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Humans have devised many, many institutions and philosophies for helping each other grow into powerful moral people. Uncountable religions, self help movements
by seanc 4y ago
Humans have devised many, many institutions and philosophies for helping each other grow into powerful moral people. Uncountable religions, self help movements, mind-body wellness systems, the list goes on and on.
Every single one, without exception, has examples of people at the top of the institution, widely regarded as masters of the system, who are miserable destructive human beings.
This makes me profoundly sad. I could understand if every single group of people had members who are toxic, but the fact that the selection systems for progression are so predictably bad...
IME, the best you can do is to find a small local scene that practices the system in a way that is healthy and nurturing for the members and live with the cognitive dissonance caused by the rot at the top. Whether it's your small neighborhood church, a martial arts dojo or your toastmasters club, these things can be great in the small even if they're awful in the large.
- MomoXenosaga 4y agoThe solution is to tax the shit out of rich people and hand it over to the rest of society. I mean the maths has been done: whatever the rich give out in charity is always less than what they would pay in taxes. The whole effective altruism thing is an ego trip experience. Wow I get my name on a hospital wing!
- nisegami 4y agoTaxation creates its own set of perverse incentives, I suggest we use a money pit: https://www.theonion.com/in-the-know-should-the-government-stop-dumping-money-i-1819594755 https://www.theonion.com/in-the-know-should-the-government-s...
- seanc 4y agoIt's worse than that; wealth aside it seems like every time people come together they can't seem to reliably reform or reject the bad actors. That said, systems for routinely rotating the top of the hierarchy (such as taxation or term limits) are helpful to be sure.