On the concept of entitlement
Black Label Logic | June 20, 2016 | by Black Label Logic
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[entitlement]When it is said that we are living in the age of
entitlement, I find myself thinking about the nature of entitlement,
reciprocity, and altruism and how they exist as mechanics in the human
mind, and as a governance system of human interactions. To some, our
age is the age of entitlement because young people expect to be handed
a job after finishing college, or expect to be given a college
education for free. Perhaps this is the manifestation of wanting to be
given something for nothing, which is arguably the manifestation of
sloth. To some the age of entitlement is symbolized by a baby boomer
generation who not only consumed the resources of their time, but also
consumed the resources of their children and grandchildren. Their
lifetime being what I suppose could be argued as a national or
multi-continental exemplification of gluttony. 

Then to some the age of entitlement is symbolized by the elites that
have taken over public institutions and private corporations, who in a
steady bid for more money, more power and more influence are in the
grip of greed. I expect some to point out that the age of entitlement
is from a world of lust, one consumed by the constant chase for
consumption of the carnal desires. Others again, would point to a
world filled with envy, where the green eyed monster is fueling a
never-ending spiral of keeping up with the Joneses. It is inevitable
that some would point out that a world consumed in conflict stems
ultimately from from a cycle of violence perpetuated by wrath.
Finally, there are those who would argue that our world is entangled
in a battle of people’s public images, and an obsession by how we
are perceived, and thus ultimately lead us to pride.

ENTITLEMENT

What is the nature of entitlement? Merriam-Webster defines it as:

> belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges
> [1]

If we use the definition that “_belief that one is deserving of
certain privileges” _then we also have to include the definition of
privilege which according to the same source is:

> a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others
> [2]

The dichotomy that arose in my mind, was that the colloquial use of
the terms differ somewhat from their definition as it makes no mention
of whether or not something has been earned. An example that came to
mind was a person who earned a scholarship and attends a University is
entitled to get a good education, however he or she was not entitled
to the scholarship, that was earned. However, this creates a dichotomy
wherein you have earned privileges and unearned privileges, where the
scholarship is earned through effort of the individual, while in the
case of a National Healthcare System, the benefits of medical care is
earned through the effort of society as a whole.

This creates 3 levels of entitlement that we could explore.

 	* Person to Person
 	* Person to Organization
 	* Person to Nation

Entitlement in interpersonal relationships is something I’m sure we
can all think of an example of, from the roommate that never did his
own dishes and expected you to do them, to the parent who expected to
be permitted to govern your life. This can be viewed as a form of
“_time thievery_” in that the person is stealing your time, in
order to obtain a better time-life balance in their own.

Entitlement in organizational settings depends on the nature of the
organization, however what they all share is an input-output paradigm,
wherein the individual expects a given output for a given input, and
the organization expects a given input for a given output. For
instance, you may be volunteering at your church for 10 hours a week,
but in return you expect to be given a prominent position within your
church, that feeds your ego.

Entitlement in a nation, breaks down to earned privileges on a
non-individualized level, in that all privileges are offered equally
to all citizens, however they are financed in an unequal manner. A
nation is financed primarily by taxes and income from public property
and resources, and various programs can be seen as forms of risk
pooling. For instance, Person A may be born with a genetic disorder
that means he or she will be able to input less to the system and need
more output, whereas Person B may be porn in perfect health and remain
so for his or her entire life and thus end up inputting more and
requiring less output. In an individualized system, they would pay
according to use, however in a universal system the total cost is
divided among the total amount of users.

RECIPROCITY

This brings up the concept of reciprocity, which could be defined as
_“You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”. _A reciprocal
transaction could be argued as an equitable transaction based on terms
negotiated between two individuals. Wherein both parties to the
transaction considers that the transaction has been fair to them. For
instance, if I offer the kid next door $10 for mowing my lawn, he is
trading his time for my money, and I am trading my money for his time.
To me it’s worth $10 not to have to mow the lawn, to him, the $10
are worth spending an hour or so pushing around a mower in the sun.

So it follows that what people refer to as “_entitlement_” is at
the core, an uneven transaction between themselves and “_others_“.
Referring to the three levels of relationships outlined above. In
effect, they feel like their input and output are poorly aligned to
where they are carrying more of the load than other people.

Reciprocity is a fundamental mechanic that governs human relationships
and attempts to balance the equation through a mixture of inner and
outer tools.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

One could argue that many of the issues that dominate the political
landscape are related to the mixture of reciprocity and entitlement.
In effect, people keep an internal account of how much do they pay in
taxes, vs how much are the receiving in state services. How much time
are they spending on joint chores and how much is their roommate
spending. So when someone is called “entitled” it reflects the
perception of the person making the statement that they are seeking a
better deal for themselves at the cost of other people. In effect, it
is the perception that “_others_” are engaging in social loafing.

This triggers a series of mechanisms through which the person who
perceives themselves as receiving the short end of the stick, seeks to
re-balance their accounts. In interpersonal relationships it may mean
aggressive or passive aggressive methods. In organizational settings
it may manifest as work-to-rule, malicious compliance, or adjusting
your own effort to a level where you feel like your deal is equitable.
In a national situation, the same mechanics manifest as in an
organizational level. This is observed among Japanese “_Herbivore
men_” who eschew the traditional focus on working hard to support a
family, and instead adapt their effort to a point where they can
maintain a lifestyle they are comfortable with. It has also become a
familiar discussion in MGTOW environments where men figure out that
they can live comfortably on a salary that requires very little
discretionary effort.

As argued by author Peter Lloyd in an article [3] men have started to
perceive the lives of their fathers, and grandfathers as no longer
equitable, and therefore elect to act in the mechanisms that are
obvious in any relationship perceived as unbalanced. This is reflected
in the declining marriage rates, in the “_prolonged adolescence_”
and in the growth of the “_eternal bachelor_“.

I wrote a post recently on balance
[https://blacklabellogic.wordpress.com/2016/06/10/on-the-concept-of-balance/],
and the reality is that any unbalanced situation does inevitably
return to a balanced state. A government that turns tyrannical is put
down by other governments or by its own people. A government that
makes poor decisions over a long period of time, inevitably is taken
over by another government. Growth and influence are great indicators
of equitable and reciprocal deals made at all three levels in
aggregate. This is not to say that every American got an equitable
deal during the growth after WW2, or that every British citizen had a
great deal when the sun would never set on the British Empire. It is
to say that in aggregate the deals made had a net positive effect on
the nations growth through creating incentives that maximized output.

A NOTE:

I recently launched a Patreon page
[https://www.patreon.com/Blacklabellogic] where I will be posting
additional content every month for those who support me and I will do
a Google Hangout for the highest tier Patrons (limited to 10 people).

I’ve also had some requests for consults, which I’ve declined up
until now, but due to demand I’ve chosen to open up for doing some
consults on request. For details please check out my Consulting and
Patreon Page [https://blacklabellogic.com/consulting-and-patreon/]

As always you can buy my book Gendernomics at Amazon.com as both
paperback and Kindle
[https://www.amazon.com/Gendernomics-Black-Label-Logic/dp/1520743750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539436955&sr=8-1&keywords=Gendernomics]

SOURCES

[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entitlement

[2] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privilege

[3]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3046350/Why-men-refuse-marry-Women-complain-chaps-today-won-t-settle-Sorry-ladies-s-fault-argues-wickedly-provocative-new-book-Denigration-Men-PETER-LLOYD.html

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