That's life in the big city, the law of the jungle, life on the streets, or just me being wordy and pragmatic at the same time. You yourself have said not to try solving a people problem with technology ... And that too agrees with the other. Because the problem lies with the wanton desire to circumvent the system...not the system itself. Sure it's human nature to be curious and explore the limits. I just think it's incredibly foolish to keep trying to gloss over and ignore the existence of the predatory aspects of human nature.
-Stoic Joker
I didn't so much say not to try to solve people problems with technology as I said not to confuse or conflate a technical problem with a people problem. It's a small but important difference. You can always "solve" a people problem with technology through the simple expedient of using technology to eliminate "the people." There's been enough cases of deliberate genocide in the last thirty years to indicate it's becoming a popular option in some places.
I don't see "animal" instinct or cosmic levels of "evil" when I look at most of what is going on. What I do see is a lot of laziness, refusal to take responsibility, lack of civility, fear (as in
angst), impatience, and sloppiness in our own behavior, and our behavior towards each other. I think we sometimes wish it were a "law of nature" that we be that way - because that would provide a convenient
excuse for all sorts of bad behavior - and a
justification for all sorts of pre-emptive and repressive responses on the part of those in power to prevent or mitigate them.
To my mind, that's a setup -
a blatantly rigged no-win game - and one I choose not to play.
So I don't think I'm glossing over bad behaviors or certain people's proclivity to indulge in them. People
do bad things. No argument from me on that point. But what I do disagree with is that any of this is beyond our personal ability to control when it comes to our own behavior. To say "it's human nature" means it can't be changed. And I don't see that. The human brain is like a piece of putty. People change their thinking all the time. And other people often change (or at least try to change it) for them.
And I don't think that "will to power" thing that gets tossed around is all that real for the vast majority of the population. Very few people want power as in "power for the sake of power." What they
do want is to
not have to feel afraid... or feel pain... or suffer want. Most just want a high level personal security as far as I can see. And it's the actions they take to get there which often bear strange fruit. But that's more a side effect or "unintended consequence" rather than an 'end' - or "the original plan."
So no...I don't think we're animals, or monsters, or rabid rabbits that need to be penned in and watched lest we all kill each other. I just think we get lazy, and tired, and impatient, and afraid - and we do counterproductive things to ourselves, and each other, as a result.
It'd be nice if it were all more "cosmic." But it's incredibly banal from where I'm sitting. And easily dealt with if you want to fix it.
The real problem is the excuses we make for it, and the psychological difficulties we encounter any time we try to change what we're currently doing. Because feeling secure is what we seem to want more than anything. Even if that security is based on feeling insecure - because at least
that way you've established
something (i.e. paranoia) as a given.
Just my
anyway.
