If I choose to work hard, don’t I deserve a subsequent reward? And what if I had chosen not to work at all, why would I deserve that same reward?

Fundamentally, I think this issue boils down to how I see myself—as an individual or as a member of humanity. I’m going with the former. If I’m just a cog in the human species machine, my own life seems negligible. Why even strive to do better?

Fortunately, I’m quite fond of myself—just ask my friends. I’m proud and my life has meaning. I didn’t grow up in a wealthy household, but student loans were available, so now I’m here. How I view myself, as an autonomous individual, makes me want to work. I want to better myself (don’t we all?) and that requires work.

There are pitfalls in every society, but not every society has exits. Ours does. We have welfare and other support systems in place, and that’s a good thing. It’s not just a band-aid. It’s an extended hand, a way out. The bottom line is that if you want anything in life, you need to work for it. And in Canada, you can work for it. You can get out.

Blaming society is pointless. Society is an abstract concept, incapable of being accountable. It’s the individuals who comprise society, capable of action and rational thought, who are accountable. It’s not society’s fault that Jane Doe can’t hold down a job. It might not be exclusively Ms Doe’s fault either, but she probably deserves a lot of the blame.

Telling people that it’s not their fault, allowing them not work—this won’t lead to utopia. This will lead to a lazy country with a bad economy. Just look at any socialist country, past or present, and you’ll likely find most of the residents agree: they’d rather live in capitalist Canada.

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