User talk:Abolitionist
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[edit] Abolitionism
Hi. I'd like to say first that I find your society's goals, as presented in Abolitionist Society, to be rather frightening, however noble the intent of ending suffering is. I'm sorry to see Wikipedia has been somewhat less than receptive to your editing; the community here unfortunately leaves much to be desired. I hope you'll find a way to contribute without drawing unwanted attention.
Regarding Abolitionism, I haven't read The Hedonistic Imperative, but the name is familiar and I think I've read an essay by Pearce before. What frightens me is that your goal appears to be the elimination of the perception of suffering without addressing the underlying causes — ending suffering by the letter but not in spirit. One can envision a wide range of false-utopian scenarios if everyone perceives their situation to be well when rationally they should object, for example as in The Giver or in a certain form of totalitarian dictatorship. Does your society have plans for how to achieve a true utopia after everyone has been rendered physiologically incapable of discontent? ‣ᓛᖁ.gif){kind=small}
ᑐ 05:06, 25 January 2006 (UTC)
In response;
Abolitionism asserts that the root cause of suffering is Darwinian design as opposed to 'god's will.'
How can we be functional while happy? - see www.gradients.com
If everyone was truly incapable of discontent - it would be a true utopia. Are you imagining some group that would wish to remain in pain so that they could control the blissful masses in order to maintain their own suffering?
Why choose to remain in pain when it is not necessary for functionality?
What candidate approach do you propose for maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering? There is always fear about technology and the future (largely stemming from the knowledge of human nature) - but we must move forward.
-Sean
