Jay Hanson wrote:
The triumph of capitalism and democracy could have been predicted
by evolutionary theory.
Well, Jay, I know this is your pet theory and though I agree with you on
many things on this we have a different viewpoint. Being slightly
facetious, I would suppose that evolutionary theory also explains the
pharaohs of Egypt, the Christian martyrs, the Crusaders, The Battle of
Hastings and the tribal life of the Northern Cree before the white man came.
I just don't buy it as the revealed truth of everything human. Capitalism
is a fart in the line of time. In fact 10 years from now, it may be the
subject of lengthy dissertation of a failed system. Democracy in the Greek
form lived for 4 or 5 centuries and then basically disappeared for 1500
years. If the genes were responsible then, what happened to the democracy
genes for the next millennium or two, or did we regress to the totalitarian
gene.
Capitalism extends the human genetic
propensity to exploit (make the best use of something: profit)
and lie (meant to give a wrong impression: advertise). Democracy
is simply the freedom to exploit and lie. Self-deception keeps
us from knowing what we are really up to.
I guess it does, going from a small monarchy and nobility to every grubby
little entrepreneur. However history keeps track of the big guys but
doesn't pay much attention to the small guys. Tibetans where living in a
Theocracy for over 1000 years, Native Americans have existed in North
America for 10,000. Yeah, there was the odd spear rattling, family
vendetta's, who made it with who's virgin sister, but exploitation as we see
it now, nah, I don't buy it.
As to the following comment,
Well, of course patterns require energy. No energy -- nothing
moves -- no pattern.
Think of the thermostat circuit with it's built in feedback responses. The
structure, the physical part is a furnace, a temp control, some circuitry.
Where is the pattern. It is in the settings of the various components. If
the settings are at 72 degrees, everything functions for human comfort. If
the settings are a 90 degrees, everyone has major discomfort. Did the
system change in any way? No, the pattern was changed by resetting the
controls, same amount of energy as before in the circuitry, of course more
energy was burned to create the second situation but that is not pattern
energy, but the result of the pattern.
Same thing in the commons analogy. Static situation, a pattern, 10 people,
10 cows, one commons. Someone arbritraily changes the pattern and the
commons is destroyed. The problem isn't the 11th cow, that is the result of
the problem. The problem is someone changed the pattern.
Relying totally on what we can measure, observe, calculate is the scientific
model of problem solving. The changes show up in the physical, but the
cause of the changes is not in the physical but in the pattern that the
physical is operating within.
Respectfully,
Thomas Lunde
