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.
More Random Cruft
from Ken
