(no subject)

[xiphias]

The aphorism "waste not, want not" is a rather destructive concept in America today. Because it implies that poverty is a moral failing. If you're poor, the aphorism says, it's because you're wasteful, and lazy.

Comments

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I think that there are plenty of people who are wasteful, and some of them are poor. But I've known too many people who wasted nothing and were still in want to believe the aphorism.

[red-frog.livejournal.com]

As I said, it's optimistic, and I didn't say that I believed it to be completely true--just a guideline that could use more air time these days. But the saying says nothing at all about one's level of poverty--not the same thing as "want". Frankly, I don't think that waste is widely viewed as a moral failing. If it were, then we wouldn't need HOV lanes, for instance.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Possibly because other people were being wasteful? So there ends up not being enough resources to go around.

It's not a great aphorism to apply to individuals, but I think it works really well when applied to cultures.