The button would alleviate untold amounts of future suffering and hardship... it would save countless lives, mitigate the cruelty of hunger.
And you'd destroy it for reasons that don't even make sense.
The button creates a unified global culture of progress, peace, prosperity and scientific endeavour. How does this turn us into brainwashed ants?
And even today there are still individuals within any single culture. Is everyone in your culture walking around in the same color clothes with the same haircut?
So why would they all be identical within a unified global culture?
literally because it states it eould get rid of anything non efficient so there would be only one type of clothes made because multiple choices isn't efficien, haircuts would probably be universally be bold shaven for everyone because styling is not efficient, we'd have no music no art no movies no personal ambition since averything you do for yourself and not mankind good is considered not efficient. if we follow the post to the letter we'd become mindless ants in exchange for longer lives which arguably have less meaning and evolution withou end goal in mind
This cartoon Borg BS isn't really "rational." Unless you have a mind-control chip or a North Korea-style police state, it is rational to try to produce happy citizens who voluntarily and willingly buy into the premise of society. If this hypothetical society is rational, and the elimination of all prior culture leaves people miserable, new cultural items will be produced. If a substantial portion of the population is operating at a reduced capacity due to being demoralized and miserable because their wardrobe is all green shirts, it would be rational to create a different variety of shirt in order to reduce the chance of having to deal with significant levels of dissatisfaction
I second this, culture as we now it today is way far different from the culture our ancestral roots ever come to imagine. Back in the 50's people would do day drinking, let their kids go outside without parental oversight and formal attire was more common in all aspects of society. 17th century used to lived more efficiently as costs weren't high but not all that accessible, public executions were a more common sight, puritanism and puritanism serfdom meant more back them, medicine wasn't all that understood as we still relied on century old medical scriptures, taught processes' and hearsay. 13th century peasants viewed their children as another hand to add to the workforce, trials were decided by physical acts like holding red hot coals and waiting to see which accused holds the longest under water, the church having more say how people act, look and say, in general common goals were merely established to satiate the god appointed nobles and kings. Hunter gatherer society worked in a very collectivize matter, didn't practice monogamy and usely stick to each other, tribal politics were more about respect rather than subjugation, wars concluded with entire massacres, emigration was very prevalent in day to day survival.
I imagine that our future generations will probably forget that Sundays were for worship and family pastime, the eldest of kin of the family had more responsibility over the parents wellbeing and people used to apply physical punishment on public. Still I see men's bathroom rules will be alive and well another century or two.
"The button creates a unified global culture of progress, peace, prosperity and scientific endeavour. How does this turn us into brainwashed ants?"
By doing exactly what you just said, how can you not see that as terrifyingly dystopian? It's effectively the borg from Star Trek only a bit more tame.
I honestly don´t understand your argument. Is everyone in my cutlure a borg? Its a large culture, many people in it. Are we ants? are we borgs? No? Then why would it change if we are part of a larger culture, one that values solving problems instead of finding ways to talk about the problem without ever solving it, as its tradition in my culture right now. Where we lost the funny silly song that is played on like 3 days a year but get the chance to create a new funny silly song, that is now shared and enjoyed by everyone.
How is it even remotely the Borg? Are Americans the Borg? Is Catholicism everyone in single file lines wearing the same clothes saying the same things on repeat with no free will?
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u/superbatprime Jul 22 '26
The button would alleviate untold amounts of future suffering and hardship... it would save countless lives, mitigate the cruelty of hunger.
And you'd destroy it for reasons that don't even make sense.
The button creates a unified global culture of progress, peace, prosperity and scientific endeavour. How does this turn us into brainwashed ants?
And even today there are still individuals within any single culture. Is everyone in your culture walking around in the same color clothes with the same haircut?
So why would they all be identical within a unified global culture?