Why is the world as messed up as it is?

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Why is the world as messed up as it is? (pick the major issue as all might be valid but please aim for a dominant explanation)

Institutional arrangements (capitalism, corporations, etc)	19%	[ 14 ]
The moral nature of the people in power	7%	[ 5 ]
The flawed moral nature of people	8%	[ 6 ]
The flawed nature of people PERIOD	37%	[ 28 ]
The inability of rules and institutions to ever fully deal with underlying realities	1%	[ 1 ]
Lacking resources to address human problems	1%	[ 1 ]
Lacking knowledge at the present on the ideal way to handle problems	4%	[ 3 ]
Supernatural forces	3%	[ 2 ]
The world isn't that messed up.	8%	[ 6 ]
Other	11%	[ 8 ]
Let me see the results	1%	[ 1 ]

Total votes : 75

MissConstrue
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13 Apr 2010, 5:20 pm

Why is the world messed up as it is?

Too broad of a question but for some of us we live by this golden rule: Greed is good...

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AceOfSpades
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14 Apr 2010, 1:52 pm

The flawed nature of people PERIOD. I don't believe power corrupts people. Power appeals to existing corruption within people. I see so much power tripping on a small scale in every day life that it's no surprise that most politicians are as*holes.

SilverStar
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14 Apr 2010, 9:36 pm

AceOfSpades wrote:

I agree 100% If you look around at everyday people, they are no better than the government (greed, selfishness, huge egos, ignorance, incompetence, etc, etc) , yet they blame the government, and everyone else for that matter, for all of their problems.

iamnotaparakeet
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14 Apr 2010, 11:10 pm

SilverStar wrote:

AceOfSpades wrote:

Selfishness is a problem, but so is rarity of the individual characteristic of selflessness.

bully_on_speed
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14 Apr 2010, 11:15 pm

its that goddamn metric system

iamnotaparakeet
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14 Apr 2010, 11:19 pm

bully_on_speed wrote:

its that goddamn metric system

Seriously?

bully_on_speed
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14 Apr 2010, 11:24 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

bully_on_speed wrote:

its that goddamn metric system

Seriously?

oh yes, the metric system is a blight on the world. you know our children are being taught the metric system and we dont even know about it

iamnotaparakeet
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14 Apr 2010, 11:36 pm

bully_on_speed wrote:

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

bully_on_speed wrote:

its that goddamn metric system

Seriously?

oh yes, the metric system is a blight on the world. you know our children are being taught the metric system and we dont even know about it

Actually, any system of measurement will work equally well as long as you are consistent. I see you are being consistently sarcastic though, so this is what I will expect of your future posts via extrapolation.

DentArthurDent
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15 Apr 2010, 5:28 am

to answer the OP, basically capitalism has run its historical course and should have been replaced a long time ago. The reasons for its continued dominance lie ultimately at the feet of the socialist leaderships failures. What we are seeing in the contemporary world is the continued contradiction of capitalism, ie global finance / business built around competing nation states.

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ruveyn
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15 Apr 2010, 5:55 am

DentArthurDent wrote:

With what? Socialist or some other centrally controlled economic system? We all know how successful those are.

ruveyn

Sand
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15 Apr 2010, 6:18 am

ruveyn wrote:

DentArthurDent wrote:

With what? Socialist or some other centrally controlled economic system? We all know how successful those are.

ruveyn

Every corporation is a centrally controlled economic system.

ruveyn
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15 Apr 2010, 6:43 am

Sand wrote:

ruveyn wrote:

DentArthurDent wrote:

With what? Socialist or some other centrally controlled economic system? We all know how successful those are.

ruveyn

Every corporation is a centrally controlled economic system.

A corporation does not control the production and distribution of goods and services for the entire nation. Furthermore corporations don't have armies and police forces to coerce and control the population. With regard to a corporation, if you don't like what they sell or how they sell, then don't buy. That includes power and light. One can always use his own generator. Water? If you don't like getting water from your tap, then buy it at the store or dig a well. Food? There are so many firms selling food you are bound to find one you will do business with.

What I had in mind was central control by government, complete with its army, police force and dreadful burocrats to make life tedious.

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Sand
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15 Apr 2010, 7:05 am

ruveyn wrote:

Sand wrote:

ruveyn wrote:

DentArthurDent wrote:

With what? Socialist or some other centrally controlled economic system? We all know how successful those are.

ruveyn

Every corporation is a centrally controlled economic system.

If you work for a corporation and scared silly of losing your job because you are up to your neck in debt the corporation doesn't need an army. It's got you by the balls.

b9
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