tragedy, utopia, reality
Do people become responsible because they are given responsibilities, or must they first demonstrate their worthiness before being granted the right to exercise judgment?
The question seems tautological. How is one supposed to demonstrate his worthiness to carry the burden of responsibility without being burdened with it in the first place? The answer depends profoundly on one's preferred view of the human condition.
In one corner stands the idea that people ought to be responsible for their own well-being, that individual choices lead to particular outcomes, and that every one of us, to a greater or lesser extent, ought to be held responsible for the manner in which we conduct ourselves, and for the lot we have been awarded. The opposing view posits that our station in life is determined less by our individual choices than by external factors over which any one of us has little to no control: inherited wealth, skin color, the grace of the gods. The role of individual agency, in this version of events, is secondary to what we might have called fate in previous eras, or the veil of ignorance in ours.
Is our world one of trade-offs, limited resources, and ineradicable plight that can only be partially and temporarily alleviated, or is it one of ideals, of imagination, a race toward the end of history wherein we all live perfectly free and equal lives?
Most people will recognize that reality lies somewhere in between these two distilled poles of thought. The battle over where, exactly, has been fought in the great works of literature and philosophy as well as with bows and arrows, muskets, and drones. The question of whether the battle will eventually be won, and by whom, is anyone's guess.