[jackothy]

Even though the world is deterministic it is beneficial (or even necessary) to treat people as though they are responsible for their own actions, both in good and bad. We send people to prison even if the chance of further crime is ~0. We get mad at people when they act like assholes. We don't just blame it on "society".

It's all about incentives. If people think they might get punished for a certain thing, they tend not to do it. If people think they might get rewarded for a certain thing, they tend to do it.

If we want to be the kind of society that creates people with useful skills, we have to incentivize people to attain those skills. Think of this as us controlling the environment that shapes people a certain way.