In the beginning were the barbarians.
They had been endowed by natural selection with a highly evolved sense of fear. The fight-or-flight response to the impulse of fear enabled them to survive in the hostile and threatening “survival of the fittest” environment in which they evolved over millions of years.
In time the barbarians triumphed over all of their rivals to become the undisputed masters of the animal kingdom. That triumph represented a major evolutionary turning point for the species of homo sapiens.
In the absence of predators the heightened sense of fear which had served them so well ceased to be an asset and instead became a liability. Natural selection began to reverse itself.
In the mind of the barbarians fear turned to anger, hatred and aggression with such ease and rapidity that it led them to inflict all manner of immorality on each other from theft, to rape to murder to the wholesale slaughter of millions, and they lived their lives in a constant state of conflict of varying intensity.
Their fear of death led them to invent religions which promised an after-life.
Their fear of each other lead them to divide into tribes and to go to war with each other.
Unable to control their fears they sought instead to control each other via the establishment of “the rule of law” and armed groups of men to inflict their will on each other.
The resulting cancer of government grew to assume control over nearly all aspects of the lives of the barbarians in their nation state tribes leading to paralysis, stagnation, and economic depression. The state grew in proportion to the inability of individuals to control their fears, and the inability of individuals to control their fears grew in proportion to the state. This vicious self re-enforcing and recurring cycle ended with unstable tyrants ascending to the pinnacle of power and unleashing unrestrained barbarous bloodbaths.
The history of the triumphant species of homo sapiens has many stories that differ in their particulars but the underlying story is always the same – the inability to control their fear lead to unremitting conflict and suffering.
The species was victorious but it was still emotionally immature. They had evolved a rational mind and were able to fend off some attempts of the more ancient fear-based mind from seizing control but they were not yet able to assume total dominance over their own destructive emotions.
The war of consequence was not without but within. It was a war for control their own mind. It was a war between the primitive fear-based brain of the barbarian and the rational mind of the post-barbarian. At its core it was a battle between fear and love, for one could only gain at the expense of the other and love was the means by which the rational mind assumed and maintained control – for the simple reason that the fight-or-flight response to fear robs the brain of the oxygen it needs to function properly.
With each passing generation the rational mind assumed greater dominance. Unbeknownst to all, natural selection was still at work and the unremitting warfare between tribes was actually serving the evolutionary purpose of cleansing the species of those most unable to control their destructive emotions.
Over the eons of barbarous warfare emerged a new type of homo sapiens - the non-barbarian - one who was able to control his fear and thus felt no need to control his environment.
The non-barbarian was able to control his fear of death and thus had no need for religion.
The non-barbarian was able to control his fear of others and thus had no need for government, the rule of law, power or coercion of any sort.
The non-barbarian naturally embraced the philosophy of voluntaryism.
The ascent of the non-barbarian represented a large evolutionary step forward in the history of the species. The triumph of love over fear enabled the rational part of the mind of homo sapiens to achieve dominance over the destructive emotions of his barbarian ancestors.
As the others continued to war and kill each other off the “evolved ones” continued to grow in number and to congregate amongst themselves and to ask the question:
What is to be done?
How do we survive and thrive amongst the hordes of emotionally unstable barbarians?
Whereas we see a world of unbounded opportunity for joy, the fearful barbarians see only threats.
Our very existence is a threat to them.
They seek to control us with their laws, and their governments and their threats of punishment and brutality.
They enslave us by looting our income at gun-point with taxation.
They throw us into their dungeons if we refuse to comply with their cowardly laws.
To live amongst these barbarians is a challenge to our tolerance for tyranny and immorality.
What is to be done?
The answer to that question depends upon the answer to another:
Has a majority of the species evolved to the point where they are physiologically capable of assuming control over their destructive emotions and resisting the temptation to respond to the impulse of fear with coercion?
An answer of “yes” suggests one course of action, whereas one of “no” suggests another.
In the final analysis, there are but two options, and the choice to respond to the impulse of fear with coercion is the deciding factor. To the extent that people continue to make this choice our civilization will remain stuck within the age of barbarism.
Option 1: Empowerment
Those who are willing can be counseled to change their conditioned response to the impulse of fear.
Instead of allowing the fear to grow to the point where the fight-or-flight response is triggered and coercion is embraced, they can choose to face and overcome the fear itself.
They can choose to allow themselves to be consumed by the natural enemy of fear - empathy, compassion and love - and to consequently naturally act in accordance with the Golden Rule instead of resorting to coercion.
This choice leads inexorably to enduring happiness.
Why?
Because it enables us to live in peace and harmony with our conscience.
Because each time we overcome a fear we achieve an enduring sense of empowerment by expanding our comfort zone. When we do so the world becomes a less threatening and more beautiful place - not because it has changed but because we have.
Because the vacuum resulting from the absence of fear is naturally filled by empathy, compassion and love.
Option 2: Natural Selection
On the other hand there are those who are unable or unwilling to control their destructive emotions.
They continue to choose to allow themselves to be consumed by fear and subsequently choose to use ever more evil forms of coercion against others.
In time, they will be dealt with by those they have chosen to harm.
The converse of the Golden Rule is the Law of Reciprocity.
If one’s conscience is not strong enough to enforce the golden rule, the desire for retribution amongst the victims of the tyrants will get the job done.
We need merely sit back and allow nature to take its course. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. No action on our part is required.
Were we voluntaryists of many lands to give in to intemperance, however, we might perhaps seek to accelerate natural selection somewhat by encouraging the barbarians in our respective nation state tribes to war amongst themselves more voraciously so as to eliminate themselves from the gene pool more quickly.
Eventually, natural selection will ensure that the emotionally unstable barbarians will become a tiny minority and they can be dealt with by mental health professionals. As long as the inmates are running the asylum, however, a means of decreasing their numbers is required.
Showing posts with label reciprocity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reciprocity. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Ayn Rand's Error
Ayn Rand is the author of the classic novel “Atlas Shrugged” and one of the foremost thought leaders of the freedom movement.
Her critique of socialism, and socialist thinking is quite good.
Her defense of freedom is IMHO significantly less so.
To my mind her argument is a variant of the following:
Greed is good.
Selfishness is a virtue.
Everyone should support it because it has trickle down effects that will benefit all.
This is hardly motivating.
I believe that Ayn Rand fundamentally misunderstood the basic nature of exchange.
The way she saw capitalism was not entirely different than the way that the socialists see it.
She saw people who acted greedily doing well for themselves and attributed the fact that they did well to the fact that they acted in their own self interest without regard to others.
This is simply a fundamental error in her interpretation of reality.
She basically adopted the same view of the world as the socialists and sought to defend it.
But it is the view itself that is erroneous.
It is, of course, true that many very successful people do, on occasion, act in a way that can be seen as greedy. But it is a logical fallacy to attribute their success to this behavior.
Invariably such people become wealthy not because of greed but in spite of it.
Consider the examples of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
Both of these men became very rich not because they sought to “take” for themselves but rather because they sought to “give” something of value to the world.
Bill Gates dreamed of a computer on every desk. He wanted to provide the software for that computer which enabled people to utilize this incredible new technology to make their lives better.
Steve Jobs had a similar dream. Apple Computer delivered the very first such desktop computers to the world. He saw an opportunity to deliver value to people and he pounced on it. He did the same with the iPod and the iPhone. He saw a need that was not being met and he took it upon himself to meet that need.
Both of these men, at times, acted greedily.
But each time that they did, however, it hurt them rather than helped them.
Bill Gate’s attitude towards competition, for example, hurt him badly.
He seems to have instructed his product managers to focus on the main competitors for each product with the intent of wiping out the competition.
Influenced by game theory he believed that fewer competitors made it easier to win.
Creating monopolies tends to kill innovation however. This was not his intent. He was all about innovation. But without healthy and vigorous competition the financial incentive to innovate deteriorates.
A fear-based view of competition which sees competitors as a threat is a selfish view because the act of wiping out a competitor does not “give” to anyone. It is an act of taking. It is a barbarian instinct to use force against an external threat to make it go away.
[Note the association of “fear” and “selfishness”. Fear is the destructive emotion which causes us to turn off empathy and become self-absorbed. I’ve written about this extensively elsewhere: http://tinyurl.com/9drnvy]
Instead, people who view competition as something that should be enthusiastically welcomed tend to do well without creating feelings of animosity towards themselves. Competition drives self-improvement and helps us to give more to others.
Ultimately the bad feelings generated towards Microsoft as a result of this behavior led to anti-trust lawsuits being filed against the company.
Having created so many enemies Microsoft was left without any defenders to fend off this attack from the state.
Contrast that behavior with those of the executives of Google whose motto is “Don’t be evil”.
Google continues to grow and has done so without making enemies.
The state, therefore, is loathe to attack them because if they choose to do so, Google will be able to rally public opinion behind them in a way that Microsoft was not able to do.
Ayn Rand was simply wrong.
Selfishness is not the cause of success.
The opposite is true.
Selfishness is the cause of failure.
The universe gives back to each in proportion to what they give to it.
The universe also takes from each in proportion to what they seek to take from it.
It’s all about give and take.
Some incorrectly believe that they can get away with stealing a little more for themselves without having to pay for it.
They are mistaken.
The law of reciprocity is real.
Her critique of socialism, and socialist thinking is quite good.
Her defense of freedom is IMHO significantly less so.
To my mind her argument is a variant of the following:
Greed is good.
Selfishness is a virtue.
Everyone should support it because it has trickle down effects that will benefit all.
This is hardly motivating.
I believe that Ayn Rand fundamentally misunderstood the basic nature of exchange.
The way she saw capitalism was not entirely different than the way that the socialists see it.
She saw people who acted greedily doing well for themselves and attributed the fact that they did well to the fact that they acted in their own self interest without regard to others.
This is simply a fundamental error in her interpretation of reality.
She basically adopted the same view of the world as the socialists and sought to defend it.
But it is the view itself that is erroneous.
It is, of course, true that many very successful people do, on occasion, act in a way that can be seen as greedy. But it is a logical fallacy to attribute their success to this behavior.
Invariably such people become wealthy not because of greed but in spite of it.
Consider the examples of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
Both of these men became very rich not because they sought to “take” for themselves but rather because they sought to “give” something of value to the world.
Bill Gates dreamed of a computer on every desk. He wanted to provide the software for that computer which enabled people to utilize this incredible new technology to make their lives better.
Steve Jobs had a similar dream. Apple Computer delivered the very first such desktop computers to the world. He saw an opportunity to deliver value to people and he pounced on it. He did the same with the iPod and the iPhone. He saw a need that was not being met and he took it upon himself to meet that need.
Both of these men, at times, acted greedily.
But each time that they did, however, it hurt them rather than helped them.
Bill Gate’s attitude towards competition, for example, hurt him badly.
He seems to have instructed his product managers to focus on the main competitors for each product with the intent of wiping out the competition.
Influenced by game theory he believed that fewer competitors made it easier to win.
Creating monopolies tends to kill innovation however. This was not his intent. He was all about innovation. But without healthy and vigorous competition the financial incentive to innovate deteriorates.
A fear-based view of competition which sees competitors as a threat is a selfish view because the act of wiping out a competitor does not “give” to anyone. It is an act of taking. It is a barbarian instinct to use force against an external threat to make it go away.
[Note the association of “fear” and “selfishness”. Fear is the destructive emotion which causes us to turn off empathy and become self-absorbed. I’ve written about this extensively elsewhere: http://tinyurl.com/9drnvy]
Instead, people who view competition as something that should be enthusiastically welcomed tend to do well without creating feelings of animosity towards themselves. Competition drives self-improvement and helps us to give more to others.
Ultimately the bad feelings generated towards Microsoft as a result of this behavior led to anti-trust lawsuits being filed against the company.
Having created so many enemies Microsoft was left without any defenders to fend off this attack from the state.
Contrast that behavior with those of the executives of Google whose motto is “Don’t be evil”.
Google continues to grow and has done so without making enemies.
The state, therefore, is loathe to attack them because if they choose to do so, Google will be able to rally public opinion behind them in a way that Microsoft was not able to do.
Ayn Rand was simply wrong.
Selfishness is not the cause of success.
The opposite is true.
Selfishness is the cause of failure.
The universe gives back to each in proportion to what they give to it.
The universe also takes from each in proportion to what they seek to take from it.
It’s all about give and take.
Some incorrectly believe that they can get away with stealing a little more for themselves without having to pay for it.
They are mistaken.
The law of reciprocity is real.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Please don't vote
The overwhelming negativity of politics is something that I have a hard time dealing with and I usually choose to tune it out completely.
The very nature of the democratic system conditions the mind to pursue conflict and inflict pain and suffering on others. It teaches us to search for and find the worst qualities in our fellow human beings and to focus on these to the exclusion of their many good qualities.
Have you ever noticed that this negative mental attitude is the exact opposite of what you tend to find in really successful people? The real leaders in society - the ones whom we like, respect, admire and look to for guidance - are those who look for, find and bring out the best in others.
I view the democratic system from an historical perspective.
I believe that the human race is on the verge of a great awakening.
For the entire history of life on this planet the brain physiology of the of the higher animals has limited sentient beings to emotion-based behavior.
That is now changing.
The most ancient part of the brain is the amygdala. It is your emotional center.
The more recently evolved part of the brain is the cerebral cortex. It is your logical center.
The circuitry and neuro-plasticity of the brain has evolved to the point that you are now physiologically capable of gaining total control over your destructive emotional impulses.
Scientists have known this for some time now but most have failed to grasp the incredible implications this has for the future of humanity.
Imagine for a moment what the world will be like when we have developed the self-discipline to temper our destructive emotions.
Imagine how your life will change. Imagine how much better the lives of your children will be.
The opportunities for the advancement of human civilization are nearly boundless.
It is difficult to predict the future. However, one thing at least is certain: The ability of human beings to gain control over their destructive emotions will absolutely result in a dramatic decrease in conflict and the resultant suffering that it causes. In its stead will be increased compassion, love, peace and prosperity.
It is within this evolutionary context that I view the democratic system.
Our emotion-driven cave-dwelling ancestors were likely unable to restrain their emotional impulses.
When one caveman was hungry and saw that another had obtained food he most likely would not have been able to refrain from clubbing the other caveman over the head to take what he wanted.
It is hard to blame him for this since he probably lacked the neural circuitry to enable him to exercise restraint.
We humans of today, however, have no such excuse.
We are capable of both extra-ordinarily civilized behavior as well as the extra-ordinary barbarism of our ancestors.
The political systems of the age of barbarism consist mostly of various forms of authoritarianism wherein a small group of individuals imposed their will on the majority in a fashion similar to that of our cave dwelling alpha-male ancestors.
The past few hundred years, however, has seen the flourishing of democracy.
This great step forward for humanity has yielded significant increases in freedom and happiness and decrease s in suffering.
However, democracy is not IMHO the final evolutionary form of human civilization.
Rather it is merely a stepping stone to something much more beautiful.
We cave dwellers have taken the first step towards the future by ganging up on and killing the alpha male.
However, we then sought to emulate his methods and turned on each other.
Democracy does, after all, merely replace the tyranny of the minority with that of the majority.
And thus we arrive at our present day system where we take turns imposing our will on each other every few years.
If you have the courage to open your mind and look deep into your heart you will come to realize the truth of the following two statements.
The root cause of all conflict in the world is the CHOICE of individuals to impose their will on others.
And the reason for this choice is almost always FEAR.
We all desire freedom for ourselves and those that we care about but we all (to varying degrees) fear granting that same freedom to our fellow human beings. This is what I like to call the “freedom for me but not for thee” phenomenon.
But life doesn’t work that way.
Have you ever noticed that we tend to get back what we dish out?
If we seek to impose our will on others they will tend to want to return the favor.
We almost always have good intentions when doing so, but the decision to do so is almost always a misguided one and results from unclear thinking which is usually facilitated by fear.
The law of reciprocity is real.
The universe gives back to us in proportion to what we give to it.
Some believe that they can cheat the system but have you noticed this never seems to work?
The truth is that you will never have the freedom that you desire for yourself unless and until you are prepared to grant that freedom to others - especially those whom engage in practices which you find objectionable but do not actually case harm.
That is the price that must be paid if we truly desire freedom to pursue happiness. Sooner or later people will come to the realization that imposing their will on each other will not bring them the happiness that they desire. However, following the golden rule will.
The democratic system is a relic from the age of barbarism that we should be seeking to elevate ourselves out of.
We can and will do that at a time of our choosing.
All the pieces are now in place for the greatest leap forward that humanity has ever taken.
All that is required now is a decision.
That decision is yours to make.
What kind of a world do you want to live in?
What kind of a world do you want to create and leave for your children and their children?
Are you ready to put an end to the violence, conflict and suffering of the age of barbarism and to embrace the peace and love of the post barbarism era?
If so, I respectfully ask you to make pledges to yourself similar to these ones:
From this day forward I will do my best to refrain from imposing my will on my fellow human beings. Instead, when I feel strongly about something I will seek to persuade them while also keeping my mind open to the persuasive arguments of others. To this end I commit to doing the hard work necessary to develop my own emotional intelligence to the point where I have achieved complete mastery of my emotions. If ever I should fail to live up to this high standard I will not beat myself up. Instead I will have the courage to admit it and to seek to correct the situation.
I will lead by example and be a force for positive change in the world by working to reduce conflict, alleviate suffering and increasing the joy of my fellow human beings.
In the great tradition of passive resistance pioneered by the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King I resolve to peacefully withdraw my support for the democratic system. I will not vote and I will not cooperate with any government except when forced to do so by the armed force of the state.
I recognize that those in power and those who support them are good people who are doing what they believe to be right and are motivated by the desire to alleviate suffering and increase joy just like I am. I harbor no ill will towards them. In a spirit of friendship I seek merely to persuade them of the error of their ways.
I will continuously seek out opportunities to induce the state to use force against me for the purpose of illustrating to others the true nature of the system and to thus bring about its more rapid demise.
I will pay my taxes only when forced to do so but I will absolutely refuse to accept government hand outs of any sort because it is fundamentally immoral to benefit from the looting of my fellow human beings.
I will continuously seek out innovative ways to create and participate in alternative institutions to government.
The only moral type of exchange is that between two free parties on the basis of mutual consent. I pledge to maintain a high level of personal integrity and to never participate in any other sort of exchange in any fashion.
As our numbers grow the power of the state will diminish and eventually evaporate into thin air. I pledge to bring an end to the age of barbarism in my life time. This is my life purpose and if need be I will sacrifice everything in order to achieve this noble goal.
The very nature of the democratic system conditions the mind to pursue conflict and inflict pain and suffering on others. It teaches us to search for and find the worst qualities in our fellow human beings and to focus on these to the exclusion of their many good qualities.
Have you ever noticed that this negative mental attitude is the exact opposite of what you tend to find in really successful people? The real leaders in society - the ones whom we like, respect, admire and look to for guidance - are those who look for, find and bring out the best in others.
I view the democratic system from an historical perspective.
I believe that the human race is on the verge of a great awakening.
For the entire history of life on this planet the brain physiology of the of the higher animals has limited sentient beings to emotion-based behavior.
That is now changing.
The most ancient part of the brain is the amygdala. It is your emotional center.
The more recently evolved part of the brain is the cerebral cortex. It is your logical center.
The circuitry and neuro-plasticity of the brain has evolved to the point that you are now physiologically capable of gaining total control over your destructive emotional impulses.
Scientists have known this for some time now but most have failed to grasp the incredible implications this has for the future of humanity.
Imagine for a moment what the world will be like when we have developed the self-discipline to temper our destructive emotions.
Imagine how your life will change. Imagine how much better the lives of your children will be.
The opportunities for the advancement of human civilization are nearly boundless.
It is difficult to predict the future. However, one thing at least is certain: The ability of human beings to gain control over their destructive emotions will absolutely result in a dramatic decrease in conflict and the resultant suffering that it causes. In its stead will be increased compassion, love, peace and prosperity.
It is within this evolutionary context that I view the democratic system.
Our emotion-driven cave-dwelling ancestors were likely unable to restrain their emotional impulses.
When one caveman was hungry and saw that another had obtained food he most likely would not have been able to refrain from clubbing the other caveman over the head to take what he wanted.
It is hard to blame him for this since he probably lacked the neural circuitry to enable him to exercise restraint.
We humans of today, however, have no such excuse.
We are capable of both extra-ordinarily civilized behavior as well as the extra-ordinary barbarism of our ancestors.
The political systems of the age of barbarism consist mostly of various forms of authoritarianism wherein a small group of individuals imposed their will on the majority in a fashion similar to that of our cave dwelling alpha-male ancestors.
The past few hundred years, however, has seen the flourishing of democracy.
This great step forward for humanity has yielded significant increases in freedom and happiness and decrease s in suffering.
However, democracy is not IMHO the final evolutionary form of human civilization.
Rather it is merely a stepping stone to something much more beautiful.
We cave dwellers have taken the first step towards the future by ganging up on and killing the alpha male.
However, we then sought to emulate his methods and turned on each other.
Democracy does, after all, merely replace the tyranny of the minority with that of the majority.
And thus we arrive at our present day system where we take turns imposing our will on each other every few years.
If you have the courage to open your mind and look deep into your heart you will come to realize the truth of the following two statements.
The root cause of all conflict in the world is the CHOICE of individuals to impose their will on others.
And the reason for this choice is almost always FEAR.
We all desire freedom for ourselves and those that we care about but we all (to varying degrees) fear granting that same freedom to our fellow human beings. This is what I like to call the “freedom for me but not for thee” phenomenon.
But life doesn’t work that way.
Have you ever noticed that we tend to get back what we dish out?
If we seek to impose our will on others they will tend to want to return the favor.
We almost always have good intentions when doing so, but the decision to do so is almost always a misguided one and results from unclear thinking which is usually facilitated by fear.
The law of reciprocity is real.
The universe gives back to us in proportion to what we give to it.
Some believe that they can cheat the system but have you noticed this never seems to work?
The truth is that you will never have the freedom that you desire for yourself unless and until you are prepared to grant that freedom to others - especially those whom engage in practices which you find objectionable but do not actually case harm.
That is the price that must be paid if we truly desire freedom to pursue happiness. Sooner or later people will come to the realization that imposing their will on each other will not bring them the happiness that they desire. However, following the golden rule will.
The democratic system is a relic from the age of barbarism that we should be seeking to elevate ourselves out of.
We can and will do that at a time of our choosing.
All the pieces are now in place for the greatest leap forward that humanity has ever taken.
All that is required now is a decision.
That decision is yours to make.
What kind of a world do you want to live in?
What kind of a world do you want to create and leave for your children and their children?
Are you ready to put an end to the violence, conflict and suffering of the age of barbarism and to embrace the peace and love of the post barbarism era?
If so, I respectfully ask you to make pledges to yourself similar to these ones:
From this day forward I will do my best to refrain from imposing my will on my fellow human beings. Instead, when I feel strongly about something I will seek to persuade them while also keeping my mind open to the persuasive arguments of others. To this end I commit to doing the hard work necessary to develop my own emotional intelligence to the point where I have achieved complete mastery of my emotions. If ever I should fail to live up to this high standard I will not beat myself up. Instead I will have the courage to admit it and to seek to correct the situation.
I will lead by example and be a force for positive change in the world by working to reduce conflict, alleviate suffering and increasing the joy of my fellow human beings.
In the great tradition of passive resistance pioneered by the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King I resolve to peacefully withdraw my support for the democratic system. I will not vote and I will not cooperate with any government except when forced to do so by the armed force of the state.
I recognize that those in power and those who support them are good people who are doing what they believe to be right and are motivated by the desire to alleviate suffering and increase joy just like I am. I harbor no ill will towards them. In a spirit of friendship I seek merely to persuade them of the error of their ways.
I will continuously seek out opportunities to induce the state to use force against me for the purpose of illustrating to others the true nature of the system and to thus bring about its more rapid demise.
I will pay my taxes only when forced to do so but I will absolutely refuse to accept government hand outs of any sort because it is fundamentally immoral to benefit from the looting of my fellow human beings.
I will continuously seek out innovative ways to create and participate in alternative institutions to government.
The only moral type of exchange is that between two free parties on the basis of mutual consent. I pledge to maintain a high level of personal integrity and to never participate in any other sort of exchange in any fashion.
As our numbers grow the power of the state will diminish and eventually evaporate into thin air. I pledge to bring an end to the age of barbarism in my life time. This is my life purpose and if need be I will sacrifice everything in order to achieve this noble goal.
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