Dear Emlyn:
Point very well---though sadly, frustratingly---taken. Are we DOOMED,
however, to an endlessly escalating techno-war (forgive me, by the way, for
that term, since it IS, admittedly, rather redundant!!) of
defense/aggression?!?!! One would, of course, certainly HOPE not!! Yet
such an endless escalation MAY indeed be in the offing. Is there any way(s)
out?? Will so-called "ultra-rationality" (WHATEVER the hell THAT is!)
finally bring a halt to such MAD (as it were) escalation(s)?!? Again, one
would HOPE so! What is the root cause(s) of aggression?? Powerlust? OK,
then what's the root cause(s) of powerlust?!? If we're talking power over
nature, or wealth, or, as it might be termed, generalized (or generic)
WHEREWITHAL, that's ONE thing, but what of
(oppressive)power-over-other-persons? What's up with THAT?? Both Rand and
Dave Norton (among others) claim that it's both immoral and psychologically
screwed-up to have a desire for this latter kind of power. So long as there
is(are) scarcity(s) of one sort(s) or another, need there be conflict---and,
if so, must this conflict(s) necessarily be resolved via zero-sum
aggression??!?
Your thoughts, Emlyn, and EVERYONE ELSE'S on all this shall be, of course!, greatly and enthusiastically appreciated.
Many of the moral-psychological themes in Dave Norton's PERSONAL DESTINIES are relevant to this thread, BTW.
(Where's my anti-anti-anti-anti-anti-shield shield generator; it was right
beside my mouse just a moment ago........)
Best regards to all,
MCP BEYOND EUTOPIA---TOWARD (META)COSMIC HORIZONS!!
"The [integral, self-actualizing] person who knows power in himself does not seek power over others, but [rather] the discovery by others of their own power of personhood."
--David L. Norton, PERSONAL DESTINES: A
PHILOSOPHY OF ETHICAL INDIVIDUALISM ("Unscholarly Epilog")
(But, hey, until types like Hitler, Stalin, and Sodomy Insane are thoroughly
transcended, give me my (ray)gun!!)