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We, as a human species, are supposed to evolve beyond our basic immediate needs. We created societies, because we need to eat, reproduce, survive, without reve
by Aeolos 11y ago
We, as a human species, are supposed to evolve beyond our basic immediate needs.
We created societies, because we need to eat, reproduce, survive, without reverting to base violence. We created medicine, technology to improve our quality of life and reduce the chances that biological evolutionary pressure destroys us. The black plague came close to killing 60% of the European population. It is now eradicated.
What is the next step in our evolution as a species? Right now the biggest danger to the survival of humankind is... humankind itself. If we are to survive, not for a hundred years, but for a hundred thousand years into the future, we must learn how to cooperate without annihilating each other in the process.
- rayiner 11y agoDoes our technology and development "evolve [us] beyond our basic immediate needs" or do we use it to serve needs we've always had? We spend an enormous amount of our effort making both food and sex easier and more abundant (there's an app for that!). Violence isn't a vice that could be eliminated if only people had more virtue. It serves a practical function. It's the ultimate dispute resolution mechanism for people who either have too little in common or too much at stake to resolve their issues in any other way. Prosperity, abundance, and homogeneity makes it less necessary over time, but so long as conflict is possible between people, violence will be the final resort for resolving it.