[onlooker]

http://www.resilience.org/stories/2017- ... worldview/

A House on Shaky Ground: Eight Structural Flaws of the Western Worldview

[Cog]

This is the point at which I stopped reading:

Communism failed, we are told, because it was founded on an unrealistic view of human nature, whereas capitalism succeeded because it’s based on harnessing the selfish nature of each individual for the ultimate good of society.

[KaiserJeep]

It's a kind of progressive manifesto. Just like the Unabomber manifesto, it has a few gems of knowledge buried in feces. I read the entire dreary article, although I almost bailed in several places. He said in effect that if we were not humans with natural human feelings and desires, that we would not have as many problems, and could make progress resolving the problems we have.

As an intellectual exercise, I can follow such foolish thoughts. However there are no insights and no solutions here. The fundamental nature of mankind evolves in times of plenty and devolves in times of stress and resource shortages. At least, the writings about such things show such changes - humans pretty much behave the same always.

We are about to experience shortages of almost everything, since most things we consume depend upon cheap energy. It will be instructive for many Western intellectuals to observe the starvation of the vast Third World, as the fortunate First Worlders preserve their lifestyle by acquiring the remaining FF's. Because we are apes and not much different from all the other apes, in spite of a late-blooming crowd of progressive anthropologists, who believe that humans possess qualities not found in the other primates. Our intelligence is indeed different, and it means that we can implement either the baser instincts or all apes or the more noble ones. Based on past performance and the glacial pace of evolution, I'm offering 3 to 1 odds on the baser instincts.

The basic tenants of Progressivism will be revealed as shams, not insights.

[onlooker]

Our intelligence is indeed different, and it means that we can implement either the baser instincts or all apes or the more noble ones. Well, then at least you are leaving somewhat open the question. I guess those in the future will know the answer.

[KaiserJeep]

The most fundamental difference between Progressives and Traditionalists is quite simple. Traditionalists believe that the way things are and have long been, will remain so. Progressives believe that the future will comply with their wishes. Both of course, seek to comfort themselves by understanding the future.

[AdamB]

http://www.resilience.org/stories/2017-05-22/a-house-on-shaky-ground-eight-structural-flaws-of-the-western-worldview/

A House on Shaky Ground: Eight Structural Flaws of the Western Worldview

PCI really does need to improve the vetting of the articles they post, don't they? I've noticed one recently that was nothing but a retread of Communism as a cure for the world's ills, laughed myself hoarse over that one.

[DesuMaiden]

No the greatest flaw in human thinking is our inability to grasp how powerful exponential growth is. I would like to point this out again:

"The destruction of the natural world is not the result of global capitalism, industrialism, Western civilization or any flaw in human institutions. It is the consequence of the evolutionary success of an exceptionally rapacious primate. Throughout history and prehistory, human advance has coinceided with ecological devastation"

by John Gray

Humanity is the biggest threat to biodiversity on this planet, and if we (humans) hypotehtically became extinct overnight, the world would become a better place. Much better place.

[onlooker]

Great post Desu

[sparky]

.
Humans react to an old atavism , crashing the population to get rid of the genetically deficient