by Elaine Walker, October 26, 2012 (Downloadable PDF file)
(990 words)
Conclusion
As we grow as a species and become more intelligent and numerous it is imperative that we gain a much deeper awareness of the complexity of things, including the nature of society, and not just assume that our immediate mental (emotional) perception of how we are is the only level of reality. There are many levels of "reality" and many ways to interpret each one of them. People categorize differently than one another, remember the past differently, make wildly different predictions about the future and completely different assumptions about things.
We tend to view quick snapshots in time, and to categorize groups of people in a way that vastly oversimplifies things – as if a race is a race (though most of us are not of one pure race), a religion is a religion (though interpretations can be wildly different) as if a gender is a gender (though lines are often blurred), as if the rich were forever rich (though many were once poor) and as if the poor are forever poor (though many find opportunities to change their situation). Categorizing does not necessarily help us think of the world more rationally, realistically, or even more compassionately.
The average person is extremely limited in their grasp of the underlying forces of society because of a general lack of understanding of complex dynamical systems to begin with. As advanced as our abstract thinking is, it can trick us into shortsighted notions about the world. Legislators are usually average people with the same limited grasp of complexity. We can't expect legislators to be superhuman. However, those responsible for making sweeping decisions for society should at least be aware that the complexities of civilization, and therefore outcomes of their legislation, are well beyond their linear intuition.
Not only are we not wired to think through all of the cascading complexity beyond a few causal steps (nor is any super computer!) but also, our linear thinking has been reinforced by the notion of a "clockwork universe" which has been naively taught over the ages. If we see the world as simple, static and well defined, it is all too easy to proceed to implement sweeping programs that feel good emotionally but make us worse off in the long run. With a higher grasp of reality, those very same programs may actually seem morally reprehensible.
Some legislators are aware of the complex dynamics of society and purposefully take advantage of the general populace's lack of understanding of complexity in order to pass their agendas, using a vastly simplified emotional message. Unfortunately, the fastest way to achieve political power is to say what the people want to hear. To compound the problem, emotional slogans about government "programs", "subsidies", "stimulus plans", "racism", "greed", and "the rich" are repeated in our nationalized news to the point where it becomes extremely convincing, at least to the emotionally gullible. Only a rare legislator or news broadcaster will have the moral fortitude to stand by the truth if they can even recognize it in the first place.
Over the millennia, periods of widespread emotion permeating society and periods of restrained logic have teetered and tottered, alternating throughout history. Ancient Greece was logical, the Medieval Era was largely emotional, the Renaissance was logical, the Baroque Era was emotional, the Classical period was logical, the Romantic period was emotional, and from there it has evolved into a complex mix as populations have grown and worldwide communications have exposed us to innumerable ways of thinking.
The fact that we are made up of these opposing types of people – logical types and emotion-based thinkers – is one of the biggest reasons for so many seemingly ironic contradictions in the world. But currently in the United States and even scattered across the planet it really does appear that we are deeply planting ourselves into another period of unrestrained emotional "thinking" where logic is largely rendered meaningless – especially the brand of logical dynamical thinking that it takes to comprehend the cascading consequences of our actions in our complicated world.
The same forces that cause weather patterns and mountain ranges affect our civilization. Each person, like individual molecules, may appear to be acting randomly on some level, but as a whole we form recognizable patterns and sometimes will even trend in a unified direction. Seven billion of us interact with our neighbors, affecting them while they in turn affect us. Trying to control all of us individuals from the top down is a waste of time for the same intuitive reason that we don't attempt to control the weather. Controlling the masses might help some of us in the short term but inevitably hurt others. The very idea of sweeping legislation coming from a rigid and controlling government is fast becoming a quaint idea in many people's minds. Eventually we will break the chains that bind us and pull for decentralization in all areas of our lives, in both economic and social issues.
If there is one means of control that will actually keep us civilized in the long run it is the control that we must implement on ourselves, and ourselves alone, that reflects an understandable and organic set of principles. We should not forcibly interfere with the right of others to live in whatever manner they choose, and in return we also have the right to exercise sole dominion over our own lives. This means we would not impose any type of force against others, would not suppress the freedom of speech of others and should respect others' property as we expect all of the same in return. When we cease to control the masses from the top down and instead expend our energy controlling our own actions in a way that fits our own lifestyles, as long as we aren't harming others, then the natural order of society can take root and evolve organically. In the long run it is the most compassionate and natural way to exist together.
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Copyright © 2012 by Elaine Walker. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given and author notified.
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