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.
Read more about this topic: Lottery
Famous quotes containing the words social and/or corruption:
“Friends serve central functions for children that parents do not, and they play a critical role in shaping children’s social skills and their sense of identity. . . . The difference between a child with close friendships and a child who wants to make friends but is unable to can be the difference between a child who is happy and a child who is distressed in one large area of life.”
—Zick Rubin (20th century)
“I condemn Christianity. I raise against the Christian church the most terrible accusation that any accuser has ever uttered. It is to me the ultimate conceivable corruption. It has possessed the will to the final corruption that is even possible. The Christian church has left nothing untouched by its depravity: it has turned every value into a disvalue, every truth into a falsehood, every integrity into a vileness of the soul.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)