Greedy People Suddenly Get a Clue

First World (API) --- At a press conference today called by an ad hoc coalition of CEOs, politicians, yuppies, and other fierce competitors for status and wealth, the group announced plans to discotinue hoarding and controlling the planet's resources to the max. Explained one, "Somehow it just dawned on me this morning while reviewing my portfolio --- this constant longing for MORE that's in us all isn't there because getting more actually makes us happier --- it's there because the folks who happened to have that genetic compulsion in the past hoarded more resources that happened to provide for more offspring than other folks, and after many generations all these additional greedy offspring crowded out the fewer ungreedy offspring. Natural selection doesn't result in happier people, but rather people who compete harder at passing on their genes!"

"That's right", agreed a colleague. "Actually it's a lot of tedious and stressful drudge work to accumulate and guard all that wealth. Yet we keep falling over and over for the feeling that we need just a little more and then we'll have enough, because that particular genetic self-delusion has been selected for because it just happened to result in a relatively high rate of reproduction. In effect, our genes have duped us all into working to reproduce them faster.

"But we won't be fooled by our genes anymore," chipped in a third. "We've decided to stop wasting all this time and energy duplicating efforts and competing to quench that unquenchable thirst for MORE, and instead nurture another genetic tendency --- for cooperation --- to provide everyone with the simple things we all actually need in order to be reasonably happy. You'd think smart people like us would have figured this out before today, but I guess it just goes to show.


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