"Zero Powers" <zero_powers@hotmail.com> writes:
> Actually I was thinking more of a society of people enlightened enough to
> realize that what's good for the whole is good for the individual. It's
> simply a matter of realizing that the surest way to keep your neighbor from
> stealing your bread is to be sure that he has enough to keep his own belly
> full. I call it "enlightened self-interest."
>
> Unfortunately such a society is unlikely to be stable for long as long as
> there is not enough to go around for *everyone*. But hopefully that minor
> problem will soon be solved by the good folks over at Foresight :)
Actually, there is enough of most stuff to go around for everybody
today.
A society based on enlightened self-interest can likely be stable if
it is based on reciprocity: I scratch your back if you scratch mine,
but if you don't, I won't. Without the conditional part, defectors
will have an advantage - which means that people with enlightened
self-interest would rationally support reciprocity rather than the
simple altruism behavior. This doesn't preclude simple compassion or
helpfulness (we often get paid back by goodwill and the nice feeling
of doing good), but they are a dangerous basis for a society since
they are not stable.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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