I think I would generally go into more detail with the person on what they mean by “don’t work.” If they don’t care about what happens to disabled people, the elderly, children, then they aren’t worth the energy.
Some people have this idea that people who are taken care of won’t want to work so they need to be pushed into it without a safety net, but I would point out that capitalism forces artificial scarcity of jobs to maintain a competitive environment; creates hostile and unsustainable work environments; foments hyperindividualism and destroys community in order to maintain power, so people more end up depressed, demoralized, and unmotivated to do anything; and it’s not exactly motivating to spend your life working just to make someone richer. Capitalism is already creating conditions where people who can work won’t be working.
So when people say they don’t want their taxes going to people who don’t work:
Do they even live under a system where they have a say in where their tax dollars go in the first place? Plenty in the US are pissed about their tax dollars going to fund genocide, but it’s happening anyway. If they lived under a system of working class power, the people would be working to overcome problems that relate to those who can work not working, among other things.
Do they understand that it’s not a variable you pull out of reality and check yes or no on and move on with your life? Its presence or the lack of it is connected to other mechanisms. It’s never just “your taxes go to people who don’t work or they do.” It’s never just “people don’t want to work.” Those are surface level things in a whole pervasive political system that goes into every aspect of life.
I think I would generally go into more detail with the person on what they mean by “don’t work.” If they don’t care about what happens to disabled people, the elderly, children, then they aren’t worth the energy.
Some people have this idea that people who are taken care of won’t want to work so they need to be pushed into it without a safety net, but I would point out that capitalism forces artificial scarcity of jobs to maintain a competitive environment; creates hostile and unsustainable work environments; foments hyperindividualism and destroys community in order to maintain power, so people more end up depressed, demoralized, and unmotivated to do anything; and it’s not exactly motivating to spend your life working just to make someone richer. Capitalism is already creating conditions where people who can work won’t be working.
So when people say they don’t want their taxes going to people who don’t work:
Do they even live under a system where they have a say in where their tax dollars go in the first place? Plenty in the US are pissed about their tax dollars going to fund genocide, but it’s happening anyway. If they lived under a system of working class power, the people would be working to overcome problems that relate to those who can work not working, among other things.
Do they understand that it’s not a variable you pull out of reality and check yes or no on and move on with your life? Its presence or the lack of it is connected to other mechanisms. It’s never just “your taxes go to people who don’t work or they do.” It’s never just “people don’t want to work.” Those are surface level things in a whole pervasive political system that goes into every aspect of life.