Lack of cohesion

November 29th, 2023

I read it somewhere, but cannot really recall where, which is a shame, since I would like to give props to a person who came up with this — we, as a human race, have Paleolithic i.e. nasty and brutish emotions, a medieval form of institutionalized government and social interactions, and with that — we also have a godlike technology.

That creates a complete lack of cohesion in the fabric of society because we cannot control our infantile emotions, and need to be kept in check by rules and regulations by those who control and dispense with our modern technology. The problem arises with the fact that those who govern are governed by the same violent emotions as the rest of us.

Our emotions have not changed since the dawn of humankind. The only difference is that today, some of us are aware of the conundrum of the bicameral mind — which is, in my opinion, the biggest problem and challenge facing any potential improvement of our lot.

Our institutions — I called them medieval, but calling them primeval might be more accurate — haven't really changed since the first person called himself a leader, another was the first to call himself a priest or a prophet, and yet another was the first to loan something with interest.

Only our technology has advanced with amazing rapidness in recent generations. Now, we have all the knowledge of the world at our fingertips. The distances, once vast, are now easily managed. We have culture, art, and science for all tastes and needs and pockets.

And yet, we still let ourselves be governed by unexamined emotions and by our (self-proclaimed) betters.