The Graduate Student

Introduction
A short summary of the book, The Graduate Student's Question.

In lectures about his book, Collapse, Prof. Jared Diamond mentions graduate students who asked ‘What were they thinking, when they cut down all the trees?’ I heard his story about events on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) while I was writing this book, which deals with similar issues.

We have serious global problems of overpopulation, excessive resource use, climate change and environmental damage. I used to think technical fixes were possible, but the fact of climate change shows that things are rapidly moving beyond human control. We need to make prompt changes in our societies and lifestyles - our economic, social and political assumptions - to stop the inevitable downhill slide. Yet, as happened on Rapa Nui, there are few signs that Americans are willing to confront the problems and change accordingly.

Why do people just go about their business, while eating themselves out of house and home?

The easy answer is that people just continue to do what they always do, but that doesn’t explain much. It just says people don’t change. So we must ask again, why don’t they change? The answer requires looking into human behavior, which is conditioned by culture and participation in society. In turn, that requires examining the biological and historical basis of cultures and society. If there are any answers, they are deep and complex.

Since I am not in a position to give a final, scientific answer to the question (nor is anyone else), I have to wave a philosophical magic wand over the problem. Heuristics - ad hoc principles and teaching methods - are useful in this situation. By trying principles and refining approximations, we will eventually discover how things work.

I prefer explanations that are based on the “evidence of our eyes;” i.e., scientific evidence. It is useless to explain lifestyles and societies based on philosophical or spiritual doctrines that have little or nothing to do with actual behavior. Thus, I present my understanding of our Minds (brains) and Darwinian evolution as the background for this study.

Human culture is directed by beliefs as demonstrated in human behavior. This psychological dimension of culture implies that it develops separately, possibly differently, from physical evolution. Cultures, thus societies, are on a “mental track,” whereas genes are on a “physical track,” of evolution. Cultures have an “internal logic:” they are organized into systems. Cultural evolution occurs as a result of the development of individual and social beliefs in the context of that system.

I believe traditional accounts of social origins, organization and operations are inadequate or flawed. Today’s First World societies are based on ideas invented during the Enlightenment by the Continental "philosophes" and English philosophers: Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and others. One such Enlightenment invention was the Social Contract; an idea underlying the U.S. Constitution. Social Contract theory assumes rational men make dispassionate judgements about their society using Reason. In our post-modern world, it is no longer certain that people are “rational” or that there is a faculty of “Reason.” Even a recent exponent of Social Contract theory, Prof. John Rawls, has a difficult time with those premises. Thus, the foundations of American society and modern democracy rest on sand.

Adam Smith drew his ideas from the same Enlightenment well, when he invented classical economics. His price theory assumes “rational players” in a “free market.” Unfortunately, during the last century, we discovered people are neither rational nor free in their economic decisions. The economic system does not work the way political conservatives, corporate propagandists and college professors allege. In fact, people are carefully primed by advertising and social feedback to buy the products economic managers decide to make. We live in managed economies.

We are told “fairy stories” to justify the present economic, political and social arrangements. These stories are inaccurate when they are not false, but people believe them anyway. Belief in those stories allows society to creak on. In fact, cultures based on false and inconsistent beliefs can survive for considerable periods before being undermined by the natural world. If people believe they can live high off the hog, but only have an ordinary income, they can continue their behavior (which supports their belief) until they run out of credit.

Society could be organized on a different basis, which I call the Ideal State. The Ideal State arises from the ideals of the French Revolution, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Unlike the contorted Social Contract, these ideals are found in the easily observable, natural “human condition.” The Ideal State is a government that provides the structure and services people want and need. It is partially realized in the Welfare State implemented in several European countries. The Ideal State is a creature of the political Left, abhorred by the Right.

All societies, even Ideal States, have a life cycle. Sooner or later, something happens and societies fall apart. There are several factors that determine the strength or weakness of societies. With all that in mind, we are now prepared to consider the role of individuals in social continuation or eventual collapse (read The Graduate Student’s Question).

Is there a way to prolong a society’s lifetime? I propose a few solutions to avoid a bad end.

It is critical to end the manipulation of consent. In America, that means removing money from politics. I hope a government meaningfully responsible to individuals will be unlikely to make self-destructive decisions. In the Ideal State, people are concerned about self-fulfillment (“the life worth living”), not just about uselessly making and spending money.

The most critical problem is population. The human population already exceeds Gaia’s carrying capacity. We must control our reproductive lives and reduce our numbers. If we don’t, a population implosion is likely, as happened on Rapa Nui. We have less than a century to solve this problem.

The Graduate’s Student’s Question is fruitful, because it shows social collapse results from a very long chain of events, and points to further research. This book is my attempt to convince people to avoid disaster by taking corrective measures now.

The Graduate Student's Question