There is a radio program in BBC's Radio 4 series In our Time called "Altruism". It is available to download until Thursday. It features amongst others Richard Dawkins, author of "The Selfish Gene."
It is difficult to explain in a few words why I think altruism is related to growth, but I see altruism as the opposite of growth, and altruism as good. So growth is bad. The American constitution argues that everyone has the right to "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Adam Smith had proposed an ideal of "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of property." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_happiness For me, "pursuit of property" means "growth." Smith's idea was that by harnessing the greed of the entrepreneurs, everyone would benefit. So for Smith altruism is bad. This fits with the selfish gene concept, but I believe it is wrong. There is something missing from the doctrine of Dawkinism, because for me, it does not explain altruism. But decide for your self. Go to See http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20061123.shtml and listen to it. My conclusion is that it is not a selfish gene. It is a successful gene. And that does not protect a species from a meteoritic impact on Chixulub, Dutch Elm Disease, Bird Flu, or Global Warming. If anyone can be bothered to listen to "Altruism" and comment then I will respond. Otherwise Goodbye! Cheers, Alastair. > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Global Change ("globalchange") newsgroup. Global Change is a public, moderated venue for discussion of science, technology, economics and policy dimensions of global environmental change. Posts will be admitted to the list if and only if any moderator finds the submission to be constructive and/or interesting, on topic, and not gratuitously rude. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalchange -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
