Curious Wonder web notes

Instead of imagining humans evolving morality, like fingers. Imagine the concept of morality as the best methods for keeping [high] civility [and well being] within large groups, and evolution forcing humans to adapt a sense of morality so as to better organize ourselves. Take for example, flight. There's the concept of flight and there's the evolution of flight. In order for something to be able to fly, animal or otherwise, it needs to be light weight, aerodynamic and be able to catch air so as to fall more slowly or get lift. Evolution needn't have evolved flight in animals for the concept of flight (or aerodynamics) to exist as a natural phenomenon. Evolution can however adapt certain animals to take advantage of this phenomenon to improve the survival chances of a species.   Humans may have evolved a sense of morality; evolution's best efforts at allowing us to grasp the better and worse methods at organizing large groups so as to allow individuals to prosper and ...

... the reason why Venenzuela turned the way it did was BECAUSE it had oil. it's called the resource curse. Fledgling dictatorships like to use faux and idealistic notions of democracy & socialism to appease their population while they systematically take their rights away. they use the money from oil to pay the military & police to brutally suppress the slightest hint of rebellion. This is all explained in detail in the book "the dictator's handbook: why bad behavior is almost always good politics", it's a good read. CGP grey made a summary video called "the rules for rulers" . Leaders that don't have natural resources like oil, gold, natural gas, etc., will not have the revenue to forcefully keep themselves in power. Their only option for revenue that is left is for them to rely on taxation. since capitalism is a more effective method at revenue production, it is a better option for fledgling democracies. However this doesn't mean that ...