Sociology

 2012 07 20

Anti-women's rights proponents like to intone, "Many women wind up regretting have had an abortion." True statement. However its complementary statement is likewise true: Many women (and men) regret having had children.

 2012 07 28

     The Feckless Innocent: "I consider it a national embarrassment that the United States failed to pass the ERA.”

     Tom Doubter: "Well, I consider it a human embarrassment that such an amendment was found to be necessary."

 2012 06 14

What women seek in a man is vitality. Physical vitality expressed as handsomeness/physical prowess; mental vitality expressed as high intellect; financial vitality expressed as wealth. And, in each case this vitality represents control of environment.

 2012 07 04

If we grew up thinking that a percentage of our output, money, labor, fruits of such labor, etc. were the rightful property of the community there would be no Republican-esque outrage at the “distribution” of wealth. Mormons grow with the notion that ten percent of their earnings are to be tithed; Scandinavians appear to accept as normal a tax rate that in America would not be tolerated.

All but a very few individuals participate in the benefits provided by communal living. Pioneers and hermits may righfully consider themselves “self-sufficient” but the by-far larger body of humans live in dense community, be it family,tribe, political party, state or nation. From the time we moved from hunter-gatherer to agricultural organization of social structure all members of the generally increasing demographic took advantage of what a community could accomplish and that was grander in scale than what any isolated individual effort could avail.

  2012 08 11

When, at what point, how, why – does the necessity of social cooperation give way to self-aggrandizing competition? What element of human consciousness fails to recognize the well-being of one's fellows as integrally bound up with one's own? Note too that this is not specific to humans. Pack animals cooperate up to a point but compete at some other point. Ant colonies the same. Reduction of the natural resource base, due to population or natural disaster?

 2012 06 29

Jobs are not available, the so-called right to work is a fiction of the past. Population denstities preclude the possibility. The entire paradigm must be reviewed. We must start with a statement to the effect, 'You do not have a right to work; you have a right to live, work however is a privilege. Being self-sufficient is a privilege.”

How do I work out the details of such a social dynamic?