How did we get here?

@Hex@kolektiva.social Here are some references to support what you're saying: https://c.im/@whathappened/113431391552749242

@Huntn00@mastodon.world If you truly recognize what a "pervasive system" capitalism is, then it should also be understandable why people who are involuntarily embedded in that system from birth are deeply conditioned and distorted by it, and their actions are manipulated by coercion, even if they individually recognize that something is wrong. Capitalism (and the foundations it is built on such as state, patriarchy, and hierarchy in general) are to blame, not human nature itself. To view the blindness and self-centeredness of people trapped in this system as essential human nature is like describing a circus elephant riding a tricycle as an elephant's natural behavior. @CassandraVert@indieweb.social @LordCaramac@discordian.social @gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green @LaChasseuse@mastodon.scot

@pip@infosec.exchange @DGI@graeber.social "...capitalism seems to have provided some major benefits historically - vaccines, electricity, etc." The key word here is "seems", and this is purely the result of capitalist propaganda. There is no real reason to believe that this is true.

@gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green@LordCaramac@discordian.social @Huntn00@mastodon.world @LaChasseuse@mastodon.scot

@Huntn00@mastodon.world It's about power, not about human nature. Technology enabled the concentration of power such that a very tiny minority could impose their will on the rest of humanity. That's not the same thing as the species getting "itself in trouble". Hell, a lot of it was random chance. Things might have played out differently if for example there was some virus endemic to the "new world" that indigenous people were immune to and which stopped the colonialists. Unfortunately it didn't happen like that. @gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green @LordCaramac@discordian.social @LaChasseuse@mastodon.scot

@nickofnz No Kings. No Presidents. No Billionaires. No Borders.

@Funcan@mastodon.social Your response reflects a very limited caricature of human nature that frames it as the cause of our current nightmarish predicament, and is used as an excuse for the oppressive, violent and coercive power structures and the disingenuous, toxic concepts behind them that are the actual cause. It's like watching a circus elephant riding a tricycle and describing that as an elephant's natural behavior. It was in fact the characteristics of a very small and specific group of humans who happened to end up with the power (and happenstance, such as spreading diseases) to decimate and oppress/enslave/exploit other cultures, that led to where we are now. Those other cultures demonstrated (and still do to some extent) the vast potential of creativity, adaptability, cooperation, and nature-friendliness of real human nature throughout the planet and hundreds of millennia before the imaginary but all-powerful god Capital took over. Here are some links I recommend for a broader perspective on human nature and our cultural evolution/history: Appendix 5: More discoveries challenging conventional ideas about human cultural evolution https://c.im/@whathappened/113432448395719328 Appendix 2: Human Nature https://c.im/@whathappened/113432402045257286 Full thread: How Did We Get Here? https://c.im/@whathappened/113427830249968598 @DGI@graeber.social

@Huntn00@mastodon.world

"Being a good steward of this Earth has not been one of our species strong suits, because of lack of vision."

I disagree. The state we're in now (pun recognized and accepted) is the exception. Otherwise our species has demonstrated quite the opposite:

https://c.im/@whathappened/113431238520344807

https://c.im/@whathappened/113431255161180652

https://c.im/@whathappened/113432448395719328

see also:

• Indigenous cultural practices are a climate solution, report finds - Indigenous lands are recognized as crucial for climate mitigation and resilience. New research shows their health is a direct result of the people who inhabit and steward them. https://grist.org/indigenous/indigenous-cultural-practices-are-a-climate-solution-report-finds/

@LordCaramac@discordian.social @gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green @LaChasseuse@mastodon.scot