[ExI] No need for radical changes in human nature

[Stathis Papaioannou]

2009/7/7 Dan <dan_ust at yahoo.com>:

> Well, in an free market anarchist society, the way the issue would be decided would be by allowing road owners to decide the rules to be followed on their property.*  My guess is that there'd be some differences in rules and enforcement -- that is, not all owners would have the same rules and enforcement techniques.  This is no different than how various eateries have different dress codes.  In some, you need a jacket and tie, in others not; in some, you pay first, in others you pay afterward.  Etc.  (And even public roads vary today.  Think of how speed limits vary.  And anyone who does a decent amount of driving knows speed limit and other enforcement varies.)

How does this consideration change if the roads are publicly owned,
which is the way it would go in a communitarian anarchist society?

> I don't know about honesty, though I believe there's some evidence that intelligence correlates with lower levels of aggression and criminality.  I've read some explanations of this along the lines of the more intelligent someone is, the more she'll think long range and even be able to empathize with others -- and hence be less likely to act for the short-term pay offs from violent and criminal behavior and more likely to look for long range gains by voluntary interaction.  There does seem to be some truth to this, don't you think?

The more intelligent person may be less likely to personally carry out
violent crime but more likely to be in charge of organised crime or
brutal dictatorial regimes, perhaps ultimately responsible for far
more suffering than common criminals are.

I don't know if you've spent much time around intellectually disabled
people, but some go about assaulting anyone they don't like the look
of, others are pathologically nice to the point where they would eg.
give away all their possessions to a stranger, while most are
somewhere in between. Also, it is commonly accepted that people with
antisocial personality disorder have normal IQ. Intelligent people may
behave better under *certain* circumstances than less intelligent
people, but I don't think this is evidence that intelligent people are
constitutionally less inclined to be nasty.


-- 
Stathis Papaioannou