I've just finished reading two interesting books about the near future. The first is The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama and the second is We are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism by John Derbyshire. Both were great reads.
Fukuyama argues that liberal democracy and capitalism are the inevitable result of societal evolution; the distilled form of human organization after thousands of years of selecting what works and rejecting what doesn’t.
There can be no evolved theocracy or communism or feudal societies because the natural mechanisms underlying societies will eventually reject these as ineffective, and will naturally adopt the attributes of a liberal democracy with a market economy as these attributes are more effective. As our societies approach the perfection of open societies and free markets, we are less likely, even unable, to return to more flawed methods of governance. Hence, the end of history with history defined as change.
The good news, according to Fukuyama, is that this means liberal democracy isn't just for lucky Westerners and their friends, but for any society that manages to stay around long enough to learn from their mistakes.
Derbyshire, on the other hand, sees nothing but troubled times ahead. Once a society has reached the liberal democracy stage with its literate populace, accumulated wealth, and freedom from starvation, various interest groups within that society inevitably exploit these very attributes for their own agendas -- agendas designed to rid society of injustice, inequalities, guilt, and ignorance. Pursuing these ends will be our undoing because the pursuit of human perfectibility through government means is not compatible with liberal democratic societies.
Derbyshire is pessimistic because he doesn't think there is much we can do to counteract these forces. The groups who want to apply force to correct human behavior are acting out of biological programming. We are programmed to behave this way. Conservatives, who might be a brake on these forces for devolution have instead bought into the hope and change and do-goodyness of the crusaders. Nothing to be done about it except to guide our children into the elite ruling classes of government work and wait for the wheel to turn.
So much to think about!
Just In: Heroes Lived In Same World As Shooter
I wonder what inflammatory rhetoric influenced the men who tackled the murderer. They live in the same nation as the shooter. Yet they are heroes rather than mass murderers. Look at all the people who live and breath the same hate-filled air as the shooter, yet who acted to save the Congresswoman's and others' lives. Look at the outpouring of sympathy and prayers for the victims from a nation of people exposed to the same dangerous demagoguery as the shooter.
If we investigate all the people who risked their lives, prayed, condemned, provided aid to the injured, would we find some who belong to the very groups accused of creating an atmosphere of hate? And if we find that they are listeners of conservative talk radio or have attended Tea Party rallies or are against health care reform, will the mud-slingers have to retract their slander? I wouldn't bet on it.
It's not logic driving the charges that right wing rhetoric is behind the massacre, it's wishful thinking that this is so. And that is truly morally repugnant.
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If I had to pick a reason for the killer's actions outside of his own sick motives, I'd pick the media. Let's blame them. They turn psychopaths into fascinating celebrities whom others would like to emulate. Perhaps we could pass some laws that rein in the media's ability to sell their product through exploiting victims of violent crimes.
Posted at 05:41 AM in Current Affairs, Thoughtful Commentary | Permalink | Comments (2)
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