Quote:
Originally Posted by CaleVinson  Do you think that all brains "aren't enough to go there"? I mean, I kinda doubt that *you're* overly impressed by the alpha-male model.  If some brains "can go there", is the failure of societies you note due to the tension between those who can, and those who can't "go there"? |
Yes.
To elaborate on that succinct reply, take a look at where we stand as a species. We are such a booming success that we threaten our own existence (and that of many other species) by our need for ever expanding resources for our explosive population growth. The authoritarian model of judiciously constrained violence works very well for us, even if it does not please the more idealistic sensibilities of a portion of our population.
That we have a mix of such seemingly contradictory tempraments (for lack of a better word to describe those camps of thought) would imply that we need both approaches: authoritarian models to harness our unruly, squabbling selves into a functional unit and the more idealistic democratically minded to rebel when authoritarianism grows too oppressive. One is ruthlessly efficient and satisfies deep-seated emotional urges, the other is humane but requires a degree of rationality that our species as a whole simply can't sustain. At different times in history, one or the other may predominate, but it is the mix itself that succeeds.