> how important it will be for us to somehow find a way for the people at the top to not lead everyone else down a wrong path.
I've thought about this a lot over the past two decades. If I had to summarize my conclusions in two statements, this would be it:
1. Desperation is the enemy of civilization.
2. The larger the group vilified by an ideology, the more evil that ideology is likely to be.
As an example of (1), we live in a technologically advanced age replete with wealth, but we seem to be driven by competition that has left even billionaire investors feeling desperate to preserve/grow their wealth.
As an example of (2), it is more likely that our perception of a large community is skewed, than that community being wholesale evil. This applies equally to the former Soviet Union, your preferred enemy nation, and also the 50% of your country who are on the opposite side of the left-right divide.
I've thought about this a lot over the past two decades. If I had to summarize my conclusions in two statements, this would be it:
1. Desperation is the enemy of civilization.
2. The larger the group vilified by an ideology, the more evil that ideology is likely to be.
As an example of (1), we live in a technologically advanced age replete with wealth, but we seem to be driven by competition that has left even billionaire investors feeling desperate to preserve/grow their wealth.
As an example of (2), it is more likely that our perception of a large community is skewed, than that community being wholesale evil. This applies equally to the former Soviet Union, your preferred enemy nation, and also the 50% of your country who are on the opposite side of the left-right divide.