A Note on the Suffering of Others

We don't like to see suffering, and so [welfare|alleviating it wherever we see it] is one of the things we want. Unfortunately, [taxes|we expect others to help us pay] the cost of relieving the suffering. But I don't see suffering as a total negative. I have suffered at times, and in response I changed myself. Had I not suffered, I wouldn't have changed. In that sense, suffering is an invaluable motivational tool for changing us.

When we relieve someone else of suffering, we take the [risk] that they will get themselves into the same mess again - that we have prevented them from changing in a way that makes their life better. We might realize this, but still go ahead and relieve the suffering anyway because we like the effect it has. In fact, if we like the effect enough, we may start to [nicotine|help people get into such messes] so that we can relieve their suffering and benefit from it over and over again. In fact, this is the bread and butter of high-yield credit card companies.

When we cause someone else's suffering, for example by throwing them in jail for whatever reason, we run the risk of having them change in a way that [black market|reflects our motivations], rather than in [consumer protection|a way that improves things]. Of course, often they change in a way that improves things and reflects our motivations. This is the essential mechanism at work when parents punish their children.

So when we consider the suffering of others, let's first ask if the suffering is bearable enough to be allowed to go on while it might be making the sufferer [self-discipline|change for the better]. When we can't bear it, let's not [legislation|force others to help] pay the cost of relieving it - this is what leads to all the taxation used to support [social programs]. Instead, let's get together with our [church]es, our friends, our neighbors, and anyone else that can't bear it any longer and collect whatever voluntary contributions we can to alleviate it.

Those who relieve a person's suffering are his [savior]s, but if he was about to change in response to his suffering, then they are also [crutch|responsible for keeping him down]. This is a risk each of us needs to [personal responsibility|take on his own]. The taxation used to alleviate suffering prevents those willing to help from being recognized as saviors, prevents those who would choose to let suffering do its motivational work from doing so, and keeps the recipients from becoming more productive toward their own well being.