Brian Crowder

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• July 7, 1999, on Welfare Reform:

  The problem with Mr. Munat's idea is the same problem that infects all such ideas, to wit, the belief that millions of years of evolution can be over-ridden. Mr. Greenspun's solution is (at the very least) interesting, since it proposes a goal and a means by which it can be reached, neither of which require a fundamental change in the nature of human beings. Lacking this fundamental change, Mr. Greenspun's suggestion becomes (at least remotely) more probable. The ownership of "things" is by no means a human concept. It is an instinct responsible for the survival of countless species, which fight for territory, food, and the welfare of their offspring out of some sense of "ownership." As humans, we are certainly more material than this, no longer vying solely for food and shelter, but also for CD players, cars, cameras, or shiny metal things; but the instinct is the same. We want more "stuff" because it makes us feel safer, stronger, or even (dare I say it) happier. As you s...