[extropy-chat] Bully Magnets

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On 12/13/06, Jef Allbright <jef at jefallbright.net> wrote:
> Rafal Smigrodzki wrote:
> >
> > ### You surely realize that it *is* the gangster's fault that
> > the police are unwilling to bust him - obviously, his
> > ferocity, utter contempt for police officers' lives,
> > marksmanship, and bribes contribute to make them turn a blind
> > eye to the depredations he inflicts on his victims.
> >
> > That's why honest people hate gangsters with a vengeance,
> > because hate, well-tempered by reason, makes our lives better.
>
> Hate is a heuristic, most useful in cases of insufficient understanding.

### I see hate as an important public good, at least until we develop
truth machines capable of assessing levels of commitment to a course
of action. A member of your group who hates your enemies is less
likely to defect when the chips come down. It is a simple matter of
rational calculation that cooperation with haters is under many
circumstances likely to be more stable than cooperation with wusses.

Rafal