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This is the default capitalist view. Anthropology disagrees. For much of human history we’ve exhibited altruistic behaviour towards one another. There are plent

This is the default capitalist view. Anthropology disagrees. For much of human history we’ve exhibited altruistic behaviour towards one another. There are plenty of instances of that today: coalitions, unions, mutual aid groups, community volunteer groups… not to mention the individual choices people make in the interests of others over their own. There is always some selfishness in people but it is a choice to structure society and economic activity around it.

pixl97 5mo ago
>Anthropology disagrees. Survivorship Bias. Humans that exhibit altruistic behavior get to stay around and make more history. When selfish behavior society collapses and that history is pruned, generally in some horrific event involving a lot of death and genocide. Now, the mistake you are personally making is thinking you're going to make it because in general humans have stuck around after selfish people fucked everything up.
bonesss 5mo ago
Anthropology also shows widespread cannibalism. I agree that many traditional cultures engage in egalitarianism, but genocide and mass-rapes, wars and slavery campaigns, are baked into the anthropological history. Economic activity, expressed in water and caloric access, is the root of numerous ongoing conflicts (“tribal” and national), and the cause of many historical eradications of competition. Capitalism seeks to maximize capital, anthropology says life just as brutal as it was before we named and systematized it. Cost benefit doesn’t need dollars as a unit of measure to be effective.
bit-anarchist 5mo ago
This comment is born out of a superficial understanding of anthropology, altruism and selfishness. Most of the coalitions you mentioned are, ultimately, born out of the realization that, sometimes, you have to give a little now, to gain more later. Even charity at its pure idealistic form requires the altruistic individual to feel they made the world better in their own view (psychic profit, thus ultimately selfish) to happen. This isn't the "default capitalist view", this is praxeology, plain and simple.
- throaway198234 5mo ago
  LLM POST!
  - bit-anarchist 5mo ago
    Nope, this is 100% human-written.
    - throaway198234 5mo ago
      Darn, you sound like one.
  - sowerssix 5mo ago
    A Master of Laws? We should be so lucky! /s
- wolvesechoes 5mo ago
  Why people in the past cared for old, sick and disabled?
  - bit-anarchist 5mo ago
    Multiple possible reasons: 1. Social pressures. Failing to care for others can result in social stigma, with increasing levels of alienation depending of culture/society; 2. Setting examples for reciprocity . One can help others today to set the expection to receive support later. All become old, sick and/or disabled at some point (if they don't die beforehand, immortals notwithstanding); 3. Friends and relatives are valuable in multiple ways; 4. Some just see value in helping others, either in the act or the results. These are the examples I can state on top of my head. They all require each individual's evaluation scales to favor such motivations.
    - wolvesechoes 5mo ago
      > 1. Social pressures How these social pressures could arise if all people in society acts out of selfishness? > 2. Setting examples for reciprocity What kind of reciprocity exists if we talk about healthy adults taking care of disabled children that would likely die in few years? > Some just see value in helping others, either in the act or the results. Oh, how close it is to saying "people are often being selfless"!

pixl97 5mo ago

>Anthropology disagrees. Survivorship Bias. Humans that exhibit altruistic behavior get to stay around and make more history. When selfish behavior society collapses and that history is pruned, generally in some horrific event involving a lot of death and genocide. Now, the mistake you are personally making is thinking you're going to make it because in general humans have stuck around after selfish people fucked everything up.

bonesss 5mo ago

Anthropology also shows widespread cannibalism. I agree that many traditional cultures engage in egalitarianism, but genocide and mass-rapes, wars and slavery campaigns, are baked into the anthropological history. Economic activity, expressed in water and caloric access, is the root of numerous ongoing conflicts (“tribal” and national), and the cause of many historical eradications of competition. Capitalism seeks to maximize capital, anthropology says life just as brutal as it was before we named and systematized it. Cost benefit doesn’t need dollars as a unit of measure to be effective.

bit-anarchist 5mo ago

This comment is born out of a superficial understanding of anthropology, altruism and selfishness. Most of the coalitions you mentioned are, ultimately, born out of the realization that, sometimes, you have to give a little now, to gain more later. Even charity at its pure idealistic form requires the altruistic individual to feel they made the world better in their own view (psychic profit, thus ultimately selfish) to happen. This isn't the "default capitalist view", this is praxeology, plain and simple.

throaway198234 5mo ago
LLM POST!
- bit-anarchist 5mo ago
  Nope, this is 100% human-written.
  - throaway198234 5mo ago
    Darn, you sound like one.
- sowerssix 5mo ago
  A Master of Laws? We should be so lucky! /s
wolvesechoes 5mo ago
Why people in the past cared for old, sick and disabled?
- bit-anarchist 5mo ago
  Multiple possible reasons: 1. Social pressures. Failing to care for others can result in social stigma, with increasing levels of alienation depending of culture/society; 2. Setting examples for reciprocity . One can help others today to set the expection to receive support later. All become old, sick and/or disabled at some point (if they don't die beforehand, immortals notwithstanding); 3. Friends and relatives are valuable in multiple ways; 4. Some just see value in helping others, either in the act or the results. These are the examples I can state on top of my head. They all require each individual's evaluation scales to favor such motivations.
  - wolvesechoes 5mo ago
    > 1. Social pressures How these social pressures could arise if all people in society acts out of selfishness? > 2. Setting examples for reciprocity What kind of reciprocity exists if we talk about healthy adults taking care of disabled children that would likely die in few years? > Some just see value in helping others, either in the act or the results. Oh, how close it is to saying "people are often being selfless"!