Re: virus: Re: Virus: Sociological Change (Anarchy)

zaimoni@ksu.edu
Wed, 15 Jan 1997 21:52:09 -0600 (CST)


On Tue, 31 Dec 1996, XYZ Customer Support wrote:

> > From: jonesr@gatwick.geco-prakla.slb.com
>
> > > Don't underestimate self-interest as a source of many laws and
> > > morality. Most people have an unsuppresed empathy for others,
> > > therefore they can relate to the pain that they would inflict on
> > > others if they were to rob, rape, or kill other humans beings. Since
> > > most people do not want to be robbed, raped, killed, or feel pain,
> > > they agree on laws to make such behavior illegal.
>
> > Correct, /but/ for some people, self-interest is taken further, to the point
> > where one individual cares only about what s/he achieves, and not about the
> > people who are hurt during this achievement. This is, IMO, the stumbling
> > block of Anarchy.
>
> That is not self-interest. That is selfish-interest. The two are not the same.

I wouldn't even be that complimentary of the latter. The latter looks
like myopic self-interest, whose net effect is self-destruction.

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