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There is never ever going to be a period of time in the human history, there was none in the past, nor will there be in the future where we shall attain peacefu

by gyepi 13y ago

There is never ever going to be a period of time in the human history, there was none in the past, nor will there be in the future where we shall attain peaceful uniform equality among humans. The very concept is against our very internal wiring. Equality means, every one gets the same regardless of their efforts in getting it. This is a very strange concept, and the human understanding of motivation rejects it. My crystal ball is probably murkier than yours but I would disagree with the assertion that that humans will never achieve equality as you define it. All our current systems of economics and power are predicated on the belief that "resources" are limited and must therefore be allocated (owned, shared, distributed, exchanged) on the basis of scarcity. In such a system, the question of distribution becomes critical; the models been some combinations of "according to effort" or "according to need". However in a "post-scarcity" environment (free or cheap energy, for example) in which the belief is no longer true, other models of distribution become possible. It's far fetched, but I wouldn't bet against it. Just think of the various social, political, economic and technological changes over the past few hundred years.

kamaal 13y ago
>>However in a "post-scarcity" environment Scarcity of which commodity? The western civilization is already at a point where food and clothes aren't even a problem. Yet the debates about rich and poor are common. Problem isn't the lack of things. The problem is the people thinking that rewards must go in proportion to efforts. That will never change. Tomorrow if every one were to get free food, clothes and a home to leave. There will still be arguments of inequality as to why its unfair the rich can drive a Ferrari while the poor can't.
- gyepi 13y ago
  >>However in a "post-scarcity" environment >>> Scarcity of which commodity? Scarcity of materials and energy, mostly. >>> The western civilization is already at a point where food and clothes aren't even a problem. Yet the debates about rich and poor are common. You are correct that the segment of the population that does not need to worry about food and shelter is much higher than before, but we're not there yet: the "west" is generously about 15% of the world's population. Unfortunately, discussions of possible futures tend to be rooted in current thinking and assumptions (mostly by necessity); by our current thinking, yes, people would get "free food, clothes and a home" but imagine if those things were as available as the air we breath. We neither talk about "free air" nor argue about its unequal distribution. In fact, we complain when our air is polluted.
- thomaslangston 13y ago
  > Hunger in America exists for over 50 million people. That is 1 in 6 of the U.S. population – including more than 1 in 5 children. http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america.aspx http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america.aspx

by gyepi 13y ago

kamaal 13y ago

>>However in a "post-scarcity" environment Scarcity of which commodity? The western civilization is already at a point where food and clothes aren't even a problem. Yet the debates about rich and poor are common. Problem isn't the lack of things. The problem is the people thinking that rewards must go in proportion to efforts. That will never change. Tomorrow if every one were to get free food, clothes and a home to leave. There will still be arguments of inequality as to why its unfair the rich can drive a Ferrari while the poor can't.

gyepi 13y ago
>>However in a "post-scarcity" environment >>> Scarcity of which commodity? Scarcity of materials and energy, mostly. >>> The western civilization is already at a point where food and clothes aren't even a problem. Yet the debates about rich and poor are common. You are correct that the segment of the population that does not need to worry about food and shelter is much higher than before, but we're not there yet: the "west" is generously about 15% of the world's population. Unfortunately, discussions of possible futures tend to be rooted in current thinking and assumptions (mostly by necessity); by our current thinking, yes, people would get "free food, clothes and a home" but imagine if those things were as available as the air we breath. We neither talk about "free air" nor argue about its unequal distribution. In fact, we complain when our air is polluted.
thomaslangston 13y ago
> Hunger in America exists for over 50 million people. That is 1 in 6 of the U.S. population – including more than 1 in 5 children. http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america.aspx http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america.aspx