Re:virus: Tragedy of the commons is poorly named

From: rhinoceros (rhinoceros@freemail.gr)
Date: Sat Oct 18 2003 - 13:35:53 MDT

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    [simul]
    Without shared/common resources and limited ebvironments there would be no incentive for cooperation. It is precisely this economic "tragedy" that provided the evolutionary pressure for the instinct of sharing, friendship, empathy, and compassion. Those who were warlike would die fighting for resources. The survivors would be the ones tuned, memetically, for diplomacy, structure, etc.
     

    [rhinoceros]
    Science fiction time... Here is a question on human nature. I don't think it can be answered with confidence, but it's worth a try (any singularitarians around?)

    Imagine that we make a sci/tech breakthrough and we end up with unlimited resources. How is our evolutionary inheritance going to work in such a situation? You know... power over other people, accumulating wealth and tokens of status and superiority... these kinds of things. Aren't we tuned for getting feedback from how other people regard us? It should be expected that these traits will still be there for several millenia longer, probably channeled in different ways. What do you say?

    One more question on human nature: If a corporation invents the high tech process for unlimited resources for everyone, what would it choose to do, assuming that its management people would live better if they freely used the technology and everyone else would too. Would they try to keep it under control and find a secure way to market it? If so, would the government intervene for its people (or even for all humanity), or would it play along and take advantage of the situation?

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