Jay Hanson writes:
>You are apparently basing your ideology the misconception that
>people are "rational"[1].

Not exactly.   I said that homo sapiens have an ability called reason.  I do
not think that, as you note, people always make "rational" decisions.  I sure
don't.  Heck, I'm spending my time arguing with you.  Just kidding. :)

However, we do have the ability to reason, and we *can* use that reason to
make rational (by your definition) decisions.  The ability to do so takes
time and education.   Thus, the ability to do so is often skewed toward the
elite segments of society.  But almost any homo sapien has the inherent
ability to do so.  This is why I would argue the only way to create a better
society is by "educating" or "persuading" our fellow homo sapiens as to how
we think it best to go about it.  You clearly share this sentiment to some
degree in that you seek to persuade people on this list and visitors to your
web page, although there does seem to be an implication in your statements
that it an an elite who should ultimately be persuaded and save the earth by
imposing their vision.  This, I think, is folly.  Human society and its
interaction with the material world is an incredibly complex system.  As
Chomsky has pointed out, no one has demonstrated an understanding of this
that approaches the theories of the physical sciences.  We do the best we can
with the limited information and powers of reason we posess, and that is why
it is essential that we always be open to counterarguments and fresh evidence
that does not fit our model.

I see it as a case of successive approximation.  The more processors we have
working on it, the better.