[ExI] Dope was Re: state of conflict technology

[Keith Henson]

Rafal Smigrodzki <rafal.smigrodzki at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Jan 10, 2020 at 2:54 PM Keith Henson via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

>> Libertarianism (or libertarianism) in the context of evolution is a
>> harsh political stand to take.

> ### Harsh but fair, maybe?

Maybe, but I can't see "fair" applying.  You get the genes you have
from previous generations without the slightest influence over the
process.  If a gene from this process causes a debilitating condition,
such as cystic fibrosis, you are stuck with it and a lifetime
(sometimes short) of problems.

> I'd rather say that acknowledging evolutionary forces acting on the
society, and deftly working with them is the mellow option, compared to
mulishly going against the tide.

I have talked about Gregory Clark's work for years.  The population of
the UK was subject to intense selection (for gaining wealth) over a
least 1250 to 1800.  After about 1800, the reproductive advantage
shifted to the poor as the wealthy figured out birth control.

But I don't think there has been a society that succeeded in improving
their gene pool intentionally.  The ones that tried eugenics failed.

> Low fitness should lead to elimination of
the responsible alleles. Keeping deleterious alleles artificially protected
from extinction only adds to misery. Deleterious alleles have a cost to the
filial generation and a cost to non-carriers, a cost paid in
perpetuity when evolution is thwarted.

What you say is true.  It's also a really bad path to take.
Fortunately, we stand on the edge of taking control of our DNA.  It
will be possible to eliminate the deleterious alleles in one
generation, a huge improvement over discovering that the kid you
raised at great effort and cost has serious genetic problems and
should not have children.

Incidentally, humans are still domesticating themselves.  Something
like one in a hundred of each generation have psychological traits so
intolerable that they are usually killed.  I should write up the saga
of Debbie French, a woman who was so rough on the "peace and love"
hippy community in Tucson that they took up a collection and had her
killed.

Keith