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...but don't make these issues more simpler than they are. It makes more sense if you take a Darwinian viewpoint. Survival of the fittest and all that. In the

by shiven 11y ago

...but don't make these issues more simpler than they are. It makes more sense if you take a Darwinian viewpoint. Survival of the fittest and all that. In the US this happened a couple of hundred years ago as the native population got wiped out by European immigrants (or invaders). In case of the UK, as an Indian, I consider it fair comeuppance for the two centuries that Brits enslaved my country! And, by the way, I'll have some fish-n-chips with that NHS plan, thankyouverymuch.

berntb 11y ago
An Indian eating fish and chips?! A couple of good friends of mine were depressed, because their kid preferred Western food. I told them to relax. "If she ends up like a native Swede, consider what food we native Swedes really love -- Indian! You can't lose. :-)"
jkyle 11y ago
> Survival of the fittest and all that Darwin never made this claim, nor is it part of natural selection. Natural selection doesn't select for the 'fittest', it selects for the 'fit enough'. It's a minimum threshold, not a maximizing algorithm. Secondly, the native population of the Americas was mostly killed off by Smallpox. Though military superiority played a role, second to the pox was load bearing animals such as horses. Interestingly enough, husbandry of large livestock like horses is where diseases like the pox come from. . . and Eurasia is where all of the world's largest domesticated animals come from. So, Eurasians were able to slowly and gradually build resistance to these livestock oriented diseases. Short story: Why did all the native americans die off? Pure random chance. Not that Europeans are guilt free, they did some horrible, morally reprehensible shit. They just, even at their height, couldn't hold a candle to unadulterated, random cruelty of mother nature. That being said, there is some sweet, sweet irony when the nations that soaked up the entire world's wealth through theft, murder, and subjugation then used it to build empires on the backs of slaves complain about cheap labor taking their stuff. So enjoy the fish & chips and NHS!
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eli_gottlieb 11y ago
>It makes more sense if you take a Darwinian viewpoint. Survival of the fittest and all that. Pretty much everyone knows Social Darwinism to be immoral and, on net, a bad idea. >And, by the way, I'll have some fish-n-chips with that NHS plan, thankyouverymuch. Fish-and-chips was actually introduced by Sefardi Jewish immigrants from the Netherlands :-p.
- gumby 11y ago
  >>It makes more sense if you take a Darwinian viewpoint. Survival of the fittest and all that. > Pretty much everyone knows Social Darwinism to be immoral and, on net, a bad idea. Agreed. Fun side note / trivia: Some wag had Hubert Spencer (the proponent of "social darwinism") buried across the path and facing the grave of his intellectual enemy Karl Marx. It's a well-trodden spot in the lovely Highgate cemetery, and much as I dislike much of what Marx wrote, I love that so maany people make a pilgrimage there and turn their backs on Spencer.

by shiven 11y ago

berntb 11y ago

An Indian eating fish and chips?! A couple of good friends of mine were depressed, because their kid preferred Western food. I told them to relax. "If she ends up like a native Swede, consider what food we native Swedes really love -- Indian! You can't lose. :-)"

jkyle 11y ago

> Survival of the fittest and all that Darwin never made this claim, nor is it part of natural selection. Natural selection doesn't select for the 'fittest', it selects for the 'fit enough'. It's a minimum threshold, not a maximizing algorithm. Secondly, the native population of the Americas was mostly killed off by Smallpox. Though military superiority played a role, second to the pox was load bearing animals such as horses. Interestingly enough, husbandry of large livestock like horses is where diseases like the pox come from. . . and Eurasia is where all of the world's largest domesticated animals come from. So, Eurasians were able to slowly and gradually build resistance to these livestock oriented diseases. Short story: Why did all the native americans die off? Pure random chance. Not that Europeans are guilt free, they did some horrible, morally reprehensible shit. They just, even at their height, couldn't hold a candle to unadulterated, random cruelty of mother nature. That being said, there is some sweet, sweet irony when the nations that soaked up the entire world's wealth through theft, murder, and subjugation then used it to build empires on the backs of slaves complain about cheap labor taking their stuff. So enjoy the fish & chips and NHS!

deleted 11y ago

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eli_gottlieb 11y ago

>It makes more sense if you take a Darwinian viewpoint. Survival of the fittest and all that. Pretty much everyone knows Social Darwinism to be immoral and, on net, a bad idea. >And, by the way, I'll have some fish-n-chips with that NHS plan, thankyouverymuch. Fish-and-chips was actually introduced by Sefardi Jewish immigrants from the Netherlands :-p.

gumby 11y ago
>>It makes more sense if you take a Darwinian viewpoint. Survival of the fittest and all that. > Pretty much everyone knows Social Darwinism to be immoral and, on net, a bad idea. Agreed. Fun side note / trivia: Some wag had Hubert Spencer (the proponent of "social darwinism") buried across the path and facing the grave of his intellectual enemy Karl Marx. It's a well-trodden spot in the lovely Highgate cemetery, and much as I dislike much of what Marx wrote, I love that so maany people make a pilgrimage there and turn their backs on Spencer.