Social Corruption
Some theorists argue that lotteries facilitate a higher degree of inequality than a society should have to maximize its progress by giving the masses false hope, which reduces pressure on political leaders to remedy the inequality. Rather than traditional religion, the pursuit of imaginary future wealth, via lottery play, is seen as an opium of the people Marx spoke of. Another criticism is that lotteries, particularly those involving large sums, suggest that capitalist social systems do not possess meritocracy as their main attribute but rather are dominated by other factors, such as luck. For instance, one could be lucky to be born into wealth and one could be lucky to win a large sum in a lottery. The revelation that one's life in a plutocratic system is dominated by chance rather than rewards for hard work and intelligence is one that is considered dangerous by some. Purists argue that any social system that allocates resources based on chance is one that is corrupt.
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Famous quotes containing the words social and/or corruption:
“Man, became man through work, who stepped out of the animal kingdom as transformer of the natural into the artificial, who became therefore the magician, man the creator of social reality, will always stay the great magician, will always be Prometheus bringing fire from heaven to earth, will always be Orpheus enthralling nature with his music. Not until humanity itself dies will art die.”
—Ernst Fischer (1899–1972)
“That the corruption of the best things produces the worst, is grown into a maxim, and is commonly proved, among other instances, by the pernicious effects of superstition and enthusiasm, the corruptions of true religion.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)