Thanks for the article, David.

I'm increasingly convinced that the basis for all human action is the drive for the acquisition, maintenance and exercising of power in all its various forms (eg. physical, financial, emotional) over others – whether that is within family, tribe or nation – and either individually or collectively.

Factor in the various combinations and permutations of these, add time, and lo and behold you end up with the history of the human condition.

Or it could be as simple as every problem is reducible to: you either can't get rid of something you don't want, or you can't get something you don't have.

"We cannot predict the future."

Is that a prediction?

Good points David.
Non- evidenced based belief, whether called ideology or religion has, through the ages , been the greatest cause of premature death, suffering and oppression. The underlying cause of the resort to the resort to non- evidenced based belief has always been the thirst for power.

Constantine recognised the power of Christianity as a people control mechanism when he called the conference of Bishops at Nicaea to establish the Nicene creed and oppression non- Nicene creeds began immediately.

What examination of evidence does leave us with is this:.

A progressive productive society is produced only by a state of one nation of a free people energised by a market based economy maintained by a elected government limited by a separation of powers into the legislative, judicial and executive.

A "One nation" is based on culture. Only the right culture makes the other ingredients of progressive. The Judeo- Christian culture eroded by rationalism has given us the right ingredient. That erosion of thought control of religion has brought about the basis for progress assisted by the by the institution of monogamous marriage which has provided the basis for the nurture and education of children.

The nurture has brought children to their maximum of potential. In that top potential there has been found the great thinkers and innovators who gave us steam engines, electricity, telegraph, telephone wireless, heavier than air flight, sky scrapers, internal combustion engines and all the rest which have multiplied human productivity many millions times.NO OTHER CULTURE has produced a single one of those innovation.

We have to question the freedom of religion, the prohibition of discrimination against cultures being imported into our land.

We have to consider whether it is wise to abandon the tools for maintenance of the monogamous marriage institution. There are sound social bases for not recognising same sex marriage, just as there are for not recognising polygamy. Cruel as it may seem to some people, lines have to be drawn to maintain the progressive nature of our society.

The evidence is there for those who take the time to examine it.

Old man
Only problem with that is your non-evidence based belief in the moral superiority of the State - a force-based legal monopoly of force and fraud and crime.

Jardine K. Jardine wrote: "Only problem with that is your non-evidence based belief in the moral superiority of the State"

Dear Jardine K. Jardine,

Where is the evidence to substantiate your statement of the author's 'non-evidence based belief in the moral superiority of the State'?

david f

Here:
"We have to consider whether it is wise to abandon the tools for maintenance of the monogamous marriage institution. There are sound social bases for not recognising same sex marriage, just as there are for not recognising polygamy. Cruel as it may seem to some people, lines have to be drawn to maintain the progressive nature of our society."

When he says "we" have to "draw lines", he means *the State* should *enforce rules*. Or is he saying that obeying the rules against polygamy etc. should be optional?

Dear Jardine K. Jardine,

The quote you cited is not in the article titled "The culturally imperial and the satanic".

I wrote that article and therefore know what the author thinks about the state. I do not regard the state as a moral agent.