Inspired by a Utilitarian question in another post, it occurred to me that if you found a magic lamp, and the genie offered you a wish, and you wanted to better humanity, your best move is to wish for happiness and contentment for all of the people you hate the most.

It’s fear, anger, or outrage that drives discontent, and motivates people to try to change the world around them. If you wish for happiness and contentment for the people you like, e.g. the ones fighting for human rights, for peace, for justice, then that deprives them of their best motivation, and they’ll stop fighting.

But if you wish contentment on the evil people—you know who they are—they will also stop striving to change the world, to tear down society, and to arrogate it all for themselves. Like that famous quote, if you wish to grant Musk and Bezos feeling of “enough,” they would no longer need to hoard a pile of gold beyond the imaging of the greediest dragon.

I dunno. They don’t deserve it, buy the outcome would make the world better for everybody. Could you do it?

  • Cris_Citrus (he/him <3)@piefed.zipEnglish
    11·
    3 个月前

    I think you would also need to wish them be emotionally and interpersonally healthy

    I think many of those people’s dissatisfaction may be rooted in some deeper issues that without fixing, you would just get more dysfunction.

    But if I understood it would fix the suffering, I would do it in a heartbeat. I don’t want retribution, I want a better life for the people I love and the people who come after us.

    End the retaliatory carceral “justice” mentality- Kill the cop in your mind.

    There are times where justice and retribution may look the same, but it is not all times. When you have the ability to right the wrongs rather than create more suffering, choose righting the wrongs.