"If such a drug existed, would depriving someone of the drug be a moral injustice and source of inequality?"
Oh definitely! This was the very first thing that occurred to me when you mentioned "If this drug clearly made you smarter and didn't hurt you". Obviously those with money and access would use the drug, creating even larger social gaps than currently exist, as those who can take it will be able to achieve more education. This might mean that the Ivory Tower did become more of a social force than it currently is. Even more interestingly though, the drug might also increase social mobility - if there were drug grant/loan programs, then someone could be easily lifted out of the lower social class with access to the drug. And of course denial of the drug would of course be a great punishment for upper class people who break laws and such. And would of course cause even more injustice if prisoners were denied the drug...
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Date: 2012-04-29 03:09 pm (UTC)Oh definitely! This was the very first thing that occurred to me when you mentioned "If this drug clearly made you smarter and didn't hurt you". Obviously those with money and access would use the drug, creating even larger social gaps than currently exist, as those who can take it will be able to achieve more education. This might mean that the Ivory Tower did become more of a social force than it currently is. Even more interestingly though, the drug might also increase social mobility - if there were drug grant/loan programs, then someone could be easily lifted out of the lower social class with access to the drug. And of course denial of the drug would of course be a great punishment for upper class people who break laws and such. And would of course cause even more injustice if prisoners were denied the drug...
Yeah, fascinating possibilities.