• tigull@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I guess the point is you’re middle aged in regards to your contribution to society. First 15-20 years of your life you pretty much just “take”, while the following 50ish you are expected to chip in. In those terms, 50 sounds about right as being referred to as “middle aged”.

    • Machindo@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Something doesn’t seem right about that.

      You’re supposed to work 40+ years to pay off a 20 year debt to society? That doesn’t seem fair.

      Also you didn’t chose to be born, I don’t think you owe anyone anything for having to grow to reach an age where you have agency over yourself.

      • tigull@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        a 20 year debt to society

        It could actually be way more than that when you consider retirement (in much of the western world at least). You also can’t really “have agency over yourself” in the sense you mean without making use of what society puts at everyone else’s disposal (roads/internet/currency/etc), and freeloading comes with all sorts of drawbacks because society is shaped in a way that doesn’t reward it for obvious reasons.

      • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        technically NO ONE asked to be born. Not even your parents or your grandparents.

      • disinterested_a_hole@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s not a debt to society. You have to “chip in” to take care of yourself and what you consume & throw away.

        You’re free to go live in the backwoods, build a rudimentary cabin, and hunt or fish to survive. That might be harder work than what you’ve got now though.