But the cycle is not independent. We upstart humans wish to interrupt it.
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Yeah but almost every "interruption" we try, upon further analysis, seems to akin to something tried and proven to a very bad idea.
For example, people keep thinking we need to try Communism, discounting previous attempts as "not implemented correctly."
Pretty much the only interuption that I have found to be unique across civilizations and time is the creation of this Representative Republic. The combination of basic human & property rights, treatment of religion, our Capitalist system, etc. have been the best recipe for civilization I've seen yet.
Talk about "Intelligent Design..." :D
The necessity of politics based on a particular conception of what human nature doesn't exactly square well with a scientism that is exclusive.
> Yeah but almost every "interruption" we try, upon further analysis, seems to akin to something tried and proven to a very bad idea.
...
> ... this Representative Republic. The combination of basic human & property rights, treatment of religion, our Capitalist system, etc. have been the best recipe for civilization I've seen yet.
Well, this is why many of us with scientific (or humainist, or materialist, or whatever you wanna call it) "leanings" are disturbed by the prospect of introducing religion into science classes. History is replete with theocracies, but very few representative republics. One of the few was the old Icelandic republic, a millenia ago. They were pagan, they were dirt poor... they were largely free and "libertarian." And then, because of fights breakign out between the pagans and the Christians on the island, they held a vote, and decided to make Christianity the official religion (Iceland had not had an "official religion" prior to this). Within 50 years, the republic collapsed.
They'd been poor before, but the farmers generally owned their own lands and flocks and homes; by the end, the Church owned everything, and had reduced free men to serfs.
As has been said, those who do not remember history...