Quote (Black XistenZ @ Sep 5 2020 05:32pm)
You wanna know how living in a country without welfare looks like? Look no further than Brazil and South Africa, where the middle class has to live in gated communities and have to fear for their lives as soon as they step into the wrong neighborhoods - which make up something like 80% of the entire country.
We can debate about the optimal extent of the welfare state, but the existence of a minimal social safety net is a huge accomplishment and benefits everyone.
I'm researching some history things, like the things that lead to the current borders of Europe, and some of that goes all the way back to Rome.
One thing I found that was interesting is that the grain dole was a hugely successful program that brought long-term stability to Rome and was basically the biggest social welfare program in history until the modern welfare state, and it only failed at the end because basically the whole empire was collapsing around them. It's a pretty stark contrast to what I've heard from conservatives about how "the grain dole ruined the Roman empire by breeding welfare queens!" and then you find out the grain dole lasted longer than the entire history of the United States.
Anyway the take away is that it's virtually guaranteed that you will need a welfare system to maintain the stability of your country for the long-term, and this has been the case for like 2000 years now.
This post was edited by Thor123422 on Sep 5 2020 04:54pm