[HappMacDonald]

And why wouldn't a society owe its citizens anything after 40+ years of keeping their nose at the grindstone, and obeying all of its laws?

Society is defined by what we owe one another in pursuit of civil interactions with one another.

If the only contract society offers me is "work your hands to the bone and then be discarded once you can't work anymore" then I have no incentive to keep up my side of the contract and perform labor or observe property laws in the first place. And once everyone is trying to cheat and steal from one another then you no longer have a society anymore.

[lkbm]

Do you consider life not worth living during the time of your life when you're working?

What do you think you get if you don't hold up your side of the bargain? It's not like the state of nature was an early retirement.

[HappMacDonald]

Ask that to any serf throughout history. You don't have to "prefer to be dead" in order to recognize that what is being asked of you fails to be worth what you get in return, and then be in a rational position to decide to default on what others frame you as being obligated to do.

[RestlessMind]

Then you just fall back to a small trusted circle of family and friends. Or, what we used to call a tribe or a clan back then.

[Enderthe3rd]

You support taking away social security for people who have committed crimes or had bouts of unemployment?

Based.