A working dictatorship destroyed by democracy

Think of the harmony of a baby. Any parent will question that sentence but read on a little.

From birth, every action the baby makes is for one purpose, survival. The numerous times it cries for help is a mechanism to draw attention to itself so a parent can tend to its needs. Change a diaper, feed it, give it a hug. Nature is supremely intelligent at this stage and has made one brilliant move.

It has created a dictatorship.

Every action is a reflexive move to serve the survival purpose and the baby has no control whatsoever over what happens to its body. Every part of the baby does the best job it can to make sure that the child not only survives, but thrives and grows.

There is no conflict between parts and even when one sector is not performing well, there are a range of other sectors that will rush to its aid and if it can't be helped in-house, a signal will go out for help.

Every cell in the body gets what is needed when it is needed provided that the resources are there to distribute. Given the energy, there is no hierarchy of needs and none take precedence over another. Harmony.

It is a brilliant political system. And develops very quickly.

As the child grows however, things start to change as the dictator starts to lose control of the body and is eventually forced into hiding by the new regime, democracy.

Now the body starts to take a lot of orders from the mind instead but the mind is not united, it is divided into many factions that have conflicting ideas about what is needed and optimal for the body to continue surviving and growing. Each part has its own preferences and desires but not all have an equal voice.

The factions are further complicated and confused by external advisers who also have their own desired position and want the body to do what they say. But often, the actions of the advisers contradict the advice they give.

More confusion ensues.

Due to the conflict, the voice of the new government is nowhere near as clear and commanding as the voice of the dictator and this results in muddied orders and conflicting actions.

Previously, when the body was hungry and required milk, if anything else was offered, it would be turned away or thrown back up. Now however, the mind can pick and choose what it consumes and if available, will fill itself with whatever tastes good.

After, when the body has a bad feeling from eating poorly, it will regret past actions. But in the future, when the choice presents itself again, the desire for the good feeling outvotes the desire to not feel bad again and the same choice gets made.

Some parts of the body have more power over action than others.

The mind has now lost the instinct for survival and growth and has instead fallen into a position of imbalance where some parts out-lobby other parts. This is often seen where the weight of pleasure center voters that recommend fun, like playing a video game, out weigh the impulse control and organisation departments that recommend studying instead.

The body quickly starts to favor some actions over others even if those actions lead to a less favourable condition for the entire system. Instead of finding harmony between units and desires, the mind and body are in continual conflicted positions that will veto each others ideas, even if it is worthy to act upon.

In the end, the popular vote generally wins as the energy it takes to fight for what is important over what is unnecessary leaves the body worn out and unable to defend against poor choice. It succumbs to what feels good but tells itself, just this once.

But the second time, makes the third more likely.

Soon, the mind and body are in a cycle of desire fulfillment that makes neither feel good for long as each component continually does whatever is in its best interest, even at the cost of the entire organism.

The dictator that has been waiting in the wings has been relegated to only being able to get involved when the mind and body have no idea what to do as a situation has arisen that drives desires away and requires immediate action.

The dictator who's job it is to protect the entire body will then snap into action and reclaim and redistribute resources in a fight or flight operation that the mind and body must adhere to until safe.

Once safety is found however, the dictator is pushed into the background and the bickering between parts starts again.

In the body, unless ill or impaired, the dictator is uncorruptible and trustworthy in its responsibilities to do what thinks is best for the entire organism. Even though it has absolute power, it is bound by its purpose of survival, growth and development.

Once the democratic mind enters, debates start and often the poorest arguments come with the loudest voice and the most promises of comfort or pleasure. Every voice in the democracy likes to enjoy so it is often a unanimous decision to do what feels good even if it comes at a cost of the good of all.

Eventually though, the body will pay the price, the mind will regret its unaware voting decisions and the dictator will shake its head, all too late.

Taraz
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