Gnon approves of colonialism and condemns immigration. Slavery is a kind of immigration.
In immigration, an inferior society exports its components to a superior society. This will dilute the superior qualities of the superior society, and often decrease Malthusian pressure on the inferior society, delaying its eventual failure.
In colonialism, a superior society replaces an inferior society, hastening its failure and spreading the successful institutions of the superior society. A caveat: one should be careful to colonize in a way consonant with property rights.
Slaves are taken from an inferior society to a superior one. At best, components of the inferior society are preserved contingent on the superior society's continued existence. At worst, the slaves eventually join the gene pool. Athens, thy fool.
Taking sterilized slaves is therefore fine. There's a natural expiry.
Similarly, while there's nothing contrary to property rights in selling one's self into slavery, a wise society may none the less fail to insure such a trade, as it prolongs the inevitable failure. Better the would-be slave starves or kills themselves.
Who's to say one source society is inferior and one is superior if they both end up genetically colonizing their hosts?
ReplyDeleteYou would be implying that the superior society is the one whose traits are selected by Gnon in the long term, even if not in the short term. Thus, if an immigrant-colonized society could have been more superior enough not to be immigrant-colonized, its specific traits that do not contribute to its superiority would have made up a greater contribution to the world eventually dominated by its universally superior traits.
Two societies have the same goal: enslave the other. One succeeds. The one that succeeds is better. It principles and institutions serve its goals.
ReplyDeleteNow, generalize.
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Societal traits combinations are arbitrary. They don't come as package deals. Immigration or slavery alone can be enough to kill an otherwise strong society; this does not mean the traits currently associated with immigration are weak. It means they made a misstep.
1. the traits that don't contribute to its superiority would have made up a greater contribution? The inferior traits are damage, not a contribution.
2. inferior societies, even if they're only inferior due to one misstep, do not dominate, by definition. Their traits die out, instead of spreading, unless the future holds a Philosopher-King who can cast resurrection.
E.g, even when it's a good idea to call up a Sulla, it is no longer possible. The method has been discredited. No coalition can form on this Schelling point.