... if you destroyed all the weapons in the world and the knowledge of how to make them (unrealistic, but let's assume)... Then you erased all borders (again, unrealistic, but assume it) and the title to all land + resources on earth were destroyed... Then you eliminated money from the world... wiped out all cash/bank accounts, etc... Do you have faith in humanity to be able to just co-exist peacefully this way? What would the religious people do? The scientists? The doctors? Would differences dissapear or become stronger? note: please don't catch me out on a technicality, I just want to discuss human nature under no influence..
Obviously if you take away nationalism, currency/wealth, and religion there wouldn't be much left to fight over. But never doubt mankinds ability to reconstitute that stuff quickly and start killing each other. I think differences in appearance and languages have something to do with it as well.
I agree. Its human nature to self-organize and also to be tribal. Consider why do we root for the Rockets and hate the Jazz when in the bigger picture (and I know I'm treading on thin ice here, please don't ban me..) stuff like that really isn't that important. If we erased all borders, currency and weapons humans would likely figure out new borders and as soon as there was some fisticuffs at the new borders build new weapons. I'm guessing currency would come back as a barter economy is impractical on a large scale.
Men are driven by the the evolutionary imperatives of survival and gaining an advantage in the procreation process. The survival and success of the individual trumps the group and the cooperative group trumps the population in general.
If you took away borders, weapons, and money, within no time, people would be using money to buy weapons to defend their borders.
So everyone says we'll generate borders, weapons and currency even assuming we've seen what that has done? I'm not proposing going back in time. All the lessons are learned and these things happen today. You're saying tomorrow someone will be trying to build a weapon?
I think evolution has made humans social animals and individualism for humanity and human history as a whole hasn't been that important. While we talk about individual rights most of our morals are about sacrifice to the group. Things like patriotism, civic pride and compassion are all about group dynamics. In some ways I think our American viewpoint is an accident of history that we have mores and ethics that put such a high regard on the individual. I'm not saying this is a bad thing and as an American I fully value individual rights but just pointing out that in evolution and human history this hasn't been the case.
Experiments like what you suggest have been tried and Utopian societies that seek to do away with those things have all pretty much been short lived and often fail due to acrimony within the group or evaporate as they stagnate and the succeeding generations move on and out of the group.
I'll just use this big stick to chase you away from that berry bush before you eat all those berries.
Men cooperate and organize when it is in their own best interest. Not getting killed is reason #1, not starving is #2, producing successful offspring is #3. Once you have mastered these then comes living fat, lazy and entertained.
Personally, I think we should try it. Not because it would last, but because we could shake up the impetus for conflict. Fighting over whether your religion allows priests to marry, or who the rightful follower of Mohammed is, or whether you trade oil in dollars or some other currency, is silly. We need some new reasons to fight. I'm hoping for NBA-team allegiance, because I want to conquer Utah.
I understand your sentiment, but would encourage you to read and engage in the many exceptions to this rule!
It is in human nature to kill. Human nature drives people to be better than one another. Jealousy is something we pretty much all live with, and it drives us whether we recognize it or not. Some people take it to extremes, and determine their only way to best their neighbor is not through bettering themselves, but rather to bring their neighbor down.
