Societal predators

The human race is one of the most adaptable species on the planet, we acclimate and adapt to our enviroments. Living under new systems and societies we are still prone to inherent biological instincts. I think on some level people think that murderers, dictators, and cut throat people in the business world are somehow betraying their human spirit. But this is merely the predatory mind set showing through in the new enviroment. Love and compassion, empathy and sympathy, these are biological tools for the herd to protect itself, and keep together. When a person goes for self and stomps on the toes of those around them this is the predator stomping on it's pray for sustenance. Sustenance of the new system equates money and power.

 

Nature is a deadly game, and the game continues on even in our technologicaly advanced society.

 

Yep, and not only that but those predators use the media to play on our senses of morality, our sympathy and empathy as a way to control us, turn us against ourselves, and make us invest in the empty promises they offer us through goods and political agendas.

 

+1


i'm not big on biological instinct beliefs, because i think nature and environment has most to do with behavior. i cannot agree with what Skip said about dog eat dog and that it's just natural.

instincts would be the activity that is the absence of consciousness. without the early stages of those instincts, one wouldn't know how to behave and act on the consciousness given. doesn't necessarily mean that a human instinct is a certain way, no. instinct is whatever that individual human or animal would do without environment and social influences.

so with predators, the only science that it can be brought down to is environment and society. we live in a society just as lunarverse described, with stress as an embedded thing, and in which dog-eat-dog is the economic nature. to deal with something as big as the existence of predators, you need the nature of our economic and political system, since it trickles down to almost everything, to significantly change something like this.

 

That is human nature. But the thing is, we live in a world in which there's absolutely enough to go around for everyone. No fight, no real effort, no denying anyone, no giving too much to another, no struggle. Our human nature needs to evolve the way our bodies have. Our means, abilities and strengths as a species has out grown our cro magnon instinct of dog eat dog. It's no longer necessary to operate in this way.

 

Read The Brothers Karamazov

 

Thanks, I'll check it out :2thumbsup:

 

I respectfully disagree. It is all about competing for perceived limited resources. Just look at what societal damage was caused by the hoax of global warming being caused by mankind?

I have toured India, where thousands sleep in fields with nothing but a few possessions. Who here is willing to give up their creature comforts to benefit the suffering half the world away? Would the first person please rise?

The people of this world are still dog eat dog. Always has, always will. Nobody is excluded, because it is the nature of man.

 

I respectfully point out the fact that I think you missed the;

part of my post.

 

absolutely.
like i was saying in my post, environment forms human nature. so we need to make the environment that doesn't encourage and thrive on dog-eat-dog.

a lot of people are willing, dude.

and there is a key difference between dog eat dog and self-interest, dog-eat-dog is fighting eachother, and self-interest can be shared and provided to without fighting.
and you just cannot say humans will always act like that. no one knows what the future will hold

 

You are right. I zeroed on on what I wanted to.

You've heard the saying "No good deed goes unpunished". It seems to be played out again and again in not only my life but in others that I have observed. People get older and keep getting burned until they get cynical enough to say screw it.

Sure, our abilities now gives us the capability to not operate in dog-eat-dog fashion, but there is one lust that is greater than the lust for money, and that is the lust for power. I really believe the 1% of the population that reach the super-rich level (the elitists)... they have a culture of their own and probably view the rest of the population as inferior. Mankind would have to change to not have the desire to rule over others.

 

Yes. It's complicated. We as a species have more than one driving instinct, and individuals within the species vary in their motivation makeup.

One of our evolutionary inheritances is the desire and ability for emathy, altruism, and cooperation. This combination has allowed humans to thrive by pooling resources for the betterment of all.

At the same time, there is a need for organization and some sort of leadership, to help decide the best way to commit our pooled resources. And also, as you say, there is a maybe 1% or so of the population that is driven and skilled in accumulating wealth - which by the way is not possible without cooperation of some sort from other people.

But getting back to the op's original theme, there is also some degree of trying to get whatever we can no matter who else gets screwed. I think there is probably some of this tendency in everyone, but of course there are always a few who operate in this way to a much greater degree.

There's no simple way to deal with it. We need people who are good at accumulating wealth, because it helps those of us who aren't good at it or who really don't enjoy it that much (like me, e.g.). At the same time we need to continually keep our eye on the checks and balances needed to keep the super-predatory types from wrecking everything for the rest of us. Cuz otherwise: They very simply are not going to self-regulate. They just aren't.

So it's going to be an eternal struggle...no homeostasis is possible, as far as I can tell - just a continual seesaw between greed and control.

 

Of course they do. But the problem is that we're not on a level playing field. If, in some pointless sort of fantasy example, we all had roughly the same amount of money, we were all taken care of, had health care, clothes, food, power, etc. it would be a lot easier for society to get on well. The problem is that there's always those elite who are so far ahead no one can even see them. If we all started equally it would be a lot easier to stop others from getting ahead and benefiting on the backs of others. The problem now is that everyone who isn't part of that elite 1% of the population is forced to play keep up.

 

I don't personally see any need to play keep up. I'm pretty contented with what I have...with a few exceptions, but all within the realm of possibility. I don't have any strong desire to make scads of money. However I work in a company whose founder and top exec is bloody rich. That's fine with me - he enables me to take care of my life, and I even feel that the work I'm helping him with makes the world a better place for a helluva lot of people.

Not everybody is this fortunate, of course. The point is, a few people like this find a way to make scads of money that also allows thousands of other people to make a decent living, and allows millions of others a way to improve their lot in life. I'm grateful for people like him. The problem is the folks who make money in a way that screws the rest of us up.

 

Then when somebody tries to stop the competitive, greedy jackass, he'll offer him 10% stake... and a new partnership is born.

Trust me, we are on the same page, but I'm certain I won't see any more equality happening in my lifetime. Maybe somewhere down the line tho it might happen.

 

Equality is for sissies. Real men demand unfairness.

 

I think this is more so the mind set of the predator then the average individual.

Human nature, we all have it, and it can be manipulated when our awareness is lacking.

Environment creates the instincts. I'm sure we already have societal instincts embedded in to us, and it will strengthen with each generation. But I think your saying for a single lifetime, enviroment, societal influences and circumstances will shape the person, to an extent, some more then others.

It's what keeps the herd working together.

Even if you get a good kind hearted leader they will be risen above everyone else. Perhaps in the first generation the controlling mind set will be unnoticable, but their offspring will be born into a life were they are slightly above everyone else, then the next generation says I want a little bit more, the envelope gets pushed with each generation. Until eventually you have kings and queens with vast amounts of wealth while the people are starving.

The 1% are the best at it, eliminate them and new ones will take their place.

The best prey are the ones who don't know their prey.
　

If we start off equally again it won't take long for a hierarchy to emerge. Some people have little drive in life, some have lots.

lol, so true.

It's a hard thing achieving a completely free and true society, but the hardest part is maintaning it. It would have to be long enough so those biological instincts begin to be truly embedded. The problem with this is that children growing up in this society will completely forget about the oppressors and predators, thus making them easy pray, to be propagandized and manipulated.

 

There aren't going to be any utopias. Humans will always be humans. But being humans, we'll always be trying to make everything better. The paradox is that we strive to turn life into bland vanilla with no discomfort or surprises - but if we actually succeeded, we'd be bored stiff.

 

corrected for ya