Re: The joy of Democracy

On 02/11/2024 21:03, D wrote:

  On Sat, 2 Nov 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
 

On 02/11/2024 10:44, D wrote:

Really? So indians bought negro slaves? Had no idea! In europe, indians can do no wrong, and their history is held up as a paragon of eco-friendly and just, which was crushed by the bad white man.

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In reality every culture that has agriculture as its base needs a lot of dumb stupid labor till it can afford tractors...and the easy way to get it is to be a warrior, smash a neighbouring tribe and enslave its members. And hold them down by force.
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Only the advent of Christianity, that promised the enslaved to be especcailly favoured by God, changed that.
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Saved no end of violence.

 I also have sometimes thought that one "super power" of christianity is forgiveness and (in theory) an end to family feuds.
 

It was the oil that lubricated the wheels of superpowers. Christianity superseded tribalism.
It allowed huge number of people to co-operate together in large nations with a single moral code.
Unlike Islam, it also encouraged free choice and self determination. God left you the power to decide which path to follow, and there were many 'paths to god' allowed. Well mostly.

If your ead Njals saga you can see the power of the family feud and how damaging it can be to society when more and more people are dragged into it.

Well look at Putin. What a pointless senseless  war.  He isn't afraid of the afterlife is he?
"Gimme your country"
"Why should I?"
"Because if you don't I'll smash it so you don't have it anymore either"
"What good is that?"
"The next country will surrender immediately"
"That's what Hitler said....and Hirohito"
--
“Ideas are inherently conservative. They yield not to the attack of other ideas but to the massive onslaught of circumstance"
    -  John K Galbraith