- Fascism that cannot be overthrown. With so many technological tools in the hands of government and/or corporations, it seems possible to install long-lasting authoritarian states. Many people feel that if they serve a great power that is bigger than themselves, they are doing right, without bothering to evaluate the aims and methods of the power. This is where there is the potential for great evil.
- Global warming that mars the planet, causing environmental catastrophes that cannot be easily remedied.
- Nuclear war. Even a small one would have traumatic effects. Think of all the work of so many generations being lost in an instant.
All of these fears have their origin in technology. I think it would have been better if technology had remained at the level of the Ancient Roman civilization, at least until the ethical sense had become better developed. Today, there are people behind the wheel of a large automobile who have no business being there. There are people who carry guns that should not, because they have a desire to inspire fear in others. There are people that are using telephones to harass and abuse others, such as so-called collection agencies and telemarketers. There are people, as well as governments, that use computers to spy upon others. There is something of vital importance missing in their brains. They understand how to use tools, but not how to behave in an ethical manner. The ethical faculty remains much the same as it was thousands of years ago.
The minimum standard for ethics should be not to harm others. If everyone followed this maxim, there should be peace everywhere, solidarity, and efficiency. There would not be much need for debate. Instead of bitter disputes, there would be collegial discussions that focused upon a dry and technical cost/benefit analysis. Problems could be solved, instead of new problems being created all the time. Solutions that have been found not to work could be abandoned, and new solutions chosen in their stead. All too often, ethics must do battle with corruption. There are vested interests that prefer things to stay the same, because an easy profit has been found.
I'm not sure what the answer is. Religion has been tried, but does not work. Reason can be used to similar ill effect, because reason depends upon facts, and sometimes facts are disguised falsehoods. A proper legal system has many advantages, because fear of the law keeps many people who lack ethics from doing harm to others. However, the law is only as good as the lawmakers. Injustice and corruption become entrenched in the law, so that the law itself is evil and harms good people.
The only thing that has not been tried yet is eugenics, but that too may prove to be a mixed blessing. What some consider ideal may prove later to not always be so, and what some consider inferior may yet have hidden advantages. Even so, I believe eugenics to be the most perfect potential solution to the problem of evil in the world, provided it is used by the good and the wise. If eugenics were ever to be employed by evil-doers, then it will become the greatest fear of all, outstripping the three in my list above. I am afraid of China, because it is likely to become the greatest world power, yet has a very undeveloped sense of ethics. It is not China's behavior toward the United States that worries me, but rather its behavior toward its own citizens.
The primary goal of any eugenics program should be to instill a superb conscience, so that people care about the well-being of others as well as their own well-being. If everyone were born with this trait, then prisons would be unnecessary, and the police could be disbanded. I'm sure they wouldn't mind, considering that no-one would be committing any crimes, not even the government, other than through negligence or incompetence. Even in those cases, eugenics could answer by creating a smarter race. The military could be disbanded, as well, and here again, I'm sure the army wouldn't mind, given that there would be no more wars. I suppose alternative occupations could be found in agriculture, art, literature, research, and medicine. Mankind could focus its energies upon the exploration of outer space and the perfection of himself, rather than wasting so much energy upon pointless in-fighting with other human beings.
No comments:
Post a Comment