how to save the world?

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What do you think are the problems of our time, and how would you solve them?

Do you mean the problems of the autistic world, or the world in general?

(If the latter, hopefully the moderators will move this thread to "Politics, Philosophy, and Religion." If the former, hopefully the moderators will move this thread to "Autism Politics, Activism, and Media Representation.")

I mean problems in general. posted in the general autism forum, as i was asking for people with autism's opinion on the matter. The question is completely open and more of a brain storming post, so everything is valid.

Cheers

Perhaps we could post one problem one answer at a time. and then any comments after.

Here is an example. The ongoing saga of the Illegal Drug Debate.

1st. I think illegal drugs need to be decriminalised, not because i am a drug user. as I am not.
However the present system of punishing people with prison doesn't work, nor is it cost effective.

Also, forcing people to buy such items on the black market forced drug fiends to be come criminalised,
as they are forced to mix with criminals in order buy their drugs. The black market also dictates the price,
which are often heavily inflated due to supply and demand, but also the risk involved to supply.

Then you have the costs to police, the costs of legal proceedings and the costs of imprisonment.
Then there is drug related crime, which also cost governments a fortune to police, as well as the cost of the general safety of society.

If the drugs were sold at cost, while at the same time, education was delivered from day one at school, while also drug users were given support when using (to prevent OD or any related problems) but also were offered access to free rehabilitation for people who want it. Then this would likely solve a great deal of the drug related problems.

Lastly, if people make a nuisance of themselves due to their drug use, (which ideally wont be due to theft, or other criminal activities) then the police should be given the power not to punish them but refer them to rehab or other services that address their behaviours instead.

This one solution would do a great deal to de-criminalise society. As drugs are not the only problem in our world.
But the criminalization of the world through the use of drugs.

Take the power away from the cartels, or at the very least, make them legitimate. Cut all prices to cost.
Or if not so, at least legalised, so that any profits are still taxable and can be used to pay for rehab and education.

If made legit, the money that was previously lost of the black market can then be used to stimulate the economy, and to promote consumer spending.

Hopefully without the money being generated on the black market, and all drugs are really affordable.
Then all the gun and violent crime, and gang related violence would stop. This would be awesome!
and people can be human again!

Another area that i would introduce a solution to,
is where individuals or groups of individuals become extremely harmful to society, where their behaviours
were of a nature that could not be rehabilitated.

In such cases, as found in many previous and present systems. I would introduce a system
where the offending parties were removed from society and either received capital punishment or were removed from safe society on a permanent basis but in a humane way.

Personally i don't see the point of punishing a person for their actions, but instead think a better strategy of removing the dangerous party from safe society, so they could do no more damage until their dangerous activities were neutralised, and if it were not possible to neutralise their threat to society, then take then out of society permanently.

As after all, making a pedofile, or habitual rapist who is motivated with intent to intentionally causes suffering back into society without curing them of their illness does nothing for society.
In todays day and age of skype and even VR, there is no reason why anyone can say that removing such people from their friends and family can't be humane.

I don't necessarily want to punish people, but rehabilitate people so they are no longer a threat.
And if they cant be rehabilitated, then dont let them back into safe society.

This idea is similar to building gated communities, but putting the offenders into the gated communities permanently,
while allowing non offending parties to live in peace and with freedom without excessive policing, While at the same time preventing further crime from occurring.

I even think that allowing prisoners to have relationships while in prison, and perhaps even work so they can improve their material circumstances. is a good idea. as it would give people positive focus and motivation, and keep them out of mischief.

however, keeping them out of safe society would stop the innocent people of society getting preyed upon them,
while at the same time not damaging them (as through skype they can continue to have relationships with their loved ones).

Much better than having a society that "punishes" people who are sick and who commit atrocities against children etc.
being allowed to roam free in safe society after they have been "punished" through imprisonment that inevitably does not cure them of their personal illegal problems.

The other alternative would be to simple kill all people guilty of x crimes, but this of course would have a knock on effect
by causing suffering to those who are friends and family of those who are convicted.
And i do not think it is fair that an entire family and group of friends suffer due to the transgressions of one person.

So instead of killing the culprit to take them out of the gene pool and to neutralise the threat, i recommend to
neutralise the threat by removing the culprits permanently, and if not possible to rehab, to make safe,
then remove permanently, but humanely and give a good standard of living, while at the same time make safe.

This would cause less suffering and damage on the long term.

Murderers/serial killers shouldn't be able to live. If a person has physically stabbed an innocent person to death, for no reason, and they confessed it and showed no remorse and had all evidence that they did it, if all those boxes are ticked then they should be hung. I mean, what use are they? If they're sick and twisted enough to happily murder once, then they'll most likely do it again if they are let back out of jail. They are a walking threat and a danger to the public. If that sounds too harsh, then they should at least be locked up for life. Sometimes in the UK murderers are actually let out of prison.
If a person is charged for manslaughter, doesn't have enough evidence or acted in self-defence, then maybe they needn't be locked up forever and they most definitely shouldn't be killed. But I'm talking about people who actually deliberately murdered someone, and have 100% evidence.

People with terminal illnesses should be qualified for financial support and benefits. People with terrible things like stage 3 or 4 cancer didn't ask to have the disease, and not only does cancer affect one physically but it also can affect one emotionally too, and going to work can be too much on their physical and mental health. People with cancer and other diseases shouldn't have to worry about money on top of their illness. Disability benefits shouldn't be just for people who can't walk or talk. Some people with physical and mental illnesses can be just as disabled as a person who can't walk or talk.

Instead of spending all the money on foreign aid, the government needs to fund more to the NHS in our country, the UK. The health service for most of us (people who can't afford to go private) has declined noticeably in the last decade; doctors seem unqualified, and getting an appointment at your local doctor surgery can take weeks.
And things should be made easier for the younger people. These days more and more adults in their 20s and 30s are still living with their parents because they can't afford to move out even if they are working full-time. I think that people who work hard (even part-time) should be rewarded more than their weekly pay, but to be able to be homed easier (as in getting a place of their own cheap enough to afford).

Greed is one of the worst traits humans can have and is really what is wrong with the world today. Many businesses and authorities look like they're caring about the lives of people, but really it's all boiled down to money. All this health and safety stuff they go on about makes it sound like firms are caring about you, but really they're just scared of being sued or they don't want to have to pay you for having time off work due to a work-related accident. That is what health and safety is all about.

I think Thanos was on to something...

Human nature is fundamentally flawed.

1) We (humans in general) kill each other at higher rates than other animals do, even without considering the impact technology has on the efficiency of killing.

2) We'll sacrifice the greater benefit to humanity in favor of benefits to those we are closely related to and who are most culturally similar to us. This leads to clannish group behavior and the corruption of institutions as these groups compete to dominate civil society. It can also cause conflicts between polities for cultural and economic supremacy.

3) We think about society in terms of social consensus more so than objective reasoning. This makes populations easy to manipulate against their own interests by the beneficiaries of point #2 so long as they continue to control the limits of acceptable conduct and belief.

To fix these issues, one would have to delegate as much decision making as possible to technology in order to avoid the inevitable crises that humans will create due to selfish and/or incompetent mismanagement. As to what sort of decisions are delegated and how, that's a whole other matter, but the goal ought to be stability, growth, and the cultivation of meritocracy over oligarchy.