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The defeat?
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| Domesticated |
Will the litigiousness of Western society be our eventual downfall?
I'll go first and elaborate later this weekend, seeing as it's quite late here.
Yes. Currently, we live in an age where a person can sue Winnebago for not informing them that one can't make a cup of tea in the back while absent from the driver's seat. An age where people aren't forced to take responsibility for themselves. This leads to increased insurance costs, making many things, such as delightful street festivals, inviable. Or, more pertinently, certain kinds of valuable blue collar work. However, it also promotes stupidity and laziness in the population, with people knowing that they can purposefully do the wrong thing and yet still make money without actually doing any work. However, this kind of thing is a minority problem.
The main problem is sheer bureaucracy. Builders struggle to obtain licenses due to difficult financial, safety and capability checks enforced by the state to avoid legal difficulty. Train networks grind to a halt due to union strikes and legal action. White collar office jobs become stifling and arduous due to workers' fear of making inappropriate jokes that may have them sued for harassment. This leads to dissatisfaction and decreased work ethic. Children die as teachers and minders fear using another child's epipen to save them from an allergic reaction (this one actually happened in Australia). Doctors go broke as every mistake they make is bought to bear upon them by relatives and their solicitors.
Obviously, these examples are exaggerated and not all of society functions this way. However, it gives a measure of just how deep the excessive law and policy making has penetrated into society. Many things that would seem common sense are discarded due to legality (epipen comes to mind again).
Contrast this with developing countries. While their citizens may be less well cared for or valued than their Western counterparts (truth be told I'm thinking of India and China here), their industry is marching along at a frightening rate. Their citizens take responsibility for their own lives, dream large and work hard, rather than waiting for a lawsuit to go their way.
Unlike the overturning of some previous empires, 'the war' is being fought economically rather than physically. I strongly believe that the near irreversible litigiousness of our current society will be our downfall as less restricted nations march right past us in a blur of efficiency and common sense. Yes, perhaps their citizens will be treated poorly on the way, but that's often the case in getting to the top. The biggest Western business men will take their money overseas to avoid excessive taxation and legal hoop-jumping, which will be the greatest blow of all. Imagine men with wealth similar to that of Gates and Buffett moving their money out of the American economy and what an enormous effect it would have. Although this has been happening for years now (Monaco etc.), I believe that with further stupidity in lawmaking, the situation will become far worse.
Thoughts?
(aside from TL;DR, that is). |
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| Ian |
| maybe not the downfall but it's . Political Correctness is also a big issue. Our local village has run a parade for 60 odd years but this year weren't allowed to because 3 days before it began were told "oh there's a £700 fee for closing a road and the paperwork now" |
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| leph555 |
| this thread is way too mature for me |
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| Ian |
| quote: | Originally posted by leph555
this thread is way too mature for me |
yeah but so is a pokemon one :p |
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| woscar |
TL;DR
:p
No, but seriously...you make good points here. Western society has created a legal system that protects those who are not willing to put in hard work and refuse to make themselves useful to society; yet it rapes those who do.
The plague is spreading though. I happened to be in Panama (which would classify as a "developing country", just like Guatemala and the rest of Central America) right when a new "No Smoking Bill" had been passed and became active. One of the clauses specified that while you were allowed to smoke in your own home, if it bothered anyone inside like a maid, a visitor, or a plumber they have the right to sue you. |
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| djnitride |
political correctness, the far left, the far right.
all these ing extremists who have hijacked our once respectable country with their bull agenda.
and the lazy uninformed people for doing nothing about it because the government gives them free . them straight to hell.
And for the rest of us:
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| Starting a mini-essay with "Yes." gets my firm approval. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| Is this about Ayn Rand again? |
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| Domesticated |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Starting a mini-essay with "Yes." gets my firm approval. |
:p
Smart arse. I originally intended to type once sentence after that and then go to bed, but I got passionate and waffled. However, there's nothing wrong with clearly stating your intentions from the start, especially for the rotten TL;DR crowd. |
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| Domesticated |
| quote: | Originally posted by woscar
The plague is spreading though. I happened to be in Panama (which would classify as a "developing country", just like Guatemala and the rest of Central America) right when a new "No Smoking Bill" had been passed and became active. One of the clauses specified that while you were allowed to smoke in your own home, if it bothered anyone inside like a maid, a visitor, or a plumber they have the right to sue you. |
:wtf: |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| Oh, I'm not knocking it. I genuinely enjoy slightly "off" language use. |
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| Fledz |
If ever there was one thing about the US that justified the whole world turning on them, it's their legal system and what it has done to Western law. The sheer ridiculousness of it never ceases to amaze me and it's only getting worse because it's spreading to other nations.
Domesticated, remember that guy that sued Bondi Council because he dived into a sandbank and became paralysed? He got something like 4 million dollars because apparently there weren't any signs to indicate one could break their neck if they dived in shallow water :rolleyes: |
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