Crazy American Politics

[Don Julio]

1 hour ago, RicoS321 said:

Except for the majority of human existence, we did live in symbiosis with the planet. There is a far greater body of evidence that we're hardwired to do just that (as every other species on the planet does), rather than the post agricultural world based on parasitic systems. Parasitic systems that always consume themselves over time. Mainly because they ignore time in their myths and stories (our myths being progress and growth).

This is the bit I’m not sure about. We did, but surely because we’d not discovered an alternative. Once we did, we left all that in the rear view mirror pretty quickly. I know that’s not true if all cultures in the world - there are certainly examples in the americas to support your point. But in the “west” it seems incontrovertible.

Parasitic is a good term for it. But even parasites are a product of evolution and pretty successful ones at that. Till they kill their host…

Meanwhile, COYR!!

[RicoS321]

1 minute ago, Don Julio said:

This is the bit I’m not sure about. We did, but surely because we’d not discovered an alternative. Once we did, we left all that in the rear view mirror pretty quickly. I know that’s not true if all cultures in the world - there are certainly examples in the americas to support your point. But in the “west” it seems incontrovertible.

Parasitic is a good term for it. But even parasites are a product of evolution and pretty successful ones at that. Till they kill their host…

Meanwhile, COYR!!

The West didn't really exist as a concept outside of agriculture though (it came to being well after agriculture had bestowed the mindset of man's dominion over everything). Most who were offered the alternative of what we'd now call the West's way of life refused for very obvious reasons. Force, expropriation and slavery saw to it that no choice was eventually given. There are plenty of historic examples. Jefferson, I think it was, who wrote to his mate about how kidnapped indigenous people always returned, whereas those kidnapped by indigenous often disappeared back to them even after their release. The same story with those shipped to England to view our amazing achievements, only for them to swiftly return home confused by the stupidity of it. It makes sense, really. There was no real impediment to subsistence, so why would anyone want to trade that for toiling in the fields to harvest a monocrop that could be wiped out with one bad season? It takes a massive leap to suggest that was a better system than what previously existed, on any level. Agriculture was better once you'd chopped down the trees though.

Parasitic, or human supremacist would be my preferred descriptions. The latter because it pisses off those that are anti racist (correctly) but are comfortable with the parasitic economic system (because they're middle class and it benefits them). In other words, they're perfectly happy with oppression and the perverted viewpoint that one being is more special than another, but not when it comes to an arbitrary sub-group of one particular species. 

[Don Julio]

Interesting stuff!