The property of those higher on the hierarchy is more valuable than the lives of those below.

[Fumesucker]

I'm not sure I buy what this guy is selling but some of his ideas are definitely interesting and strike a chord with me.

"Endgame" by Derrick Jensen

http://www.endgamethebook.org/Excerpts/1-Premises.htm

Premise Three: Our way of living—industrial civilization—is based on, requires, and would collapse very quickly without persistent and widespread violence.

Premise Four: Civilization is based on a clearly defined and widely accepted yet often unarticulated hierarchy. Violence done by those higher on the hierarchy to those lower is nearly always invisible, that is, unnoticed. When it is noticed, it is fully rationalized. Violence done by those lower on the hierarchy to those higher is unthinkable, and when it does occur is regarded with shock, horror, and the fetishization of the victims.

Premise Five: The property of those higher on the hierarchy is more valuable than the lives of those below. It is acceptable for those above to increase the amount of property they control—in everyday language, to make money—by destroying or taking the lives of those below. This is called production. If those below damage the property of those above, those above may kill or otherwise destroy the lives of those below. This is called justice.

Premise Six: Civilization is not redeemable. This culture will not undergo any sort of voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living. If we do not put a halt to it, civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to degrade the planet until it (civilization, and probably the planet) collapses. The effects of this degradation will continue to harm humans and nonhumans for a very long time.

[lonestarnot]

1. Richies. Hmmmf

K & R

[patrice]

2. I want to, but I can't, say that these premises are radical.

[Fumesucker]

3. The last Premise..

Which I think is the most true and most powerful of the twenty..

Premise Twenty: Within this culture, economics—not community well-being, not morals, not ethics, not justice, not life itself—drives social decisions.

Modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are determined primarily (and often exclusively) on the basis of whether these decisions will increase the monetary fortunes of the decision-makers and those they serve.

Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are determined primarily (and often exclusively) on the basis of whether these decisions will increase the power of the decision-makers and those they serve.

Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are founded primarily (and often exclusively) on the almost entirely unexamined belief that the decision-makers and those they serve are entitled to magnify their power and/or financial fortunes at the expense of those below.

[Oregone]

4. Holy crap. I like where this is going.

:)

[deaniac21]

5. I vote dumbass.

[Fumesucker]

6. It's your right to vote for whomever you wish..

Generally I prefer to vote for someone intelligent, although that is often difficult to arrange.

You might recall Adlai Stevenson's comment when a woman told him that every thinking person in America would vote for him..

"Madam, we need a majority."