"within nature the bigger the stable collective societal group the less independent and important to that group the individual becomes'
All individuals want to be independent, the question is if they can live as independent, how big will be the cost for individual's independance. If today we have so many single persons, so many single mothers, if the young can leave their parents early is because the conditions allow them to live as indpendent.
We have independent individuals in advanced societies, where human rights are respected and protected or in undeveloped countries, where the societies can not protect their members and individuals have no other choice than to act as independent, the migration from the poor countries is a decision, an act of independent individuals.
The importance of an individual depends on the values and the developed stage of a society. In civilized countries each individual is important, in undeveloped countries an individual is importand in the group if the group needs the individual, if the group is at risk, invasion threats etc.
For me the big question is where start and where finish the colective, group's rights, interests and of cause where start and where finish the individuals rights, interests.
I BELIEVE THAT A SOCIETY IS ADVANCED WHEN THE INTERESTS BETWEEN GROUP (SOCIETY)AND INDIVIDUALS ARE MORE COMMON (LESS DIFFERENTS)
HAPPY INDIVIDUALS CREATE STRONG SOCIETIES.
ANTONIOS AYMEONAKIS
ADELAIDE

Dear examinator,

Don't take any notice of any insults.
Totally ignore them.
If someone has to stoop to that level they've lost
the argument in any discussion. Besides personal
insults usually come from poor old sods who
have delusions of adequacy. :)

Now to the topic of your thread...

Have we lost the plot? Gosh I hope not. I wouldn't want to
go back to looking for bugs under rocks, or ploughing
fields by horse, or not having flushing toilets, or any of
the other mods and cons that our modern society provides.

Seriously though, the truth of the matter is that today
we have the potential to be the best educated and
most privileged society in human history. Sure there are
many problems, (but there always have been) and we've solved
them in the past. Poverty, disease, overpopulation, injustice,
oppression, the devastation of our environment ... all
challenges I agree.

However, we now have the capabilities to divert
unprecedented energy and resources to
solving these problems.

Through collective action, ordinary
people with few resources other than their own determination
can achieve a great deal.
How? By getting those in power to make the right decisions.
Once people no longer take their world for granted, but
instead understand the social authorship of their lives
and futures, they become an irresistible force in history.

FOXY! The plot will only be lost for those without meaning. This is where the too many rats in a box comes into it. Human Overpopulation is the main threat, and the basket is too full of, I can do it crap. WHO CAN DO THE JOB? Answer is! All of us! If the world said tomorrow, lets go back too our corners and sort our domestic problems, " all round " this is the place to start.

The fact is you all wont wind back, and this planet has just started its new turnaround and the reality is compounded by the fact of what we done to this planet. Small in comparison to the fact, we are all on borrowed time, and as you all know, NO species lasts for ever!

Three hundred years its, as we know it, coming with forces we can not stop, so there only one option Left.

Reduce, save and repair and stop breeding. In my calculations, our sadness is in our own hands, so now you know! What are you all going to do about it?

EVO

"Don't take any notice of any insults." Foxy I supposed you reffered to me. You have RIGHT. The truth is that I tried to translate the text on the net but it was meaningless, my dictionary for the word plot was not helpfull.it is seemed i wrote something unrealeted with the thread ALWAYS I TAKE THE RISK TO WRITE SOMETHING NON RELEATED OR TO USE THE WRONG WORDS BUT I HAV TO CHOICE BETWEEN TO WRITE, EVEN WITH MISTAKES OR TO BE SILENT. A big part of Australians can not write enouph good eglish WE CAN NOT BE SILENT, WE HAVETHE SAME RIGHTS AND SAME NEEDS WITH ALL THE OTHERS. SORY, IF FOR ANY INSULT
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

It's an anthropological truism that humans have evolved far more quickly culturally than we have biologically. This explains many of our societal an inter-ethnic woes, but it doesn't necessarily mean that people are incapable of working together collectively to overcome the dissonance that occurs between base biological imperatives and the vicissitudes of social harmony in our increasingly global 'villages'.

Its a good question

personally, I feel we all struggle with issues, just like our forebearers.

What changes are the issues, not the people, my grand parents facing WWI, my parents facing WWII and me, I suppose the (now receding) risk of nuclear extinction and for my children, world population issues.

The ony part of the people which change are

1 the state of that individuals development.

The skills I have now in my 50's better equip me than the ones I possessed in my 20's.

2 I most folk have higher expectations of 'someone' or something, maybe even themselves, being in greater control of their environment than before.

Higher expectations, not supported with actual processes to satisfy them.

So Have we lost the plot in modern society?

No.

Compared to our forebearers, we are little different, except for changed expectations.

And thats a good thing, 'expectations' are some of the things which help drive the inner self to achieve and excel.

However, It is interesting, we go into an economic recession and our expectations adjust, keeping a job replaces career development as a work goal.

Getting by replaces overseas holidays....

Alot of folk place huge expectations in Obama, I wonder how their expectations will shift over the next 4 years, I wonder how the peoples expectatins shifted through Clinton's Presidency and how expectations changed from before 9/11 to after 9/11?

I wonder if people held similar ground shifting 'expectations' out for Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelts Presidencies OR were they just too busy trying to survive?