Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Historically, societies battled for dominance; the strongest enriching themselves at the expense of the vanquished, and imposing their will by force. This is the story of human history: forever mired in violence, most advancement coming at the expense of conquest and looting, until the strong were conquered by stronger still. During the Enlightenment, philosophical thought and human intelligence forsake the crudeness of force for the subtlety of alliances; both sides would agree not to take from the other but to instead be trading partners. The people within the society became allies; they made an arrangement with one another: I'll leave you alone and follow your rules if you make my life better. That's the deal.

This agreement only continues because people who live in a society are indoctrinated as children to maintain the status quo; the values they share are common only because there is a concerted effort by The State to make them so. Eventually, with this arrangement, nations became so strong that enrichment through external conflict no longer makes sense, however, the most important part of the deal is the one between generations. With no outside enemy, modern societies have turned to conflict within: younger generations view their predecessors with suspicion. The Deal seems to have been violated by giant State debts, unfunded Ponzi scheme social programs, and environmental exploitation. The Deal between nations has held strong but The Deal within nations is breaking down.