Re: virus: Taking Over the World (was: Sign Off)
D.H.Rosdeitcher (76473.3041@compuserve.com)
Fri, 24 Oct 1997 18:02:20 -0400
Paul Prestopnik wrote:
>I don't think redistribution of wealth would necessarily cause more people
>to participate in memetic evolution, or in any socially productive
>activity. As an example look at people who have more than the arithmatic
>mean of wealth (I have no idea what this valuew would be, by the way). I
>would assume that in this subset of people many of them still consider
>increase of wealth a primary goal. Also even if people do not consider
>increase in wealth something to strive towards (due to sufficient monatary
>worth, or different ideals) that does not mean they will invest their time
>in a socially productive activity. They could very well just spend
another
>2 hrs watching television.
By "redistribution of wealth", I don't have in mind redistributing wealth
in the context of the society that already exists, (or by gov't force like
in Communism), but a collective decision to move towards a certain goal of
increasing complexity. Memes--what people believe--have just as much of an
effect on reality as physical laws--for instance, the value of money and
national boundaries, which are based on beliefs, affect people just like
gravity and electricity. But, memes which make up those beliefs, can be
shaped to change the environment. The redistribution of wealth concept, in
this context, is part of a meme-complex designed to create complexity by
forming a vast neural network of millions of minds which can do things one
mind or a few minds alone can't do.
--David R.