• shiranaihito
    +1

    Nothing gets done in societies where competition is considered a greater virtue than cooperation

    How would it follow from all interactions being purely voluntary that competition is considered a greater "virtue" than co-operation? If you can't answer that, you're making no sense at all.. which is at least seemingly the case already.

    • spaceghoti
      +5

      Because in a society where everyone guards their own resources jealousy as you've described here, everything becomes a competition. So again, if you want to be an island unto yourself go and do that. Grow your own food, build your own roads and mix your own medicines. Until then, you pay into the cost of running our modern society like the rest of us.

    • Legacidal
      +2
      @spaceghoti -

      Hehe, space fish...

    • spaceghoti
      +1
      @Legacidal -

      Hi! What can I do for you?

    • Legacidal
      +2
      @spaceghoti -

      Oh, I was just getting a chuckle out of the wordplay in your name

    • spaceghoti
      +1
      @Legacidal -

      Man, people do that all the time. They say my name but they don't actually want anything. Can't a guy swim in peace around here? ;)

    • shiranaihito
      +1
      @spaceghoti -

      Because in a society where everyone guards their own resources jealousy as you've described here, everything becomes a competition

      Wanting to use your own property as you personally see fit is not the same as "guarding your resources jealously". Competition has nothing to do with it, because the resources in question are not being competed for - they're already yours.

    • spaceghoti
      +3
      @shiranaihito -

      Yes, it means you're restricting your resources to only be used as you see appropriate and not giving the rest of society a share unless you personally approve of everything it's used for. That's being competitive, by deciding to withhold your support based on your personal opinion.

      Cooperating in society means you don't always win the argument. You don't always get to decide how public resources are used, but that doesn't absolve you of the responsibility to pay in anyway. You don't always get to decide when to be selfish or altruistic. That's part of the social contract you engage in when you participate in society.

      You have no idea what this research may ultimately mean for society. No one can predict that. You're focused on what's important to you right now. That kind of thinking is inherently competitive and not healthy for society as a whole.