00100	SOCIAL VIEWS
00200	
00300	
00400	A BOOK ON TECHNOLOGY THAT ADVOCATES ITS USE FOR HUMAN
00500	WELFARE MUST BE BASED ON SOME VIEWS HOWEVER
00600	FRAGMENTARY ON WHAT CONSTITUTES HUMAN WELFARE.
00700	IN THIS CHAPTER, I WILL STATE WHAT THESE VIEWS ARE.
00800	THEY ARE DEFINITE AND BASED ON CONSIDERABLE THOUGHT,
00900	BUT I CANNOT CLAIM THE SAME KIND OF OBJECTIVE AUTHORITY
01000	FOR THEM AS FOR PURELY TECHNOLOGICAL VIEWS.  IN OTHER WORDS,
01100	ON TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES, I HOPE TO BE CONVINCING, AND IF
01200	IAM NOT, I WILL TRY TO PUT IT BETTER OR, IF I HAVE MADE A
01300	MISTAKE, TO CHANGE MY VIEWS.  ON SOCIAL MATTERS,
01400	I MERELY HOPE THAT MY VIEWS WILL APPEAL TO OTHERS, AND IF
01500	YOU DISAGREE, I MAY ONLY BE ABLE TO SHRUG MY SHOULDERS.
01600	THIS IS NOT BECAUSE I THINK THAT SOCIAL
01700	MATTERS ARE INTRINSICALLY INCAPABLE OF OBJECTIVE
01800	DESCRIPTION, BUT MERELY THAT I DO NOT CLAIM TO HAVE
01900	ACHIEVED THIS GOAL BECAUSE OF THE PRIMITIVE STATE OF
02000	SOCIAL SCIENCE AND MY RELATIVE LACK OF ACQUAINTANCE WITH
02100	WHAT THERE IS.  OF COURSE, EVEN THIS STATEMENT
02200	THAT SOCIAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IS INTRINSICALLY
02300	POSSIBLE TO DO OBJECTIVELY IS CONTROVERSIAL.  I HAVE REJECTED
02400	THE ALTERNATIVE OF SAYING NOTHING ABOUT SOCIAL
02500	QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I WISH TO ADVANCE MY VIEWS
02600	IN SPITE OF THEIR INCOMPLETENESS AND ALSO TO AVOID HAVING
02700	VIEWS ATTRIBUTED TO ME THAT I DO NOT HOLD.
02800	
02900	1. WE SHALL IDENTIFY HUMAN WELFARE WITH THE SATISFACTION
03000	OF HUMAN WANTS.  THIS HAS CERTAIN PROBLEMS, BECAUSE
03100	PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS WANT WHAT "ENLIGHTENED" PEOPLE THINK
03200	THEY OUGHT TO.  ALSO HAPPINESS MIGHT NOT ARISE FROM GETTING
03300	WHAT PEOPLE WANT.  THE AUTHORS OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
03400	EVADED THE PROBLEM BY PROPOSING THE RIGHT OF PURSUIT OF
03500	HAPPINESS RATHER THAN HAPPINESS ITSELF.  TWO CENTURIES
03600	LATER, THIS STILL SEEMS TO BE THE BEST WE CAN DO.
03700	
03800	THIS DECISION MEANS THAT WE SHALL CONSIDER
03900	THE SOCIETY PEOPLE MIGRATE TOWARDS AS BETTER THAN THE
04000	SOCIETY PEOPLE MIGRATE AWAY FROM.  MORE PRECISELY,
04100	WHEN PEOPLE MIGRATE FROM A CERTAIN ROLE IN SOCIETY A
04200	TO A CERTAIN OTHER ROLE IN SOCIETY B, WE WILL
04300	ASSUME THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING UNLESS
04400	THERE IS EXPLICIT EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY.
04500	
04600	2. BOTH CAPITALISM AS PRACTICED IN THE UNITED STATES
04700	AND WESTERN EUROPE AND SOCIALISM AS PRACTICED IN
04800	THE SOVIET UNION, EASTERN EUROPE AND CHINA WORK
04900	AND NEITHER IS LIKELY TO COLLAPSE FOR INTERNAL
05000	REASONS.  THEY WILL BE CHANGED ONLY WHEN THE PEOPLE
05100	OF THE COUNTRIES CONCERNED THROUGH THE POLITICAL
05200	OR REVOLUTIONARY MECHANISM DECIDE TO CHANGE THEM.
05300	AT PRESENT, CAPITALISM WORKS BETTER, BUT THERE
05400	IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL ALWAYS BE THE CASE.
05500	I AM INCLINED TO THE VIEW THAT SOME FORM OF SOCIALISM
05600	WILL ULTIMATELY PROVE BETTER ONCE THE BUGS ARE
05700	FIXED, BUT THIS IS UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN SOON.  THE
05800	EVIDENCE THAT CAPITALISM WORKS BETTER NOW IS
05900	THAT SOCIALIST COUNTRIES NEED EMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS
06000	AND CAPITALIST COUNTRIES DO NOT.
06100	
06200	3. EQUALITY IS DESIRABLE, BUT THERE ARE TWO
06300	LIMITING CONSIDERATIONS.  FIRST, A SOCIETY
06400	THAT TRIED TO ACHIEVE ABSOLUTE EQUALITY MIGHT BE
06500	DOMINATED BY ONE WITH SOME INEQUALITY IN THE
06600	SENSE THAT ENOUGH MORE MIGHT BE PRODUCED BY
06700	ALLOWING SOME INEQUALITY TO ALLOW ALL TO GET
06800	MORE THAN THE EQUALITARIAN SOCIETY WOULD
06900	GIVE.  SECONDLY, AT SOME POINT OF EQUALIZATION,
07000	SOME MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY MIGHT FIND IT ADVANTAGEOUS
07100	TO SECEDE AND FORM THEIR OWN SOCIETY WITHOUT
07200	THOSE THEY REGARDED AS LESS PRODUCTIVE.  WHETHER
07300	PEOPLE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SECEDE WITH THEIR
07400	PROPERTY MAY BE QUESTIONED, BUT I REGARD AS UNJUST
07500	ANY SOCIETY THAT RESTRICTS THE RIGHT TO EMIGRATE
07600	WITHOUT PROPERTY.  ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
07700	REASONS FOR DEVELOPING SPACE TRAVEL IS TO PROVIDE
07800	EMIGRATION POSSIBILITIES FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE
07900	THE SOCIETY ON EARTH.