Wax's Justice Theory (was Re: Future Technologies of Death)

Michael M. Butler (butler@comp*lib.org)
Sun, 04 Jan 1998 08:39:59 -0800


OK, so is Axelrod's tit-for-tat revenge? And if so, does this mean that
cooperation as an ESS requires revenge? If not, what _does_ it mean? If so,
can we live with something with as nasty a sound as the word "revenge", or
shall we pretty it up?

MMB

>Justice is the need for revenge - when someone commits a crime against
>you, what reason do you have to contact the police? The crime has
>been committed, and unless the assailant has taken something
>irreplaceable you have little or no reason (other than revenge) to do
>anything.

Hmmm. Well, consider:
If the assailant has taken something that has taken me time to acquire,
then the assailant has in some way taken at least part of that time from
me. If the assailant has taken a year's pay from me, in some sense he has
stolen at least part of a year from me. Years are not easily replaceable
with available technology, yet dollars are. P(seudop)aradoxically, the
irreplaceable things are not so easily replaced as to easily permit fair
recovery.

>==
>--Wax
>It may be bullshit, but it's inspired bullshit
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