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.