[vhawk01]

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I suppose I can't argue with HMK's first point, that liberal seek to help people one at a time rather than all at once. However, it is a mistake to think we are focused solely on the poor. Liberals favor government involvement in areas like health care, education and mass transit that benefit everyone. We believe that government is a force for good in the world and can improve the lives of everyone.

To torture HMK's anatomy analogy, the body devotes significant resources to repairing damaged cells: whether its providing amino acids to repair damaged nucleotides or white blood cells to protect them from bacteria, significant resources are devoted to keeping cells healthy. The body does not kill cells just because they are imperfect or damaged.

The point of modern liberalism is not to keep people alive regardless of their contribution to society, it is to make as many people as possible productive. Someone who is not healthy will not be productive. Someone who cannot get to a job will not be productive. Someone who doesn't have the skills that employers need will not be productive. This is what liberalism provides: the tools that people can not or do not provide themselves to lead productive lives.

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Just to pick a nit, this is pretty much all wrong, at least as a general principle. The standard response to even mildly damaged cells is to induce apoptosis, clear the dead cell and debris, and make a new cell. Our bodies really do NOT spend considerable effort repairing broken cells. Far more economical to just make more and eliminate the trouble-makers.

Not sure what that does to your analogy, but it doesn't seem like anything good.