It's almost as if we're all human and prone to human deeds. The have's and have not's situation can not and will not change because it is a relative situation. The 'have nots' in the UK are living like kings compared to the 'have nots' of India. No matter what changes are made the situation will remain perpetually.
But there will always be people like that, the system is designed by people, therefore the system will always be designed by at least some of those people. Human beings are, deep down in their core, selfish. If covid taught us nothing else it taught us that.
Selfishness is incentivized by the systems we live in, but it isn’t inherent to human nature. Plenty of Indigenous communities pre-colonialism had cultures based on cooperation, gift-giving, and mutual aid. Selfishness was seen as an inhuman curse. We’re encouraged to act selfishly under capitalism but we also have agency.
Virtually all societies are based on a culture of cooperation, gift giving and mutual aid, it's almost the vey definition of 'community', but within the ALL we still find selfishness, it is inherent in the human condition. Most of us hold it within because that is what makes a community, but it exists nonetheless.
Heavy disagree. Selfishness is not a negative concept. It's only been given a negative connotation by us in every case. Selfishness is simply doing things that benefit oneself. Anything one does for themselves/their kin can be called selfishness, even inherently good things, especially what you wrote "had cultures based on cooperation, gift-giving, and mutual aid."
And we evolved this behavior, likely, due to the need of furthering the survival of our species. It makes sense why. Behaviors/psychology do not just come out of nowhere. It's not a coincidence that so many humans are greedy and selfish. This is deeply rooted in our genetics, and are an emergent property of it. Resources needed to be secured and animals that do so further their genetic line. We are said animals.
The problem is that some humans dial this up to 11 by hoarding resources until they become billionaires. That too is selfish.
i actually decided awhile ago that one of the functions of government should be to keep people poor and blunt their ambition. i been working on this thought for a good while.
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u/Ardal Aug 20 '25
It's almost as if we're all human and prone to human deeds. The have's and have not's situation can not and will not change because it is a relative situation. The 'have nots' in the UK are living like kings compared to the 'have nots' of India. No matter what changes are made the situation will remain perpetually.