George Mobus: A Winter Solstice Observation (or Two) [View all]

[GliderGuider]

A Winter Solstice Observation (or Two)

When I was growing up I thought surely the people running the show (government) must be the most intelligent and wisest people on the planet. The US had shown the world the way to progress and it was called capitalism. Growth of the economy was considered a good thing. And with good reason. If you are going to keep exponentially increasing the number of people you'd better also figure out how to feed, clothe, shelter, and entertain them. A growing economy was necessary to accommodate a growing population. Seemed simple enough.

Then I learned systems science and it all changed for me. I had long been curious about why, if my assumption about the leaders' intelligence was correct, were we not using our progress to significantly better the lives of less fortunate people around the world. Why, I wondered, were we constantly making the same kinds of mistakes our forefathers (and foremothers) made — repeating history as it were? Once I grasped how human civilizations were systems and that true intelligence and wisdom had absolutely nothing to do with anything, I realized that the system was destined to failure. A quick study of prior more localized civilizations and their collapses sealed my conviction on this. Our modern global civilization would follow suit only this time there would be nowhere for anyone to escape to.

Global leaders, economists, business people, and most everyone else seem incapable of grasping even the simplest truths about biophysical system dynamics. Growth is only a way to get to a point of system stability, it is not an end in itself. Yet you hear it everywhere — growth is good, we need more growth.

So clearly the world isn't run by the best, brightest, and most knowledgeable minds. Indeed it is quite the opposite. But then again, that seems to be the way everyone wants it, whether they realize it or not. Corporate money may be taking a giant leap in molding the political landscape in the US after “Citizens United”, but actually the trend of putting stupid, willfully ignorant people into positions of authority was well under way long before the Koch brothers figured out how to manipulate political action committees and the minds of some truly ignorant people. The people are easily duped by rhetoric (well not even rhetoric - more like slogans and sound-bites). And they get what they deserve.

George nailed it with this snippet:

"Once I grasped how human civilizations were systems and that true intelligence and wisdom had absolutely nothing to do with anything, I realized that the system was destined to failure. A quick study of prior more localized civilizations and their collapses sealed my conviction on this. Our modern global civilization would follow suit only this time there would be nowhere for anyone to escape to."

Thermodynamics, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, and systems science all point to the same ineluctable conclusion. 90% or more of all human behavior is driven by these impersonal, unconscious forces - and we are largely blind to that that fact. Those few who do see it simply realize that human volition is mostly a comforting illusion that is powerless against the dissipative, self-organizing forces of nature. As a result, the human race is pretty well run.

Merry Christmas to all!