written 24 Apr 2022
published 1 May 2022
Albert Einstein said, "either everything is sacred, or nothing is". The Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh said, "we are here to awaken from the illusion of separation". Christ taught, "Love God and Love the Other". From physics to metaphysics, the same truth emerges: reality is whole, one, interconnected. The wise have long known this truth, but most of humanity has yet to learn the lesson.
In 1970, Italian historian Carlo M. Cipolla, proposed a simple, four-part filter to discern wisdom, not based on tests or education, but by observing a person's actions with regard to the benefit to the individual and to the larger community. When an individual’s actions benefit both themselves and others, he calls them Intelligent. When the actions benefit themselves and hurt others, he calls them Bandits. When actions benefit others but not themselves, he calls them Helpless. When actions benefit neither themselves nor others, he calls them Stupid.
Life is intelligent. Cooperation is more fundamental than competition. Nucleated cells and multi-celled organisms were significant evolutionary advances, moving from individuals to vastly interconnected cooperative structures, exploding the complexity and diversity of life. Humans are the thriving beneficiaries of both these evolutionary jumps. Even the idea that we are "individuals" ignores the fact that for every cell in my body with my own unique DNA, there are ten other cells living in symbiotic harmony, both within "me" and on "my" surface, that are essential for "my" healthy functioning and moods. Every breath I take and every scrap of food I eat is produced by other beings, upon which I am totally dependent.
Bacteria of all types, share plasmids, bits of DNA that provide beneficial solutions to environmental problems. Trees share nutrients, even between species, through interconnected root networks. Plants produce more than they need to survive, allowing other species to live off of their bountiful harvest of solar energy. The living biosphere is a sharing collective, where each part is nourished, and each part contributes back.
Humanity is being called to emulate this and make it dominant in our civilization. We are numerous, with consequences amplified by our powerful technologies, and our "taking" is out of balance with our "contributions", risking not only our complex and fragile economic systems, but even the possibility of human extinction: what Cipolla would call stupid.
During the pandemic, some people were so adamant in their defense of individual "freedoms", they risked making themselves sick, as well as their community. Counties that had higher percentage of Trump voters also had higher death rates from Covid, actions qualifying as stupid.
The current wave of guns laws, a boon for gun sales, allows anyone to carry a concealed weapon, with no training, licensing, or background checks, which is fueling a rise in suicides, accidental gun deaths, and mass shootings: bandit behavior trending toward stupid.
Putin is an example of a bandit at the global level. One of the richest men on the planet, his wealth comes for stealing, enforced by violence and terror. The invasion of Ukraine is bandit tactics, but Russia has been thwarted, in part due to the endemic corruption of their military. Putin's war is now morphing into stupid territory as the world reaction to the invasion threatens Russian stability.
Corporate capitalism reveres competition, prioritizing short term fiscal gain for shareholders at the expense of all others: bandit behavior. This economic model is exhausting resources and depleting the biosphere, risking total economic collapse as the climate crisis is rapidly building.
New scientific studies show the Arctic warming four times as fast as the rest of the planet. Increased melting of the permafrost is destroying more of the economy of the region each year, while increasing the possibility of runaway methane releases that will completely destroy the global economy. Avoiding this disaster requires immediate, massive, global cooperation, because we have already wasted too much time.
But the Trump-Putin Axis of authoritarianism, embraced by most of the Republican "leadership", denies the reality of this crisis. We can't afford another four years of "know nothing" politics, from a party that has no coherent goals other than corporate greed and social domination through fear and hate: bandit tactics leading to long term stupid consequences. The French just defeated their own authoritarian challenge. The American midterm election will be a pass/fail exam for humanity. Think, act, vote. Your grandchildren will thank you.
