Hi, this is Stu here. I don't want to get dragged into any personal battles so I'll try to keep my message non-confrontational and inquisitive. And I'm not calling from any side of the political fence either, (I am of the 'Bum splinters' school of thought).Basically, I'd just like to add my thoughts to the issue of human nature and human upbringing in relation to helping other people. If you look at things from an evolutionary perspective, then whatever system of behaviour leads to the successful reproduction of a single animal, means that it's genes are passed on and so is the biological system of behaviour. Many species in nature do not cooperate with each other, and so will have no qualms about eating a member of the same species, if it provides them with more food and energy to help the reproduction of their own genes. However some species live in communities where each individual will be helped to survive by every other individual. Therefore you stand to benefit personally in the long term if you help others to your own short term cost, e.g sharing food. This may seem a bit 'Natural History'ish, but believe me, it's relevant.
Humans are animals which fall into the latter catagory which means that although when we act in a helpful manner to others it seems as if we are putting ourselves out in the short term, we know that it will eventually come back to us when somebody helps us out of a problem later on. However, if for a second we believed that helping somebody would be a permanent long term hindrance for us we wouldn't do it.
Is there a capitalism gene? i.e Do people instinctively put their own wellbeing ahead of others? (Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding your question) I'm sorry to say that I believe the pessimistic answer is 'Yes, people are instinctively selfish.'
So how do you get organise six billion people to be nice to each other? Fortunately, behaviour is not 100% genetically determined. If you can teach everybody from birth to help others then you can counter the effects of genetic selfishness.
I hope that this 'evolutionary' chain of thought is compatable with the political discussion going on. But we are all animals so the same rules apply. I do accept that there are differences, and I don't look to nature for any moral standards, but maybe it'll help see the discussion differently if you put yourself in the position of ZooKeeper of planet Earth.
Any thoughts?
Stu
None.
