Evolution, survival and adaptation (Evolution)

by dhw, Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 12:04 (2249 days ago) @ Balance_Maintained

TONY: Sometimes I think we zoom to far in when we are looking at the subject. In this case, what looks like fierce competition when viewed closely appears as wonderful harmony when we step back and look at the ecosystems as a whole. Perhaps the 'competitive' element is there as a product to prevent the degradation of the species through laziness and glut.

In this sense, it is little different than the idea of Capitalism. Through competition we improve both quality and efficiency of what we have to offer. Some businesses fail, some thrive, but in the end, it there is a net gain to the larger society.

If that is true, it would make sense that God would preprogram that concept, as it would cover a multitude of behaviors and provide multiple benefits both to the species and the ecosystem.

Delighted to have you contributing again, and once more my thanks for your New Year message.

The above, as usual, is a thought-provoking argument, but (also as usual) it leads to a lot of questions. Which species and which ecosystems are you looking at as a whole? Ecosystems have come and gone throughout the history of life, and although I know you dispute the figure of 99%, you will not dispute that vast numbers of species have gone extinct - the most extreme form of “degradation”! So net gain for which species and which ecosystem?

You might apply the same argument to capitalism. Which “larger society” are you thinking of? And one might even ask which form of capitalism? In most societies and under most systems it seems that the rich get richer, whether they are capitalist industrialists or socialist government officials, while the poor get poorer. Theoretically (that word needs huge emphasis) the socialist ideal, whereby those in power take good care of the rest of us, should “result in a net gain to the larger society”, shouldn’t it? Whereas capitalism focuses firmly on the wealth of the individual. But typically, I’m not taking sides. There are good and bad ramifications with both systems, and as I see it, all systems are only as humanitarian and as ecologically efficient as the people who run them.

If God exists, I would hesitate to guess what system he would favour. If he is all-powerful, as many religious people assume, I guess a benign dictatorship would be his preferred option!