Why Envy Might Be Good for Us

Post by gowld » Wed, Jul 11, 2018, 6:37 PM UTC

anxiouspete wrote: post #92

adnzzzzZ wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a very misguided view of things. Aggression will help you fight for higher wages for yourself more often than if you weren't as aggressive. Anxiety will drive you towards actions that will decrease your anxiety, and those actions will generally be useful for you and sometimes the people employing you. I think you're not really in touch and being honest with yourself if you don't think both aggression and anxie…

No, it won't. Anxiety lasts long after the actions have been made and the initial threat eliminated because a lot of people with anxiety disorders will tend to ruminate on their actions and possibly even catastrophize about them, creating to a whole different kind of anxiety that are at times unactionable. This is how people end up with PTSD. I've been trying very hard to break out of this cycle and can tell you firs…

Post by gowld » Wed, Jul 11, 2018, 6:43 PM UTC

vfc1 wrote: post #57

Also known as the Crab Effect, where the other crabs in a bucket will pull an escaping crab down if he tries to escape - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_mentality There is a lot of this in the West too, although to a lesser degree and in a less open way. Its one of those ancient behaviors and systems of values that we keep applying today that don't make much sense anymore. We don't live in small villages anymore,…

Post by meko » Wed, Jul 11, 2018, 6:55 PM UTC

koolba wrote: post #88

asdfman123 wrote: post #77

Yes, I believe all of our emotions probably serve some evolutionary purpose. Does that mean they're useful in modern society? Not necessarily. Being anxious might have helped my ancestors prepare for unexpected famines. Being aggressive might have helped them lock down the resources they needed to survive. Do those emotions help me as an adult software engineer in Houston? Heck no. Anxiety and aggression just get in…

> Do those emotions help me as an adult software engineer in Houston? Heck no. Anxiety and aggression just get in the way of a well-lived life. Heck yes! Anxiety instills fear in the consequences of bad code being released into the wild. Aggression allows speaking your mind when others around do not meet the standards you espouse.

Post by annabellish » Wed, Jul 11, 2018, 7:03 PM UTC

fit2rule wrote: post #19

annabellish wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure your comment is an accurate description of any form of socialism I'm aware of. What forms of socialism are based around "asking the state to enforce redistribution"? What does that have to do with social ownership of the means of production??

"Socially owning the means of production" requires a state to enforce, with threat of force, the ownership of those resources of production..

Post by TooBrokeToBeg » Wed, Jul 11, 2018, 7:30 PM UTC

closeparen wrote: post #108

adnzzzzZ wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a very misguided view of things. Aggression will help you fight for higher wages for yourself more often than if you weren't as aggressive. Anxiety will drive you towards actions that will decrease your anxiety, and those actions will generally be useful for you and sometimes the people employing you. I think you're not really in touch and being honest with yourself if you don't think both aggression and anxie…

Diplomacy gets you promoted. Discipline and focus make you better at interviewing when you shop around. Aggression rarely interacts with earning potential in a positive way.