The End of Nature's Great Ape Experiment.

[georgephillip]

Evolution isn't a myth, but Darwin never said we evolved from apes in "On the Origin of the Species."

So...your whole premise is flawed.

My premise isn't found in the title of this thread.
It is the same premise Hedges presented in his post, namely that human progress is largely a myth:

"'The experience of a relatively easy 500 years of expansion and colonization, the constant taking over of new lands, led to the modern capitalist myth that you can expand forever,' Wright said. 'It is an absurd myth...'

"This 500-year run made it not only seem easy but normal.

"We believe things will always get bigger and better. We have to understand that this long period of expansion and prosperity was an anomaly. It has rarely happened in history and will never happen again."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Do you ever have an original thought of your own or do you just quote others?

"Original thought?"
I'm guessing probably not since many thinkers like Hedges have studied the subjects I'm interested in far more carefully than I have. Very few of us have been the first to think any thought for the first time, IMHO.

The concept of climate change is particularly perplexing for me:

"Clive Hamilton in his 'Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth About Climate Change' describes a dark relief that comes from accepting that 'catastrophic climate change is virtually certain.'

"This obliteration of 'false hopes,' he says, requires an intellectual knowledge and an emotional knowledge.

'The first is attainable.

"The second, because it means that those we love, including our children, are almost certainly doomed to insecurity, misery and suffering within a few decades, if not a few years, is much harder to acquire."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

 

[georgephillip]

Evolution isn't a myth, but Darwin never said we evolved from apes in "On the Origin of the Species."

So...your whole premise is flawed.

My premise isn't found in the title of this thread.
It is the same premise Hedges presented in his post, namely that human progress is largely a myth:

"'The experience of a relatively easy 500 years of expansion and colonization, the constant taking over of new lands, led to the modern capitalist myth that you can expand forever,' Wright said. 'It is an absurd myth...'

"This 500-year run made it not only seem easy but normal.

"We believe things will always get bigger and better. We have to understand that this long period of expansion and prosperity was an anomaly. It has rarely happened in history and will never happen again."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Human progress will continue. It'll just look different.

All we're doing is going through a transition from an industrial society to an information society. Just as the change from the dark ages to the enlightenment and the change from an agrarian society to the industrial age resulted in turmoil, violence, fear, revolutions and chaos, so too will this sea-change.

It may take 100 years, but it will eventually settle out into something brand new and different, perhaps with different masters and for certain, a different form of government.

Do you think the USA will survive the next 100 years, or go the way of the Romans, Mayans, and Sumerians? If I understand what Hedges and his sources are saying correctly, the very technology that's given us historic levels of luxury and comfort are the very same forces threatening our extinction.

"But even as our economic and environmental systems unravel, after the hottest year in the contiguous 48 states since record keeping began 107 years ago, we lack the emotional and intellectual creativity to shut down the engine of global capitalism.

"We have bound ourselves to a doomsday machine that grinds forward, as the draft report of the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee illustrates."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

 

[georgephillip]

Well, so far, we know that socialism and communism are abject failures, which is fact and not theory.

Money Mitt didn't turn out too well either.

 

[georgephillip]

Yawn, kill us all george.

Nobody gets out alive, Roo.
Are you scared?

 

[georgephillip]

Well, so far, we know that socialism and communism are abject failures, which is fact and not theory.

Really? They don't seem to have failed all that badly in China, Vietnam and most of western Europe.

Norway and Germany have incorporated socialism and democracy in some ways the USA should consider. German labor unions, for example, have enough votes on the board of directors of German corporations to prevent the mass migration of German middle class jobs to China. Norway's standard of living ranks high against other European countries, and it's welfare system is strongly integrated into its economy. There's a strain of "rugged individualism" in the US that seems to make it very difficult to convince Americans that they are stronger when they organize and cooperate.

 

[Intense]

Here is another Theory, ..........

 

[georgephillip]

God, I hate you Fucking racists

"For Aristotle, then, logic is the instrument (the 'organon') by means of which we come to know anything." Hate is not logical...is it?

Aristotle: Logic

 

[georgephillip]

Here is another Theory, ..........

Jeb, George, and Prescott?

 

[Aristotle]

God, I hate you Fucking racists

"For Aristotle, then, logic is the instrument (the 'organon') by means of which we come to know anything." Hate is not logical...is it?

Aristotle: Logic

How I express hate here is purely dialectical because I hate any ideology that generalize people of different ethnic groups and those who use pitiful threads like these to justify their hate

 

[JimBowie1958]

"'If we fail in this great experiment, this experiment of apes becoming intelligent enough to take charge of their own destiny, nature will shrug and say it was fun for a while to let the apes run the laboratory, but in the end it was a bad idea...'"

For the last 500 years white European and Euro-American ape-descendants have plundered, polluted, pillaged, and exploited planet Earth to the brink of extinction.

In his most recent post, Chris Hedges argues this particular Great Game is nearly at its end:

"But the game is up. The technical and scientific forces that created a life of unparalleled luxury—as well as unrivaled military and economic power—for the industrial elites are the forces that now doom us. The mania for ceaseless economic expansion and exploitation has become a curse, a death sentence."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Bullshit.

If civilization is so bad, why dont you go live in a grass hut and leave the rest of us the hell alone?

 

[JimBowie1958]

Evolution isn't a myth, but Darwin never said we evolved from apes in "On the Origin of the Species."

So...your whole premise is flawed.

My premise isn't found in the title of this thread.
It is the same premise Hedges presented in his post, namely that human progress is largely a myth:

"'The experience of a relatively easy 500 years of expansion and colonization, the constant taking over of new lands, led to the modern capitalist myth that you can expand forever,' Wright said. 'It is an absurd myth...'

"This 500-year run made it not only seem easy but normal.

"We believe things will always get bigger and better. We have to understand that this long period of expansion and prosperity was an anomaly. It has rarely happened in history and will never happen again."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Human progress will continue. It'll just look different.

All we're doing is going through a transition from an industrial society to an information society. Just as the change from the dark ages to the enlightenment and the change from an agrarian society to the industrial age resulted in turmoil, violence, fear, revolutions and chaos, so too will this sea-change.

It may take 100 years, but it will eventually settle out into something brand new and different, perhaps with different masters and for certain, a different form of government.

In less than twenty years we will have practically infinite enrgy, limitless resources and a better life style than ever before, in fact it will make the Utopian-frauds on the left quake with fear in their boots that humanity might grow to be completely independent of government programs and oversight.

 

[Oldguy]

My premise isn't found in the title of this thread.
It is the same premise Hedges presented in his post, namely that human progress is largely a myth:

"'The experience of a relatively easy 500 years of expansion and colonization, the constant taking over of new lands, led to the modern capitalist myth that you can expand forever,' Wright said. 'It is an absurd myth...'

"This 500-year run made it not only seem easy but normal.

"We believe things will always get bigger and better. We have to understand that this long period of expansion and prosperity was an anomaly. It has rarely happened in history and will never happen again."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Human progress will continue. It'll just look different.

All we're doing is going through a transition from an industrial society to an information society. Just as the change from the dark ages to the enlightenment and the change from an agrarian society to the industrial age resulted in turmoil, violence, fear, revolutions and chaos, so too will this sea-change.

It may take 100 years, but it will eventually settle out into something brand new and different, perhaps with different masters and for certain, a different form of government.

Do you think the USA will survive the next 100 years, or go the way of the Romans, Mayans, and Sumerians? If I understand what Hedges and his sources are saying correctly, the very technology that's given us historic levels of luxury and comfort are the very same forces threatening our extinction.

"But even as our economic and environmental systems unravel, after the hottest year in the contiguous 48 states since record keeping began 107 years ago, we lack the emotional and intellectual creativity to shut down the engine of global capitalism.

"We have bound ourselves to a doomsday machine that grinds forward, as the draft report of the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee illustrates."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Yes, I think it will survive, sort of on the order of Spain and Britain surviving the end of the age of absolute monarchs. They're still here, but different.

 

[Oldguy]

In less than twenty years we will have practically infinite enrgy, limitless resources and a better life style than ever before, in fact it will make the Utopian-frauds on the left quake with fear in their boots that humanity might grow to be completely independent of government programs and oversight.

Not necessarily. The Bible tells us the poor will always be with us and that's been the case throughout human history. There's always somebody who misses the bus and needs help.

 

[georgephillip]

God, I hate you Fucking racists

"For Aristotle, then, logic is the instrument (the 'organon') by means of which we come to know anything." Hate is not logical...is it?

Aristotle: Logic

How I express hate here is purely dialectical because I hate any ideology that generalize people of different ethnic groups and those who use pitiful threads like these to justify their hate

"Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a form of clinical behavior analysis (CBA)[1] used in psychotherapy... to treat people with borderline personality disorder (BPD)"

Good luck with your therapy

Dialectical behavior therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[georgephillip]

"'If we fail in this great experiment, this experiment of apes becoming intelligent enough to take charge of their own destiny, nature will shrug and say it was fun for a while to let the apes run the laboratory, but in the end it was a bad idea...'"

For the last 500 years white European and Euro-American ape-descendants have plundered, polluted, pillaged, and exploited planet Earth to the brink of extinction.

In his most recent post, Chris Hedges argues this particular Great Game is nearly at its end:

"But the game is up. The technical and scientific forces that created a life of unparalleled luxury—as well as unrivaled military and economic power—for the industrial elites are the forces that now doom us. The mania for ceaseless economic expansion and exploitation has become a curse, a death sentence."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Bullshit.

If civilization is so bad, why dont you go live in a grass hut and leave the rest of us the hell alone?

Are you advocating indifference to public affairs, Plato?

 

[georgephillip]

My premise isn't found in the title of this thread.
It is the same premise Hedges presented in his post, namely that human progress is largely a myth:

"'The experience of a relatively easy 500 years of expansion and colonization, the constant taking over of new lands, led to the modern capitalist myth that you can expand forever,' Wright said. 'It is an absurd myth...'

"This 500-year run made it not only seem easy but normal.

"We believe things will always get bigger and better. We have to understand that this long period of expansion and prosperity was an anomaly. It has rarely happened in history and will never happen again."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Human progress will continue. It'll just look different.

All we're doing is going through a transition from an industrial society to an information society. Just as the change from the dark ages to the enlightenment and the change from an agrarian society to the industrial age resulted in turmoil, violence, fear, revolutions and chaos, so too will this sea-change.

It may take 100 years, but it will eventually settle out into something brand new and different, perhaps with different masters and for certain, a different form of government.

In less than twenty years we will have practically infinite enrgy, limitless resources and a better life style than ever before, in fact it will make the Utopian-frauds on the left quake with fear in their boots that humanity might grow to be completely independent of government programs and oversight.

Are you expecting private for-profit corporations to provide you with "practically infinite energy, limitless resources and a better lifestyle than ever before"? Capitalists get rich from exploiting scarcity. Why would they, or any government they control, tolerate the abundance you envision?

 

[georgephillip]

Human progress will continue. It'll just look different.

All we're doing is going through a transition from an industrial society to an information society. Just as the change from the dark ages to the enlightenment and the change from an agrarian society to the industrial age resulted in turmoil, violence, fear, revolutions and chaos, so too will this sea-change.

It may take 100 years, but it will eventually settle out into something brand new and different, perhaps with different masters and for certain, a different form of government.

Do you think the USA will survive the next 100 years, or go the way of the Romans, Mayans, and Sumerians? If I understand what Hedges and his sources are saying correctly, the very technology that's given us historic levels of luxury and comfort are the very same forces threatening our extinction.

"But even as our economic and environmental systems unravel, after the hottest year in the contiguous 48 states since record keeping began 107 years ago, we lack the emotional and intellectual creativity to shut down the engine of global capitalism.

"We have bound ourselves to a doomsday machine that grinds forward, as the draft report of the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee illustrates."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Yes, I think it will survive, sort of on the order of Spain and Britain surviving the end of the age of absolute monarchs. They're still here, but different.

Spain and England survived their Empires and absolute monarchs partially by plundering Africa and the New World. The English, in particular, set in motion an industrial machine that demands expansion for its survival. Human population has tripled in my lifetime, yet a steadily widening gap between rich and poor ensures there will never be enough to go around.

"The number of people in dire poverty today-about 2 billion-is greater that the world's entire population in the early 1900s. That's not progress."

"We’re Ice Age hunters with a shave and a suit. We are not good long-term thinkers. We would much rather gorge ourselves on dead mammoths by driving a herd over a cliff than figure out how to conserve the herd so it can feed us and our children forever. That is the transition our civilization has to make. And we’re not doing that.”

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

 

[JimBowie1958]

In less than twenty years we will have practically infinite enrgy, limitless resources and a better life style than ever before, in fact it will make the Utopian-frauds on the left quake with fear in their boots that humanity might grow to be completely independent of government programs and oversight.

Not necessarily. The Bible tells us the poor will always be with us and that's been the case throughout human history. There's always somebody who misses the bus and needs help.

Yeah, I agree in one sense; the poor will get poorer as a percentage of total resources, but the resources will be so abundant and plentiful and cheap it wont matter, as everyone will have all they need, if poor or not.

Our poor today are overweight, have iphones, cable tV, HD TV and computers on their desks that are far more powerful than top government computers in the 1970's.

the meaning of the word 'poor' is changing

 

[JimBowie1958]

Human progress will continue. It'll just look different.

All we're doing is going through a transition from an industrial society to an information society. Just as the change from the dark ages to the enlightenment and the change from an agrarian society to the industrial age resulted in turmoil, violence, fear, revolutions and chaos, so too will this sea-change.

It may take 100 years, but it will eventually settle out into something brand new and different, perhaps with different masters and for certain, a different form of government.

In less than twenty years we will have practically infinite enrgy, limitless resources and a better life style than ever before, in fact it will make the Utopian-frauds on the left quake with fear in their boots that humanity might grow to be completely independent of government programs and oversight.

Are you expecting private for-profit corporations to provide you with "practically infinite energy, limitless resources and a better lifestyle than ever before"? Capitalists get rich from exploiting scarcity. Why would they, or any government they control, tolerate the abundance you envision?

Because, like always, they will invent new technologies that will draw from plentiful resources that we had little value for prior. Gasoline was a waste product from distilling pitch to make kerosene.
Petroleum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It touched off the boom we know today, and as gasoline becomes scarce a new fuel will take its place; it is only a matter of time, and my guess it will likely be either thorium fusion or Widom-Larsen proces of muon catalyzed fusion.
Muon-catalyzed fusion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[JimBowie1958]

"'If we fail in this great experiment, this experiment of apes becoming intelligent enough to take charge of their own destiny, nature will shrug and say it was fun for a while to let the apes run the laboratory, but in the end it was a bad idea...'"

For the last 500 years white European and Euro-American ape-descendants have plundered, polluted, pillaged, and exploited planet Earth to the brink of extinction.

In his most recent post, Chris Hedges argues this particular Great Game is nearly at its end:

"But the game is up. The technical and scientific forces that created a life of unparalleled luxury—as well as unrivaled military and economic power—for the industrial elites are the forces that now doom us. The mania for ceaseless economic expansion and exploitation has become a curse, a death sentence."

Chris Hedges: The Myth of Human Progress - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

Bullshit.

If civilization is so bad, why dont you go live in a grass hut and leave the rest of us the hell alone?

Are you advocating indifference to public affairs, Plato?

Lol, no, of course not. I am advocating people use their time more efficiently and not subscribe to Ludite paranoia.