So I got rid of Facebook...

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Magnanimous

It sounds like we have two different view on this subject.

I read a book by Ayn Rand about 50 years ago called, "The Virtue of Selfishness". Her views are often associated with political libertarianism that seems to be having a bit of a resurgence here.

As I understand it, in a social system the negative effects of selfishness are supposed to be balanced out, a sort of checks and balances system. From what I see, the "dog eat dog" view does not turn out well for the less able.

Another problem I see is that many of the less able will turn to the power of collectivism to try to turn the tables. Subsequently, collectives will just get larger as people subordinate themselves to increasingly larger collectives so that they can become the "dog" that eats rather than the "dog" that gets eaten. In the end everyone becomes enslaved by the collective they have created.

I am not sure if you are advocating this system as preferential or if it is just your observation that this is just the way things are.

I would agree to a large extent that this is the way many things are. I would also agree that in a post Christian world, this way is becoming more the norm. However, if one sees all relationships as predatory (which one might in a dog eat dog world), it could lead one to be as suspicious as a feudal king.

All I can say is that true selflessness can be found. My wife and I are celebrating 20 years of marriage this year and one reason I waited so long to get married was to find someone who was selfless with whom I could risk getting married. It is indeed sad that this is so rare (admittedly even in Christian circles), that such hope seems practically non-existent.

I agree with you. I agree that many are "brainwashed" and many use apparent selflessness as a cover to advance selfish motives (knowingly or unknowingly).

I would say that a cynical and pessimistic view of humanity is warranted. Cynicism can even be amplified as a result of painful experiences. However, I can say that all is not completely dark. There is hope and truth.

As you go on your way, I would encourage you to see if you can detect a small light here or there that may be an indication that things may not be as hopeless as they seem.

Perkulator

You have piqued my interest in what three subjects you present that draw such animosity. I would imagine religion and politics are two, but what would the third be?

I have found that there are a great number of people that want to suppress anything they don't like to hear. You could call them political correctness police or even brown shirts. I have found that it is much more interesting to learn of what logic people use for their assertions. This often means conversational engagement as opposed to bullying.



I have found that relationships that are more self oriented do not often tolerate dissent.

Do you believe that it should?
Do you believe that those less able are entitled to more just to compensate for what they never had in the first place?
And if so, where would you suppose it would come from?

I wouldn't complain at being worse off if I was so poorly equipped to get by.
Death would be an acceptable outcome.



Not preferential. That doesn't matter.
It is just the way the world is.
I resent that society is founded on lies, and that it is in the nature of mundanes to live lives of deceit and delusion... but I also accept that there isn't a damned thing I can do about it... besides living MY existence as I see fit.



I am and I'm not. It varies.
The thing is... I don't regard myself as one who has much to lose. I tend to be quite fatalistic.
I don't believe that much about myself nor my existence is worth guarding... so I don't bother. I take the pains of the world into myself and let them pass through me... because at the core of it all, I am nothing.
There is tranquillity in that.


It is less a matter of selflessness and more a matter of synergy.
You're not doing it "for each other" ... but for the grouping of the both of you that each of you benefits from.
I won't ever believe in true altruism ... but I do believe that synergy can be attained to various levels by ... a fair portion of people.
Some can synergise with many. Some can synergise with only a few.
I strongly suspect I can't synergise with anyone because my very nature is one of destruction... but I accept that if it is so.



I'm not the sort of person who experiences the negative and then reflects that back upon the world.
I scrutinise the nature of the world because I have the time to do so. I see things in a straight-forward manner... and seeing them, more often than not I accept the idea and move on.
Hope doesn't appeal to me. Hope is born of desire. Without desire, I have no need for hope.
"Truth", the way the word is more often used, carries enough implication of manipulation and blind subjectivity that I am wary of the word. I do not abide lies... which is why I do not trust those who try to impart "truth". I simply take in data, and only once I have analysed it on its own terms and compared it to what I already know, do I pass any sort of judgement on it.

I also have no interest in the positivist symbolism people ascribe to "light".
I don't like light. I find the dark more comforting, both literally and symbolically.