Brin is on to something!

I enjoyed David Brin's take on Memes as compared to survival of the fittest. In his article or speech if you will, Brin talks about how we all generate ideas (memes) that are no different than genetic codes or variances, and they do battle for survival in amongst the human populations. I found it interesting that he listed four basic world views that do battle over time. The older ones being Paranoia, Machismo, and the east, and the newer one, being the dogma of otherness. I can relate to his theories since I have often had similar thoughts about how societies group to form collective value systems in which they organize around a common way of thinking and thus sustain a will to cooperate as a unit. Paranoia seem logical since many societies have been victimized by others or are vulnerable to dangers. They form a collective will to anticipate adversity and prosper from the production of safety systems or stances that unite the people. Russia or the former soviet union was given as an example and I think that speaks for itself since they had been attacked throughout history and the people had faced huge losses. Also modern Muslim fundamentalist societies could be proactively suspicious since openness is a threat to their value system and control. This is where Machismo overlaps to me. Most male dominated societies are waring and have little values of continual peace. In my opinion, the male domination of woman allows violent and selfish activities that lead to conflict without female perspective of justice. I would equate men with achievement and aggression and woman in society with emotion and righteousness. I know I am generalizing, but it seems that male dominated societies are colorful, but lack balance and may often be self destructive or waring within their societies and this may be projected outward. Obviously this needs detailed support, but it's my theory none the less. Eastern society is labeled as a society concerned with group harmony and obedience to hierarchy. He mentions how this could end individualistic expression or variance if this system were to win out since it hinders creativity or development. I'm not sure the East is such a bad way, but it does differ from the last system. The last system is the dogma of otherness. I guess it is a more western evolution now, and it tends to emphasize individual differences and tolerance for others. It fosters creativity and it allows for adaptation. I would have to say this value system is probably the best of the 4 if you have to make a choice between them all, but it would not be honest if we did not mention how our system is made up by many diverse people who brought with them values from their older non western systems. Memes are not extinguished merely because their owners have joined forces in a new system of ideas. They are just tempered and adapted in a meaningful way. Thus our system is probably just a modern evolution of a combination of all of the older above mentioned systems and some new ideas and not a new system at all. Tolerance and female advocacy is probably the biggest difference in the newest system.

Bruce Beckerman