Brainwashing

Society itself started off as a sort of brainwash cult. It's now multi-generational human
conditioning system. In fact, society isn't that different to a religion. It has its myths, heroes,
legends, iconography, flags, factions, historical narratives, existential explanations,
a system of irrational values, delusions etc.

In my opinion, the majority cannot be right because the human animal is suffering
from collectively normalized mental illness. These unrecognized mental disorders
are 'normal' to people. Like animals born in a zoo, it's all they've known. So if the majority
are mentally disordered, how can one trust their judgment on matters pertaining
to the best solutions etc.?

However, if you can transcend your conditioning you can see clearly that our dominant
civilisations are driven by mental disorder. It's a long an complex theory, one that
I won't open up now - but worth considering as a valid explanation for all the
crazy things happening i.e. the self-destruction, mass delusion etc.

WW1 is definitely one example that supports the conclusion that the human species is mentally disordered.

Individualism isn't necessarily a good thing in and of itself. After all, lone wolves are singled out and struggle greatly to reproduce and thrive. However radical collectivism stagnates the culture and makes it weak to those that are more willing to morally/practically experiment and try new things. Yet cultures that experiment too much/too radically often blow themselves up (and forget what they learned previously).

What's the answer? I don't know. I do know most people consider themselves individuals and yet most people have a twentieth or so of the population that they're not very different from. Is that a bad thing? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's a good thing when many people are moral, upright, courageous, and are willing to speak truth to lies. However it's a bad thing when many people are either conformists of a falsehood or mob against the truth-sayer. It's also a bad thing when a society is so fragmented that individuals can be easily targeted and persecuted while the majority does not even think to do what their ancestors would have done: form an angry mob and stop their overlords from persecuting innocents. And yet still, the mob is often wrong and the minority is often right. Yet, how can we as individuals know when it's the minority that's right or the majority? Or the lone person saying the Earth is Round amongst a tribe of flat-earthers? It's easy when looking back with hindsight; it's difficult in the present. Defaulting to tradition or attempting to find a middle ground between two concepts can be a workable strategy to keep the peace, secure the tribe, and make it enjoyable for the inhabitants. However the compromise between a Round Earth and a Flat Earth is as much a falsehood as a Flat Earth, and the guys that figured out the Earth is Round will have a serious edge against the "Middle Earthers".

The best we can do is not let our passions, emotions, or investments cloud our judgement and try to judge and weigh things based on reality as far as statistics and reliable anecdotes are concerned. We may not get it totally right but we're at least not tearing ourselves apart and are much closer to the truth that we would likely be if we settled on one or two extremes.

However, having said that, compromise is often a mere delaying of inevitable conflict. Yet, is that a bad thing? I'm sure most people would rather be left alone than to be demanded to fight for the Flat or Round Earth Party, and yet at some point they must because if the actual subject was a bit more serious and important than this joke-example it could very well mean life and death for the future. Sometimes it actually is better to be on the wrong side because the fence-sitters have no say in what happens when the right or wrong side wins--and that can be a terrible situation.

As far as empathy goes: I suspect you don't know much about rich people because they're easily the most persecuted and maligned minority in the world and yet have the greatest burdens and are the Atlas of the world. Don't you think they deserve some investigation--like in terms of their individual history, their actions, and overall what they contribute versus what the take? You might be surprised to discover 20% of the population is responsible for 80% of the produce. And of that 20%, about half are responsible for 80% of THAT. And so on it goes, until you reach the fraction of a percantage point of individuals who are super-talented and super-productive. As well as the super-virtuous.

Of course on the other end there's the super-lazy, the super-parasitical, and the super-evil. But it's worth remembering that rich people are people too... otherwise you have bloody revolutions and millions dead as well as dramatic shortages since Atlas had been decapitated by an ignorant mob. It's very, very rare that the revolutionaries in history do more than ruin or simply change the colors of the uniforms.

^^ Shallow rhetoric. It's nothing more than sophistry. Lots of words that say nothing and provide no real nuances. It ignores realities in favour of a shallow fantasy version of the world.

@Solar care to actually make an argument or are you just going to insult me and leave it at that?

Either you didn't actually read the above or you are actually a sophist yourself (if not both).