by Ibon » Mon 19 Oct 2015, 22:05:04
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', '
')But when you say enlightened social engineering, do you not mean control over the individual in favor of the collective good?
Yes like we already do in thousands of ways. Currently in our society the need to control or force compliance is often secondary to a citizenry willingly following certain rules that are recognized as enhancing liberty rather then curtailing it. For example, you can be forced and controlled to not steal someones bicycle by being arrested by the police and incarcerated for doing so. But the vast majority of citizens don't do this because they are socialized to recognize this behavior as wrong. So there is no real loss of liberty by willingly submitting to the laws that make stealing bicycles illegal. Some gypsies who have a different cultural orientation might call the laws against stealing bicycles a kind of "tyranny" and represent a loss of personal freedom.
An ethical example. Many religious people would refuse to end a pregnancy with an abortion because they believe that this is morally wrong. They are following the rules of their church. This rule prohibiting getting an abortion is not seen as a loss of personal freedom by those who obey their church. They obey and follow this rule willingly and do not see this as tyranny.
A small river community allows raw sewage to flow in a river and is sued by an environmental protection agency at the request of a town further downstream that experienced a cholera outbreak. The state obliged, controlled and forced the town to treat their raw sewage. How many citizens perceived the state as tyrannical in this enforcement and how many saw that this collectivist rule benefits all.
The theme here is that the guidestones are followed willingly by the citizens.
Can these above simple examples ever be applied to larger systems like energy, preserving biodiversity, sustainability, climate change?
Patiently awaiting the pathogens. Our resiliency resembles an invasive weed. We are the Kudzu Ape
blog: http://blog.mounttotumas.com/
website: http://www.mounttotumas.com