Monadology wrote:What makes food (or your table for that matter) an exception?
My post is based on a broad oversimplification of Maslow's Heirarchy, which says that human beings are motivated by various things. The most basic needs are of course, the ones we see to first, food, water, breathing, and sleep being the most important pursuits to a human, followed closely after by sex and other biological needs. it is not until all our basic needs are met, that men turn to pursuits such as problem solving, game playing, artistic concerns, etc.
A person could argue that these 'higher' concerns are ultimately needless, and that seeing to the basic needs of humanity are the only valuable pursuits.
I myself disagree, but I'm a liberal American who was fortunate enough to be born in the current age of entitlement.