Oddbean

And I'm going to explain it for dummies. Are there good or bad street gangs? Gang A steals from people, they do violence against the people of gang B and also against people who do not belong to any gang, sometimes they even kill. Gang B steals from the people, they exert violence against the people of gang A and also against people who do not belong to any gang, sometimes they even kill. Sometimes territorial disputes arise between gang A and gang B, maybe from an objective point of view (of private property) one of the two gangs is more right, maybe one gang has started the aggression first, but for sure in other occasions it has been the other gang that has started the aggression first. Does that make gang A or B good depending on who you consider that has aggregated first or has invaded their territory this time? Isn't it impossible for you to position yourself in favor of either gang simply because they are criminals who steal and murder? Isn't it right that these gangs should disappear so that everyone can live in peace? Now substitute gangs for states. nostr:note1wvm687cunjdn4rq7fchz27s7xh9y3jl40hckrqa4dpwqvsdzjyess05euw

Asking the impossible, there will always be an aggressor & nobody is truely "good"... You then have the choice to either defend yourself or be enslaved / killed. States always suck, they are an unnatural collective, one we would be better off without.

That’s why society is best with aligned incentivisation to be “good”. What is good anyway? My take has always been that all that partake in an interaction of any kind walk away with a net gain. The perception of gain depends on the individual and can only be achieved through understanding the nature of the wants of that individual from the interaction. Respect, listening and ethics. It really should not be that fucking hard!

Let’s not compare voters to thieves. At least thieves do their own thieving and take their own risk. Voters vote by secret ballot and have others do their dirty work for them while they talk about how much good they are doing for their fellow man. Something else your typical thief doesn’t do.

What if you know that 80% of the ppl who don't belong to a gang directly support it and as a cherry on top want to kill all people of the other territory. Let's say on both sides. The question now is: how or if at all should the outsiders protect those 40%?