- No Recommendations yet - go add some!
- Sweet sweet. But it reminds me of folks who argue by pointing out exceptions to the rule. Yes, there are interesting and anomalous examples of selfless sharing all over nature. Lovely as they are, they are exceptions to the core principle that humans are deeply driven by resource domination. We take stuff. It is not bad or good. It's what we do on an individual and sometimes collective level, in order to ensure the propagation of our genes. Whether it's the watering hole in the opening scene of 2001 A Space Odyssey (where apes learn to bash heads with femur bones in order to take the water for themselves), or just a hoard of holiday shoppers fighting over Cabbage Patch dolls (to give to their little ones) -- the unconscious imperative is the same. Grab and dominate. (Or in the original U.S. Supreme Court language used to justify white folks stealing the land from Native Americans -- "Dominion and Control". Sounds more official -- but it's the same femurs smashing skulls.
As for altruism, in the snatchfest -- it does exist. To varying degrees, and for excellent reason. It is the balancing tool resource takers use to keep things in place. Toss the have nots enough to keep them satisfied so that they will not rise up and upset the apple cart. That is the most dominant reason for this thing we call altruism. Keeps the peace . . . which keeps my investments safe and assures the forward journey of my genes -----
gb
