Throughout the animal kingdom, predators tend to prey on the weak: the young, the old, the frail, the injured or the sick. Biologists and ecologists point out the benefits of this behavior; the predator expends less energy to obtain nourishment and its culling of the weak improves the overall health of the prey population.
We humans, natural predators that we are, also prey on the weak. In some developing countries, hobbled by ineffective or corrupt governments, sweat shops and child labor fuel economic benefits for the elite. In other societies, caste systems determine one's opportunities, ensuring that lower class citizens do not climb the social ladder, regardless of their talent and work ethic. Even in the United States, the champion of personal freedom and capitalist philosophy, undocumented workers are exploited for their hard work and low wages; in most cases, social benefits are withheld and their illegal status insures that abuse will not be reported.
Then there is the practice of targeting those weakened by ignorance, desperation or addiction, a lucrative tool of the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries (their advertisement disclaimers notwithstanding). Taking a cue from corporate leaders, State governments have joined the fray, encouraging citizens (especially the desperate, naive and impoverished) to risk limited resources on the lottery, a means to fund projects without the hassle and uncertainty of election-dependent taxation. Unlike the predator-prey relationship observed in natural ecosystems, there is no evidence that human predation on the weak benefits society; indeed, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.
