3 ms·

> Capitalism is killing the planet Humans are killing the planet. Every single political or economical system tried over last 100 thousands of years, resulted

by Ginden 5y ago

> Capitalism is killing the planet Humans are killing the planet. Every single political or economical system tried over last 100 thousands of years, resulted k in humans destroying environment for short-term benefits. Hunter-gatherers destroyed most of megafauna. Ancient Greeks destroyed forests of Greece. Medieval Germans destroyed forests of Germany. French and English did it too. Aurochs were destroyed in modernity. Soviets destroyed Aral Sea. This isn't even limited to our species - algae almost destroyed life on Earth, because they found that funny photosynthetic pathway and started emitting O2 to atmosphere. The very problem is that humans are form of life and restraining ourselves or worsening quality of life "for next generation" goes against basic instincts and behaviours built by evolution in mammals.

jayjader 5y ago
Hmm. I agree that the problem is larger than capitalism and is closer to human nature, but saying > The very problem is that humans are form of life and restraining ourselves or worsening quality of life "for next generation" goes against basic instincts and behaviours built by evolution in mammals. seems a bit pseudo-scientific to me. Life dies out if it over-consumes from its environment, so "by evolution" the life that survives _does_ "restrain itself for the next generation" in a sense.
- Ginden 5y ago
  > Life dies out if it over-consumes from its environment, so "by evolution" the life that survives _does_ "restrain itself for the next generation" in a sense. Dawkins deconstructs this argument in The Selfish Gene. Basically, if you restrain yourself, you put your competitors in advantageous position to consume these resources. They will have more children and their non-restraining genes will win. We have seen ecosystems destroyed by unchecked invasive species - this is especially visible for islands due to their limited biodiversity. Even reindeers introduced on island without natural predators ate everything until they died out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Matthew_Island https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Matthew_Island

by Ginden 5y ago

jayjader 5y ago

Hmm. I agree that the problem is larger than capitalism and is closer to human nature, but saying > The very problem is that humans are form of life and restraining ourselves or worsening quality of life "for next generation" goes against basic instincts and behaviours built by evolution in mammals. seems a bit pseudo-scientific to me. Life dies out if it over-consumes from its environment, so "by evolution" the life that survives _does_ "restrain itself for the next generation" in a sense.

Ginden 5y ago
> Life dies out if it over-consumes from its environment, so "by evolution" the life that survives _does_ "restrain itself for the next generation" in a sense. Dawkins deconstructs this argument in The Selfish Gene. Basically, if you restrain yourself, you put your competitors in advantageous position to consume these resources. They will have more children and their non-restraining genes will win. We have seen ecosystems destroyed by unchecked invasive species - this is especially visible for islands due to their limited biodiversity. Even reindeers introduced on island without natural predators ate everything until they died out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Matthew_Island https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Matthew_Island