[old-gregg]

> turn over personal responsibilities to the the government

Sounds like the modern states are doing a much poorer job caring for their members than a prehistoric tribes used to. At least the tribes provided their members with 4 basic benefits like to hunt together (defense), resolve disputes (justice/law), care of elderly (pensions) and wounded (healthcare).

It absolutely blows my mind that someone would consider any of the 4 to be "personal responsibility". Frankly, I find it absurd to pay money for a lawyer to win in court. In my mind that's an equivalent of out-spending your opponent on a personal army and just taking what you need by force.

Pensions are not personal responsibility. And California state workers are happy to agree with me, that's why they tax pensionless private sector workers to help themselves with a "state pension". And nobody is protesting against this outrageous behavior... Weird. Where are the burning cars and shattered storefronts?

[WalterBright]

Prehistoric societies would send their elderly out into the snow to die once they were no longer productive members of the tribe. Nomadic tribes would simply leave behind the elderly who couldn't keep up any more.

It wasn't so much that they were heartless - they simply did not have the resources to do otherwise.