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> Instead, it seems to be a consequence of political choices and governance structures. These are all human constructs and the missing variable is greed, so li
by conductr 2y ago
> Instead, it seems to be a consequence of political choices and governance structures.
These are all human constructs and the missing variable is greed, so likely inequality is inevitable once the human condition variables are accounted for
- codr7 2y agoGreed is very much a product of the system we live in, just look at the numb-wits who run this world. Among native peoples, sharing seems to be the default.
- BurningFrog 2y agoExtreme poverty - by modern standards - is also the default among cultures with strong sharing rules. This is not by coincidence!
- codr7 2y agoIn the current system, yes, of course.
- BurningFrog 2y agoSince the dawn of time!
- drewcoo 2y agoExtremes of wealth are caused by hoarding, not by sharing.
- dingnuts 2y agoit's too early for the noble savage fallacy
- codr7 2y agoRight, and people wonder why nothing changes. There's a concerted effort in this world to make all alternatives look worse, and right now you're part of the problem.
- Jensson 2y ago> There's a concerted effort in this world to make all alternatives look worse, and right now you're part of the problem. All alternatives have been worse, you need really strong evidence if you want to make people believe what you got is better.
- michaelscott 2y agoIn some isolated and probably anomalous societies sure, but greed-fueled expansion and growth is a hallmark of humanity across every single continent and at every stratum of civilizational development stretching back 10,000s of years
- retube 2y agoGreed isn't the product. Greed is an inherent human characteristic (we'd all like a bigger house, more luxurious holidays, nicer car etc). The genius of Capitalism is that it channels greed to foster innovation, resulting in better and/or cheaper products, raising living standards.
- Ferret7446 2y agoGreed is an inherent evolutionary characteristic (non-greedy species had an unexpected appointment with extinction). Social species may have charity within the in-group, but are still fundamentally greedy against the out-group. Collaborative communities can only exist so long as all its members abide by the social agreement, and there's a scaling limit on how far you can maintain a consistent social agreement.
- conductr 2y agoI think greed just expands with the capacity to profit from it. It’s not that it didn’t exist in past and cause problems, it’s that our current systems reward it so heavily. I’m sure something as simple as our fiat currency, having most wealth as an intangible digit in a database, is a huge enabler itself. In past, if you acquired wealth you also had to protect it from theft and that was a significant burden itself.
- econ 2y agoWe do still have the concept of people taking to much while people also greatly admire the vampires. It seems pretty obvious a culture could develop all over the spectrum.
- throw0101b 2y ago> Among native peoples, sharing seems to be the default. Greed applies to more than just 'wealth'. Honour, fame/glory, and power are all things people that people strive for and are envious about: * https://www.newadvent.org/summa/2002.htm https://www.newadvent.org/summa/2002.htm Even collectivist communities have a finite supply, or a hierarchy, of those things. Le Guin explored this in The Dispossessed: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dispossessed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dispossessed
- drewcoo 2y agoThe noble savage myth is patronizing. And wrong. Wherever you go, people turn out to be people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage