this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023

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Do you ever despair at the apparent lack of regard for the "social contract" by so many? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 1 year ago by wilberfan to c/asklemmy

195 comments fedilink hide all child comments

In this case, I'm referring to the notion that we all make minor sacrifices in our daily interactions in service of a "greater good" for everyone.

"Following the rules" would be a simplified version of what I'm talking about, I suppose. But also keeping an awareness/attitude about "How will my choices affect the people around me in this moment? "Common courtesy", "situational awareness", etc...

I don't know that it's a "new" phenomenon by any means, I just seem to have an increasing (subjective) awareness of it's decline of late.

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[–] kava 2 points 1 year ago

I'm not witnessing this rampant disregard for the social contract. Most people pay their taxes, don't assault others, follow traffic laws, etc.

I guess there are examples like for example the mask thing during the pandemic. But we can have different opinions on what constitutes the social contract.

Maybe I believe I should only wear a mask when I'm sick. If I follow that protocol, in my mind I am still following the rules of the social contract. Someone who believes you should wear a mask 100% of the time may feel I am not following the social contract.

Some people would agree with the first and some with the second and others with something entirely different.

The real litmus test for me is the laws. The social contract isn't simply a morality / ethics thing. It's an agreement "you don't get in my way and I won't get in yours" and that's pretty much what has sparked our common laws.

[–] focusedkiwibear 2 points 1 year ago

The nihilistic energy of the early 2020s isn’t new but it has been front and center for awhile. I’m hoping it fades.

[–] cumcum69 1 points 1 year ago

I wish more people would engage with this at the cinema

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

We live in a society - George Costanza

[–] FontMasterFlex 0 points 1 year ago

Common courtesy and following the rules and situational awareness are not the same thing as "how will my choices affect the people around men in this moment."

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Sure, but the rules are usually made by powerful people to support their power. And we follow them to avoid losing our jobs and becoming homeless.

We live in a mercenary society, and if you reject that you just become homeless in a mercenary society.

There might be some jobs that pay a living wage and are 100% socially positive, but there are not enough of them for most people to live their lives by social contract.

We live by corporate contract, or else we are homeless.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

You just described c/antiwork

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

the notion that we all make minor sacrifices in our daily interactions in service of a “greater good” for everyone.

That's a talking point abusers and their supporters commonly use to convince victims to accept abuse and to continue to suffering.

No just society expects you to subordinate your unailenable right to defend yourself from violence, for example, but many states do, and they can and will arrest and imprison abuse victims for fighting back on those grounds.

Anyone who tells you to make sacrifices for the greater good is being immoral and should be ignored.

Greater goods do not require sacrifices.

[–] moog 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

i wholeheartedly disagree. Do I want to drive through every single red light to get to where I'm going? Of course! Do I? No because we cant have a function transport system without me sacrificing that. Do i want to blast music at 2am sometimes? yes, but do I? no because that would be unfair to my neighbors. There are a million examples I could pull from to prove my point.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Other people explicitly don't do those things and suffer no consequences. And I am expected to sacrifice my health and well-being tolerating it for a low-status place in a society that never wanted me in the first place, so who exactly is benefitting from all of those sacrifices? Not me and not you. Only evil people who take advantage of it to benefit themselves and are willing to be aggressive to defend it get anything out of it, so my point stands. Being expected to sacrifice yourself for a greater good is immoral.

[–] FringeTheory999 -4 points 1 year ago

A. That’s not what the social contract is, and 2. There is no social contract.

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