Drive

One of the arguments I always hear when people talk about why they are against socialism is that they believe that if money is not the reward for work, no one will do any work. Now, I believe there are quite a few reasons that socialism will never ideally work. Just like many other political philosophies, it hinges on the idea that humans won't be selfish assholes. Kind of a flawed plan.

If you tell me that you don't support socialism because you doubt the state would ever evenly distribute things, I will agree with you. If you tell me you don't support it because you believe in the survival of the fittest, then I get it (even if I don't agree). But this thing about people having no motivation without money as a factor? No, that's just bull.

Practically everyone I know is not motivated by money. They have jobs and gain money to support the things that DO motivate them. Most people are dedicated to things that do not gain them monetary profit. They DO profit from them, but not in a way that adds to their bank accounts. In fact, most of the time, the things that motivate them cost them money.

People dedicate years of their lives to raising children. They spend millions on these kids with no guarantees of any happy returns at all. And yet, they do it. I know people who get up every morning at 4 AM and run for miles so they can compete in races where they win nothing but a tshirt that is worth less than the entry fee. I know people who volunteer to help people move through the scariest moments of their lives. I know people who spend millions to feed animals. I know people who plan their time around sporting events or music festivals.

And yes, of course, when we do all of the above things, we enrich ourselves (in theory). There is profit to it. It is not, however, a profit that would in any way diminish if we all had a stable safety net to keep us from starving to death. In fact, it would give people more time to really do the things they love. More time to push themselves, to enjoy their families, to work on their art.

I also get that it would never be that simple or that easy. I know it won't happen. Even still, the idea that people would have no motivation is bogus.