Poor people deserve to be poor

Rich people work very hard for the money they earn, and are essentially the backbone of society.... Yet they have to pay more tax? How is this fair. Surely the poor who have not worked as hard or achieved as much as the richer members of society should, therefore, have to pay more tax as they are not contributing to our society. I think is an absolute disgrace how the rich are treated in Britain when it is the poor who are ruining this country. Our country has essentially thrown to the dogs and is disgraceful.

Rich people work very hard for the money they earn...

Rich people work very hard for the money they earn, and are essentially the backbone of society.... Yet they have to pay more tax? How is this fair. Surely the poor who have not worked as hard or achieved as much as the richer members of society should, therefore, have to pay more tax as they are not contributing to our society. I think is an absolute disgrace how the rich are treated in Britain when it is the poor who are ruining this country. Our country has essentially thrown to the dogs and is disgraceful.

Not necessarily, and very often it's simply not the case at all. But it doesn't matter anyway, capitalist society favours the capitalist class so those who don't fall into that privileged category have no responsibility towards a system designed to alienate and exploit them. The poor should take the capitalist state for everything they can, it is illegitimate.

Capitalism has it's flaws, if there was a viable alternative I'd jump at it really, just like if there was a better system of government than democracy, sadly in both cases we are simply using the best available system.

I for one have recently started to come around to the idea of 'Responsible Capitalism' or 'Aware Capitalism,' though I recognise both of these are little more than fluff phrases. Capitalism unrestrained will never create the ideal world, the strong get stronger and the weak weaker, there is no equality. However Socialism is equally flawed, it requires all to subscribe to the same ideology which simply put, has never happened in all of human history. It also removes competition which is the driving force behind all innovation and progress. In my opinion constrained Capitalism is the best system we have at our disposal, with proper taxation and welfare we can reach a point where everyone has an acceptable standard of life. Redistribution and enforced 'equality' is simply not a viable option and never will be, rather as humanity progresses we will see the standard of life rise higher via new technology, societal attitude and so on, as we have seen in the last 200 years. There will always be inequality of outcome, there will always be those with more and those with less, and whilst this may seem unfair that is the way of the world. It's in a way unfair that someone is born into money I agree, but it is equally unfair to tell a parent they cannot give money they have earned to their child.

Obviously I imagine you have your views on the accumulation of capital and the fairness of that, exploitation of the working class in order to accrue more capital and so on, here we will have a fundamental difference of opinions I think

To summarise, I really can't see any mechanism by which the Capitalist system as a whole will be overthrown or surpassed any time soon, the time of Socialist revolution has been and gone, it's legacy has not been a positive one. Would you not agree that working within the current system to make it work better for everyone is a more realistic goal than the romantic notion of overthrowing it? For me, though I speak as a Realist, it seems those who champion the working class are really abandoning them by clinging to this mid-20th century revolutionary vision that has no discernible chance of coming to fruition in the modern world.

And sorry for the long post, I'm avoiding an essay :&

Laissez-faire, unfettered free market capitalism is only one form of capitalism. The idea that a lack of regulation typifies capitalism is just propaganda. This is demonstrated by the fact that unfettered free markets tend to threaten competition: a central tenet of capitalism.

Copying Charles Murray's ignorant extremist right wing propaganda 'those in poverty deserve to be in poverty' does not make you educated or smart. It makes you ignorant as you say this without any real knowledge of what you speak.

Capitalism has it's flaws...

I don't buy into that kind of fatalistic defence of an unjust and illegitimate form of society. No doubt plenty of people made the same kind of argument in the era of slavery, "Yeah, slavery sucks but it's the best system there is and as long as slaves have the opportunity to earn their freedom they don't have too much to complain about". And let's not forget that slave societies lasted thousands of years before such a mode of production was superseded. I'm not in the habit of giving up my opposition to something because the odds against making any significant change in this moment of history seems beyond grasp. Yes, this is the era of capitalism, so despite the repeated crises and the environmental catastrophe it is not easily going to implode because me and my mates are waving red flags and quoting Marx. At the same time, no previous mode of production has been so transformative; of itself and of the social, economic and environmental landscape. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because you happen to be living in the 'high' era of capitalism that from now till eternity it will ever be so.

Oh I don't imagine things will stay this way forever, but change will come through emergent technology, new modes of production etc.

It won't come from Marxist thought.

I totally agree
My father is technically a high earner and should be classified as rich . However he pays 50% income tax, had a pay decrease (instead of increase) . He works around 13 hours a day, yet the govt take most of it
What is the point of working hard and earning money if the govt take most of it?
He is a public sector worker btw