(April 26, 2025 at 6:16 am)Ivan Denisovich Wrote:(April 24, 2025 at 10:06 am)Mister Agenda Wrote: I think the vast majority of us intend to be decent, but many are very susceptible to propaganda and other manipulation. And most of the rest of are hardly immune to it. Methods of manipulation can be used to amplify our fears and worst impulses. They can be used to do the opposite, but that kind of manipulation doesn't seem nearly as successful.
I doubt it. Though it may be that people intend to be decent (just like they intend to go on diet tomorrow) but rarely are. If decency would be more than intention then I somehow doubt that issued like hunger or poverty would still exist. Decent people wouldn't let others starve even if said others would live thousands of kilometers from them.
Just as you say, people have limited leverage on their own human impulses.
Plus, in a world of suboptimal choices as Nudger pointed out, if we fed all the starving poor people we might just end up with even more starving poor people. We couldn't change their problems with poor agricultural environments and over-population.
