The removal of fear can also be considered a negative effect of a safety net though. Without the fear of failure, whats to stop one from making improperly weighed decisions? Isn't the fear of failure what drives the decision making process to the right conclusion? As a thought experiment: In a world with a marginally better safety net, would we really see cures for cancer or would we just see more Pinterest for X or Facebook for X start-ups?
As a thought experiment: In a world with a marginally better safety net, would we really see cures for cancer or would we just see more Pinterest for X or Facebook for X start-ups?
Probably cures for cancer. The thing is, Pinterest for X is a quicker path to money than becoming a biomedical engineer and making Yet Another Incremental Contribution Towards Treating and Curing Cancer. So a culture that focuses more on acquiring money over other values will have more crappy start-ups and less scientific advancement. A culture that diverts some effort away from financial gain towards humane safety nets or research is going to see more research and more risk-taking.
Without the fear of failure, whats to stop one from making improperly weighed decisions?
Why do you think you know the proper weights for decisions a priori? Ha, and I bet you're American, too. Founded on opportunity and experimentation, now one of the countries where everything has to follow a Grand Plan for Success.
Real life is an experiment-in-progress, not a Grand Plan. Attempting to instill fear in the populace so as to encourage Grand Planning doesn't actually help anything.
It's easy to fall too deep into the abyss to recover when you fail. I would rather have a strong safety net and let a few people collect on it than risk it not being strong enough to do any good.
