---
product_id: 22652400
title: "The Samaritan's Dilemma: Should Government Help Your Neighbor?"
brand: "deborah stone"
price: "€ 49.57"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
url: https://www.desertcart.nl/products/22652400-the-samaritans-dilemma-should-government-help-your-neighbor
store_origin: NL
region: Netherlands
---

# The Samaritan's Dilemma: Should Government Help Your Neighbor?

**Brand:** deborah stone
**Price:** € 49.57
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Samaritan's Dilemma: Should Government Help Your Neighbor? by deborah stone
- **How much does it cost?** € 49.57 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nl](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/22652400-the-samaritans-dilemma-should-government-help-your-neighbor)

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- deborah stone enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Reagan's Beliefs; America's Folly
  

*by L***N on Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2010*

Gordon Gekko was wrong. Greed is NOT good.The code of the Good Samaritan was simple: "Help when help is needed."In The Samaritan's Dilemma, Should Government Help Your Neighbor, Deborah Stone shows that Gordon Gekko's ethos, and that of Milton Friedman and Ronald Reagan, stems from Malthus and Emerson at their worst.  While Friedman and Reagan ushered us into the contemporary world; Malthus, Emerson, and a fear of communism led Herbert Hoover to believe that market forces would end the Great Depression and private charity would alleviate suffering. He was wrong.However, Malthus' real argument, according to Stone, is less a scientific treatise on population and hunger and more a political tract that suggests that helping the poor brings on more poverty. Emerson confuses bonds of community with bondage. It's as if they read Jonathan Swift's "Modest Proposal", and thought he was serious.Stone looks at where we are, how we got here, and where we need to go next. She outlines, and rebuts, "Seven Bad Arguments Against Help." She discusses what she calls "everyday altruism" and "The Samaritan Rebellion."  The stories she relates can - and should - bring a tear to your eye - especially the accounts of the lives of people killed on September 11.She shows that democracy is built on cooperation, and describes what might be called Hoover's Fear, and America's Folly, which is the path on which our government treads. "Unlike dictatorships and totalitarian forms of government, democracy requires citizens to participate in making laws and policies - to govern themselves."Stone concludes that while most people believe that everyday altruism, volunteerism, and community service are outside the sphere of politics, this faith that people have the capacity to make a difference is integral to democracy and personal fulfillment. "Done right," she says, "government help strengthens democracy." The New Deal and the Great Society grew out of a sense of justice and fairness to correct visible inequalities of wealth and power.  Ronald Reagan's Presidency and culture however, which has defined America since 1980 to the present, reverses the liberal, and liberating prescription. Rather than power, and assertiveness, the poor need tough discipline, to listen to authority, and to be submissive. After 30 years, it can be fairly established that Freidman's neoMalthusian principles, Reagan's beliefs, Hoover's fears have been America's folly.Stone is really asking is what is the purpose of government and an economy? She answers:  * Jobs should pay a living wage,  * Jobs should allow workers to do their jobs and take care of their families,  * Government should supplement family care with publicly supported care.This is like John Ehrenfeld, in "Sustainability by Design" defining "Sustainability" as "Flourishing ... Forever."We need to take responsibility for our selves and our communities.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A Conclusion in Search of Facts?
  

*by J***E on Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2013*

The author was kind enough to mention my experiences in assisting people in need (Page 188) but I think she entirely missed the point of my article in Newsweek, and this needs some serious clarification. First of all, yes, in my story I do express a lack of empathy for SOME of my clients, but, my god, woman, for other clients my descriptions suggest more than enough empathy to break anyone's heart. Furthermore, at the end of the story, a kitchen staff member does indeed "attempt" to explain her empathetic views to me, and in the last line of the story I GET IT, totally. So I am redeemed in the story, not left heartless and uncaring. My story is one of opening to awareness through service. It's a shame she didn't read it more carefully.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Inspiring and Engrossing
  

*by R***C on Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2008*

I use Stone's excellent "Policy Paradox" in teaching classes on public policy, so looked forward to reading this meditation on the role of government in society and our political system.  It surpassed my high expectations going in.  Very readable: completely free of academic jargon, and a wonderful mix of thought-provoking points and engaging stories kept my interest throughout.  At the book's heart is a deceptively simple--and vital--question: how and when should we help our neighbor?  And who, if anyone, should do so when I'm unable/unwilling?  Stone convinced me that our current answers, rooted in a false spirit of "self-reliance," are poorly thought-out and, too often, downright cruel.  I'm a fiscal conservative, but her account of what we the people collectively (i.e., our government) should do for one another in times of need left me both profoundly moved and ready to help.  A genuinely important book, by a national treasure of an author.

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*Product available on Desertcart Netherlands*
*Store origin: NL*
*Last updated: 2026-02-18*