DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - State of the Union Address 2012: Progress through Altruism

**Buincchotourb** · 01-28-2012, 05:49 AM

Altruism is a biological imperative for human beings. We are cooperative by nature, and we always have been. As much as some libertarians and Rand supporters might like to disagree, making any claim toward "individualism" is essentially meaningless unless that sense of individuality is placed within the context of a larger group and is consented to by that group. Altruism is an absolutely essential component of our continued survival as a species.

I'm choosing not venture into the whole "Virtue of Selfishness" playing field as of yet, as that could take things in an entirely different direction. However, I am more curious about the statements you made about deciding as a collective that we've finally had enough. This statement at least implies we're in agreement that in principle we're in very dangerous territory, but you're being pragmatic for the very good reason that people are quite sensitive around discussing entitlements they've been accustomed to for a very long time. I couldn't agree more, and I'll leave that as such. I'm curious where and how you anticipate that "threshold" may be crossed, and what you might speculate as a potential result.

01-28-2012, 05:49 AM	#5
Buincchotourb Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 553 Senior Member	Altruism is a biological imperative for human beings. We are cooperative by nature, and we always have been. As much as some libertarians and Rand supporters might like to disagree, making any claim toward "individualism" is essentially meaningless unless that sense of individuality is placed within the context of a larger group and is consented to by that group. Altruism is an absolutely essential component of our continued survival as a species. I'm choosing not venture into the whole "Virtue of Selfishness" playing field as of yet, as that could take things in an entirely different direction. However, I am more curious about the statements you made about deciding as a collective that we've finally had enough. This statement at least implies we're in agreement that in principle we're in very dangerous territory, but you're being pragmatic for the very good reason that people are quite sensitive around discussing entitlements they've been accustomed to for a very long time. I couldn't agree more, and I'll leave that as such. I'm curious where and how you anticipate that "threshold" may be crossed, and what you might speculate as a potential result.
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