About Removing the Drudgery of Poverty

Imagine a homeless guy sitting on the street. Around him, people are passing by.
While they walk, they spot the poor man, and different thoughts immediately cross their minds.
One thinks, “This guy stinks,” followed by short feeling of disgust and anger. Another guy thinks, “He is asking for money. Should I give him money? I do not want to give him money,” then some other: “Damn, I have only plastic.” Some other: “Here you are, fellow... That felt nice, but could I give him more? I had a few coins more; that was stingy of me... I could... I should give more... now I feel bad again...”

Freeze that scene! All these people live in some kind of psychological loop they created, partially because of the system, their own nature, and their personal upbringing. In that very moment, their brains are caught in some Virginia Woolf-style psychological drama. Probably, this is a good time for someone to jump in and religiously explain all that as God’s temptation, or the wheel of Saṃsāra, or maybe even causality of Karma...

But, seeing this picture, I am thinking something else:
“Is there a way we could remove all that drama for good?
All those judgmental thoughts, hostility, guilt, sad conditions — can we erase them somehow, permanently?”

How can we remove all of it, to the last bit?
That entire drama — can we make it just disappear?
Instead of blaming, gossiping, guilt-shaming, judging — even just thinking about it — is there any way we could do something else?

Let's say we implement Basic Income and, in the best case, we do not have poverty anymore. As you already know, that would not be a perfect society, as people would still have issues, but there would not be any more dirty people on the street, living in inhumane conditions. There would not be any more begging, and those homeless people would have their own basic human dignity back.

Some may say that we would not change those people. They would not become better, and they would stay the same. Why does it matter, then, if we remove the drama?

Let’s think what would happen if we do not change anything — what if we do not introduce Basic Income? One day, although it probably looks impossible right now, you may end up in their shoes. You may become homeless. People with different types of jobs thought the same things in 2008, and, over night, they were on the streets.

Think about it, no one complained when, at the beginning of the 20th century, Penicillin was invented, and suddenly people’s lives were extended. The drama of infectious diseases, thanks to science, was reduced to a tolerable level.

Now, imagine, “What if?” What if we would remove money, currency, or any viable means of exchanging value, plus all of the issues and dramas connected with paying, buying, landing, borrowing, ownership...?

Just try, be brave, and let imagination flow. What would it be like to be free? Ask yourself...

Matthew 6:26

If you like this one, read more posts about removing the drama with “Science”, by “Trust” and in “Fear of death and life”



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