by crystal_richardson_ » Sat Sep 24, 2016 11:28 am
most people have empathy and compassion for those close to them or people they can relate to...not generally
i definitely do not observe that. do you?
i guess the farmer analogy was lost...but the point was there are other reasons besides empathy and compassion to treat cattle well...especially when there are relatively few cattle but higher quality cattle
it is the 21st century. societies have evolved. cattle need different care, and prisoners are actually among some of the most productive/profitable workers in the developed world. farmer society isn't going to let them die off or kill them.
part of it is also to do with hypocrisy and consistency. in a society that increasingly expects people to just give, to be altruistic without commensurate material reward in return, as expressed through the rise of volunteer labor and frank disregard for things like fair pay, society must make a show of being similarly humane and caring
it wouldn't make sense, or rather it wouldn't work, to expect people to do more for society for less concrete reward in return, yet society act brutal toward the populace.
people aren't going to be generous, in other words, toward those who are not kind to them. but if you are kind to them, even to prisoners, then they will give you more and expect less in return, even if what you are giving them is actually very little, it can mean a lot apparently
indeed, in countries where the populace are most expected to give without commensurate reward in return, prisoners are treated the best (do you recall Anders Brevik's cell - replete with television, internet, etc.). like northern europe
so the modern state has this idea that if it treats people well, then it won't have to really pay them much. that it can sustain a population of willing giving workers/volunteers, so long as it is kind and caring in providing the bare minimum.
in countries where prisoners are treated the worst, people also less likely to volunteer, to be more aggressively concerned over pay and money and getting their due, etc.