Visualize World Peace

[The Man]

you mean most terrorists that the plutocrats want you to know about.

most terrorists are NOT muslims and get as little press as possible whenever they pull off an attack.

the most active terrorist group in the world is the ELF (Earth Liberation Front) and i'll bet few of them are moslem.

Never had any problems with the ELF.
Now back to muslim terrorists...some screwed up people that kill you because you are a jew or christian.
Why you want to try and soften that up?:eek

 

[Accountable]

okay, how about as a society of these cells you describe?

can there be peace among people and peace between human society and the natural world or are we doomed to a never ending cycle of warfare run on ecologically unsound industrial processes?

As much as I'd like to see it, I just don't - mainly for two reasons: the natural desire to own and the natural tendency to compare.

Resources are not evenly distributed throughout the world, so some groups are going to have abundance while other groups will have shortages. Those who have will keep enough to live on and a reserve for future shortages, and will guard that reserve jealously. I would expect that the excess would be shared freely with those in need, but unless those in need can get enough help to feed comfortable, I think it would be inevitable that they would feel resentment toward those with abundance ... resentment, then anger, then possibly hate if the discrepancy is great enough.

It'd be really cool if we could evolve the empathy and maturity to understand and accept that others might choose not to help even though they have more than they need, but I don't see it.

 

[Valde Bovis]

As a species? No, I don't think so. I think that we humans can be antything we want to be as long as we do it in small groups, but once we grow into larger societies, anonymity creeps in. People cease being people, human beings of intrinsic value, and become "them." So long as a group stays small enough that no one becomes "them," then yes, that group can learn to live in peace and harmoniously deal with others outside that group. I think that any number of these groups can exist simultaneously. But I don't think that people can live in such a way and identify themselves as a member of a society of millions, and I don't think that humans, being social animals, can live without identifying themselves as members of any group at all.

My god it sounds like your an advocate of accountability to others.

What a novel concept!

 

[Minor Axis]

As a species? No, I don't think so. I think that we humans can be antything we want to be as long as we do it in small groups, but once we grow into larger societies, anonymity creeps in. People cease being people, human beings of intrinsic value, and become "them." So long as a group stays small enough that no one becomes "them," then yes, that group can learn to live in peace and harmoniously deal with others outside that group. I think that any number of these groups can exist simultaneously. But I don't think that people can live in such a way and identify themselves as a member of a society of millions, and I don't think that humans, being social animals, can live without identifying themselves as members of any group at all.

Your premise which I don't consider valid is that humans can live in a village in harmony, but what about the village over the hill? Yea, it's "them"! These groups will still be competing for resources. My impression is that years ago, in the U.S. groups of people were much more tribal. Insulated small groups of people tend to reinforce boundaries, intolerance of divergent views, and reinforces "us vs them".

 

[Accountable]

Your premise which I don't consider valid is that humans can live in a village in harmony, but what about the village over the hill? Yea, it's "them"! These groups will still be competing for resources. My impression is that years ago, in the U.S. groups of people were much more tribal. Insulated small groups of people tend to reinforce boundaries, intolerance of divergent views, and reinforces "us vs them".

Yeh, it's a shaky theory at best, and would take a perfect storm to happen. But it's the closest evolutionary leap I can think of that's even remotely possible from where we are.