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It seems there are those among us who feel that everything they've achieved is the result of their own self alone, and that other people (except, perhaps, for family) played (play) essentially no necessary role (that money can't fill, anyway).
To demonstrate the shallowness of this perspective, a thought experiment is in order; so let's strip the person down to the individual alone.
To start, let's strip away culture, both material and non-material: Away go planes, cars, boats, houses, tools, clothes, agriculture, domesticated animals, electricity, oil and natural gas, roads, railroads, bridges, medicines, technology, cooked food and fire -- and anything else beyond what raw nature itself offers. And away goes all of the knowledge and understandings achieved by others; away goes any holding (learning) that stems from others -- or where others' thoughts or actions form the basis of, the spark for, or otherwise contribute to this holding. And away go mathematics, science, religion, art, and most every learned method of mind; away goes language itself -- and almost all thought beyond the simplest, most basic perceptions.
Away goes essentially everything but the abandoned infant.
Now, take this stripped down individual and toss him into the world of rawest nature: He won't know what to eat or how to hunt. He won't know where to seek food, or how to identify poisons, or what are the most basic usable resources, much less how to use them (beyond stuffing them into his mouth...).
In short, the stripped down individual will be nearly helpless, hardly more capable than an infant -- and without the protections from his "pack" (society; unless adopted by another) that an infant generally requires, if he and his society and culture themselves are to survive.
But even if we give this poor benighted fool back the blessings of culture and society, it'd be childish to pretend that this society can be reduced to every-man-for-self, and yet still survive and prosper. Mankind (and this nation) only got to this position because of long years of practicing real teamwork (with everything this entails: real, necessary communication, cooperation and unselfishness, etc), together with the other natural values; and we'll only maintain our position if we continue to do so (to some necessary degree).
Seriously, if every person, if every transaction, if everything, is -- and needs be -- suspect, then this doesn't describe a society, it describes a crime-scene in progress. The average individual alone is simply in no position to defend himself against all the attacks that modern society makes possible. Moreover, this is no solid foundation for living and working together, much less making progress.
And those who think and act otherwise are essentially gaming the system that nurtured them, destroying the very foundations upon which the society they need (as prey, if no more) was built and operates. And once this gaming exceeds some survivability-threshold, the system itself must inevitably falter, decay and decline.
Selection is (can be) a harsh mistress (master).
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