Control (And a profound realization)

[Crazycarl]

Originally Posted by GenghisTron

I don't think humans are perfectly rational, nature is perfectly logical, markets allocate resources most efficiently--instead, I think that when control is remedied to fix purported 'problems' the outcome is worse than the original problem.

Agreed. But that's different from asserting that people will not take advantage of the lack of control, gumming up the works. Just look at what's happened with the US banking system. The rules were relaxed, and so companies started with reckless investment practices that were bad for everyone.

Yes, but what if control exerted over that person from a young age shaped their personality? What if bad parenting was the cause of an addictive personality? There's ever-increasing evidence that a child's personality is contigent upon the manner in which they're raised from the first few weeks and months after birth.

Again, what if it a child's reaction to punishment was contingent on how they were raised?

The nature vs. nurture argument is an old one and won't be settled any time soon. Maybe a person's temperament is set at conception or a few months after birth, or later, but the fact remains that people respond differently to different situations. Generalizations don't work.

That's the thing, I don't think I'm remarkable or 'lucky' at all. I think the circumstances that made me who I am, are applicable to anyone.

You could have just as easily abused your parents' trust and got into big trouble.

In a society of altruism (I don't really think altruism is a good word, since altruism implies self-sacrifice) and trust, people could still remain vigilant against a potential threat to their freedoms.

Certainly, remain vigilant, but then once someone steps out of line, something has to be done. Will there be a system of laws to handle the situation, or vigilante justice?

Altruism is a good word--If you give up the opportunity to take advantage of someone else, you are forfeiting a potential gain. That's in completely selfish terms. The best strategy for a selfish individual is to game the system just up until the point where they will be punished. That's how we got the free market system. It's not ideal, but it's probably the best we can do, given human nature. The trick is to keep enough controls in place to keep someone from ruining the system for everyone.