report to the Social Security Office, or Employment Bureau at least once a month and visits to their homes are without notice. Violators, such as a person who is placed on rent and food assistance that are found to be purchasing alcohol or drugs with the taxpayer's money, can be arrested for fraud against the state. Social workers are known to go through recipients garbage of those under suspicion. In routine cases of work layoffs, temporary disability due to accidents, etc., the monitoring is almost non-existent unless the period of dependency becomes unusually long. Maternity leave, student assistance, all medical except for elective surgeries, etc., are considered rights and do not fall into the category of state welfare. Once a person is again able to support oneself, their majority rights as a citizen are rehabilitated and they can go on to live private lives. Swedes, for example, take their freedoms quite seriously and those that require temporary assistance work hard to become full-fledged citizens again. There are some in every society, such as the mentally and physically handicapped that will require assistance all their lives, and once this is determined, legal provisions are in place and they can receive assistance without losing citizen rights. This is in order to not deprive those who are permanently handicapped through accident or birth. The system worked well since 1945, until recently. In recent years, due to Sweden's liberal immigration and political asylum policies, this system has become heavily burdened and the taxpayer is clamoring for more conservative policies concerning foreigners and non-citizens. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this.
  • If you can not work due to illness, disability or psychological problems and you have no family to support you and take you in, the answer is yes. Situations like that should be seen and death with with compassion for your fellow man. If you are lazy and pump out kids with no daddy so you can milk the system for all it's worth, or you made bad choices in life and have an addiction that makes you useless to anyone accept you pimp or dealer, the answer is no. I do not want to work so my money can be given to the dregs of society so they can continue to drain resources and be wastes of breath.
  • I believe it is, yes. That's how I live my life, anyway. I have a very strong sense of responsibility when it comes to what I put out into society, and whether I should put anything out at all. But that is only MY personal code. It isn't something I expect others to adhere to. And I won't lift a finger to help somebody if THEY aren't trying to help themselves. I, like society, have a finite amount of resources. My responsibility is also to manage those resources wisely. +5

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