Not that the vast majority would be without empathy, just that power would raise it from where it sits currently. Thought I should clarify that.
Not that the vast majority would be without empathy, just that power would raise it from where it sits currently. Thought I should clarify that.
I think you’re misunderstanding me. I’m not talking about capitalism or even anything created intentionally by humans.
I’m talking about much more fundamental aspects of humanity- that we become tribalist and like a strongman leader during tough times, that we want to protect children over the elderly in emergencies.
Those play well into capitalism, but they also play well into most systems people have created (because they’re fundamentally human). I don’t think they’re immutable, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near being able to change them right now.
Not because I think they’re as inevitable as monarchy, but because it would be pointless to fix those things first without figuring out a way to stop fighting wars with each other, because those tendencies will return immediately in response to war.
It’s like working with someone to help them with PTSD, then sending them immediately back to the environment that gave it to them. A) PTSD might have been protective, if it made them more sensitive to loud noises or hyperaware of any changes that might indicate a danger; and B) they’re just going to develop symptoms of PTSD again.
So yes, we could change these aspects of humanity, but it would be pointless unless we can figure out a way to coexist without developing them anew.
You need to read more about the anarchist aspects that Graeber and LeGuin advocate. Conflict in inevitable with the ruling powers that create these circumstances which dictate how society at large behaves but conflict doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
What you’re talking about is in fact created by humans. We create the conditions that incentivizes that behavior. He goes over the mechanisms behind it in his books “Debt” and “Dawn of Everything”. Humanity doesn’t just default to hierarchy.
It is entirely possible to build new and then enforce our autonomy from the current ruling class. We know it is possible. We have done it before and we can do it again.