Agent 47 wrote:
dude its all a nice idea
and if you do that fairplay
but in reality that arguments dumb
dont get me wrong id contribute, but i wouldn't all of a sudden start dedicating my life to helping others
if u get rich your spending it and living the good life
and 99% of people will (regardless of what they say)
but again fairplay if you would be the 1%
I used to be that cynical. But it isn't that dumb is it? We can't all be billionaires.
What is dumb is forever chasing money to spend on throw away material goods, then realising you need more money because you've just spent it all on something unsatisfying... and so the vicious circle of consumer emptiness continues.
And I really don't think 99% of people would be selfish like that, most people enjoy helping others.
There seems to be this prevailing idea in society that most people, given half the chance, would go bat shit insane in times of crisis and it'd be every man for himself, but that just isn't the case. Most people tend to help each other out.
The most poisonous idea in all of society, IMO, is that competition is better than collaboration, that solitary is better than solidarity. That we're somehow totally selfish. What bollocks! I mean, in genetic terms, yeah, a lot of decisions we make can be selfish, but not all decisions made are genetic. I doubt I was thinking about my future lineage when I nursed a sparrow my cat had savaged back to health as a child, for example!
Also, that selfish gene theory is a bit of a paradox, because if all our decisions are based on whether or not they'd benefit our genetic future, then what we're really ensuring is the survival of the group - not the individual - as a healthy gene pool requires one that is mixed and diverse not interbred. You need a large co-operative group for that.
Humans like to trade and co-operate. Trade pre-dates fire, farming and civilization. It evolved alongside human communication, that other most important co-operative trait we possess. We teach each other, and the successive generations, for a reason. We're having this conversation right now because we all feel part of a
group, important enough for us to contribute to thousands of times, sometimes with posts as long as this one! It's because ultimately, we need each other.
I don't buy that ' most humans are naturally selfish' argument for one second. We have the potential to be equally as cunty or as goody-goody as we choose.
I just think that one of those choices is more reasonable, fair and logical than the other.
Bill Gates is kind of the embodiment of someone torn by that duality I think. Rich nerd makes billions from a technology that has radically changed the world, from an industry that is pretty shitty to a lot of people, has a mountain of shares in some spurious companies, yet is the most philanthropic individual in history....
Basically, being rich doesn't make you a tnuc, being a tnuc makes you a tnuc. And if you're willing to pay that much money for art, then there's probably a great big tnuc shaped hole in your soul. Either that or you're a bit stupid.