Genes and “Human Nature” are Not the Cause of “World Chaos”

There is a popular explanation for the world chaos now upon us, and many scientists and philosophers advocate it. The form of this argument is that the rising global crisis we face traces back to human nature and genes to explain it.
The now widespread scientific category of anthropocene to locate the global crisis expresses the same idea and manages the same diversion from the common cause.
In fact, none can remotely explain the ongoing global system collapse nor the extreme climate destabilization which is the major known symptom of it.
The all-fronts planetary life crisis is confined to a much more specific causal mechanism: the cumulative, mounting and unregulated assaults of private industrial destruction, pollution, exhaustion and consumer waste in one relatively short span of the anthro-era.
But the ‘human-nature’ aka ’genetic’ argument obscures this fundamental fact. It does not come from stupid people, but it is a stupid explanation.
The Ancient Fallacy of ‘Human Nature’ to Explain Life-Blind Institutions
More exactly, it is an enduring preconception which has been dominant from ancient times. It has been often disproved, but its return expresses in another way the instituted life-blindness of the neo-capitalist era.
At this dangerous juncture of human evolution and history, it is one more ideological mind-lock to derail examination of the social-structural problem.
We need to bear in mind that the same ‘human nature’ argument was long in place to explain slavery as a natural phenomenon. Socrates, Plato and, most trenchantly, Aristotle, all conceived slavery as natural to human beings, and so unchangeable. They were very intelligent men, but assumed this as a given fact of the human condition.
Since first studying these philosophers, I have observed the argument reappearing in evil times to block people’s understanding of the actual social-structural cause of soluble problems.
For example, the acceptance of both war and slavery over millennia has been based on a ‘human nature argument’. It is natural for some to rule and others to serve them – and wars decide which group is the more fit to rule.
In fact, both institutions are not at all expressions of human nature, but pervasively enforced totalitarian institutions of mass murder and enslavement in particular social formations which serve the rich, non-working minority ruling them.
Capitalism is not Natural or Gene-Determined
Money-sequence capitalism is an historical extension of these institutions which still rules. Its difference is that a de-regulated and hyper-aggressive financialized form has brought mass-killing trends which have been one-way pathogenic since the Reagan-Thatcher turn against life-protective public law and non-partisan government.
It still rampages on today. But the long-ignored cumulative damages have caught up. Planetary life organization is paying the price in degeneration and collapse at every level while still further enriching those leading the global catastrophe.
They have dark reason to select for and quietly fund the argument of ‘genes’, ‘human nature’ and ‘anthropocene’ as the reason for the mounting chaos.
Yet this clinically insane rule is absurdly attributed to ‘human nature’ and ‘genes’ by even those not benefitting from it. After all, far more numerous victims are ‘human nature’ too with ‘human genes’ in ‘the anthropocene’, and only a minority agree with the policies, and ever more abhor the leaders and system they steer which together produce such inhuman character and eco-genocidal misrule.
Yet still you will have the most eminent thinkers – even the inventor of the ecological footprint – argue that our current ecocidal system is based on a genetic character formed in our distant past. He thinks it is indicated by the massive disappearance of large animals by human hand, but this has since been expertly attributed to selection by altered environmental conditions.
The ‘gene’ argument is very appealing, however, for its simplification into fixed one-cause ‘outcomes’. This is the theoretical essence of ‘sociobiology’ in general. It has been dominant in the academy and the legacy media as a seemingly scientific rationalization of a clear social disorder.
Yet as long as its cover story lasts, the rising crisis of life-blind private money-rule destroying the shared planetary life-ground need not be faced or solved.
The Solution of Nicer People
One of the enfeebling consequences of human-nature-gene diversions from the reigning system disorder is that it puts the onus on individual human beings to solve the problem by being “nicer” to and “kinder” to each other.
This certainly sounds good. Yet it track-switches critical attention from the life-blind corporate-market disorder to the personalities of individuals who normally have as such little or nothing to do with it, and are usually victims of its systematic stripping of public institutions, life-protective regulations and income bases.
Indeed this system disorder has invaded so many levels of society’s evolution that citizen life insecurity has been normalized in all phases of work, environment, and future however nice we are to each other as individuals (which I for one love).
Yet it is not individual choices that are responsible for the system oppressing the majority’s livelihoods, their life conditions and their futures, including that of their children. To focus on them is an implicit form of blaming the victim. Their being nicer people is essentially beside the point of the problem.
In logical terms, this is a fallacy of division. It falsely infers from the properties of a collective entity the properties of the individuals members of it, thereby making them responsible for its getting worse or better. “We are all responsible, each and every one of us for this human crisis” is a boring choral expression of this fallacy.
Because it makes those saying this seem so, well, nice and kind, they can bask in virtuous-self reflection. Those in fact leading the crisis as its planners and executives, with obscenely high financial pay-offs and privileges for doing so, are meanwhile left blameless and off the hook.
The cui bono question – who benefits and profits from this life-insane system? – is nullified a-priori.
Those who argue this way are not so nice as they seem. They present as good people to others, ingratiate themselves to those in control, and avoid having to face the real problem. This is all certainly easier and safer. In fact, it may bring top-down favor to the pacifiers and their ‘peace activism’ for side-tracking from the real evil and its lead agents.
The Cover-Up Culture of the Omnicidal System
Self-centering avoidance of the omnicidal system also lies in perfect line with the atomic-agency metaphysics of ‘free-market choice’. It is the individual consumer who chooses the system.
Again we revert to the individual human character as responsible for the system disorder – although, in fact, the consumer’s desires are operantly conditioned into preferences (why far more money is spent on pervasive advertisements than on research or health); the conditions of production are ruled out of trade regulations and rights (why ‘race to the bottom’ worker and environmental standards occur); and almost consumer or citizen remotely chooses that societies must compete to lower taxes to the rich, abolish public scrutiny and enforcement of environment and consumer thazards, and have their elected representatives decided by invisible corporate lobbies and money manipulators.
Human nature? Genes? Consumer choice? The cover-up culture has many levels.
All the argument forms analysed above share one feature. They locate responsibility in individual agency. This is the dominant metaphysics of Western civilization, and why we have such a problem today recognizing the collective system derangement.
In fact, we are continuously misled from understanding and knowing the collective causal mechanism of the Great Disorder as a central function of it – to divert blame, responsibility and social action from the inherited but cumulatively pathological misrule from the top which threatens life on Earth itself.
Only one diagnostic model fits all of the depredatory phenomena across organic, social and ecological life hosts. It is not ‘human nature’ or ‘genes’ or ‘the anthropocene’, or too few ‘nice/kind’ individuals, or ‘consumer choice’.
The true causal mechanism of all the one-way degenerate trends of this cumulatively omnicidal disorder is a highly invasive private financial cancer metastasizing across societies and global life organization.
The text of this article has been drawn from an online debate at Science for Peace, Department of Physics, University of Toronto, September 2018
Prof. John McMurtry is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and author of the three-volume study, Philosophy and World Problems of UNESCO’s Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS). His works are translated across continents, and his last book is The Cancer Stage of Capitalism: from Crisis to Cure.

19 thoughts on “Genes and “Human Nature” are Not the Cause of “World Chaos””

  1. “…extreme climate destabilization which is the major known symptom of it…” This is BS! Fake science.

  2. Chaos is being DELIBERATELY caused by the small faction known as ZIONIST BANKSTER’s or the CABAL of the Rothschilds Morgans Warburg Gates etc etc set of inhuman’s, who have no compunction of destroying countries to make them bend to their demands to only use their banks,steal all the resources and lands for the cabals enrichment alone,
    They wormed their way into make America go bust back in the 1920’s so they could get their fiat money going via the FED, as soon as that happened the printing presses were off, and countries were loaded with masses of interest to be paid over generations for these bits of worthless paper after dumping gold as any backing of value, IF we were loaning our own money from National Banks all that interest would be going back to that country or the common good, and enriching us all and NOT all going into the fat pockets of these moneychangers, these slimy crooks have worked their way into all aspects of control using bribes blackmail and murder to get what they want, Zio Israel is to be the new center of the world according to these delusional inhumans, and if anyone says a thing about the atrocities that this little state does worldwide to all and sundry in the name of their exceptionalism and self professed right to own the world ,, then that ‘hate’ speech is shut down by the now over used phrase ‘antisemetic’.. to deflect the truth from getting out,so this hubris can continue unabated.

    1. Excellent observations and to Add, there is what is called from ancient times “The Fallen Ones” who are the REAL power brokers, and THEY are best described as being the “Mother Corporation” called THE VATICAN.
      The ONLY one calling himself the “Vicar of God/Christ on Earth”.
      I would say THEY are the ones behind a web site called “RedefiningGod.com”
      http://redefininggod.com/
      I believe the JESUITS run that site…AS IF “GOD” NEEDS TO BE “MANAGED” BY THEM!
      Talk about “EGO-Trips”!
      THEY are the ones behind the Entire “SECRET Space Program” and the “Disclosure Project/Movement” (Operation Disclosure.com)…LOADED WITH JESUITS.

  3. Happy to see nearly all comments so far KNOW it’s the Central Banker SYSTEM that creates the destructive and degenerate ENVIRONMENT for all. Let them no longer push was is totally false. Here is what we should be spreading to DISEMPOWER these malignant creatures, TOTALLY:
    http://pppway.net/

    1. I looked over that site you linked Here and found MANY Flaws in it, the Biggest being that NO Where does the WHITE race take responsibility for THEIR Continuing HIDING of “OUR-Story” about very ancient BLACK Civilizations, that STARTED…”Out of AFRICA”.
      Even in AMERICA, there were Black raced people HERE 1000’s of years BEFORE the “European’s” arrived then INVADED this country.
      America will NEVER “Be-Great-Again” as long as it Keeps “Hiding behind LIES” about its REAL “His-tory”….more like THEIR-Story…which is ALL LIES.
      UNLESS REAL TRUTH IS ADDRESSED NOTHING WILL CHANGE…AT-THEIR-HANDS.
      The WHITE race has been “Actively” trying to CHANGE “OUR-Story” since the VATICAN was founded by the Roman Empire.
      WHY THE “COVER-UP”???

      1. All this while true doesn’t go to what it dismisses: TH E
        INTRINSIC nature of all living organisms THAT REINFORCED BEHAVIOR WILL INCREASE IT’S PROBABILITY. At the level of a single celled amoeba, it will move to something that is self perpetuating (food) AN INFANT INSTINCTIVELY PUTS THINGS INTO IT’S MOUTH–because it increased it’s probability of living in the distant past. We instinctively attempt to engage in procreation–because it’s reinforcing and incidentally increases the probability of passing on genes through progeny. We agree to spend 35+/-% of our lives pursuing economic ends that lead to activities that are reinforcing. ANY reinforced behavior tends to increase the probability of it’s reoccurrence, at length the activity itself becomes reinforcing which is why we continue to spend much of our time and energies persueing more money than we can use in further reinforcement. Those that have dedicated their lives to being successful at their profession tend to want to continue to do what they are successful at. Climbing the ladder to extreme heights is served by often nefarious attitudes and behavior, this being a long term reinforced nature continues to function. Of course, one is surrounded by others shaped by the same factors that they all mutually reinforce this behavior among each other. How can this NOT be called Human nature?

  4. Yet it is not individual choices that are responsible for the system oppressing the majority’s livelihoods, their life conditions and their futures, including that of their children. To focus on them is an implicit form of blaming the victim. Their being nicer people is essentially beside the point of the problem. ??
    Self-centering avoidance of the omnicidal system also lies in perfect line with the atomic-agency metaphysics of ‘free-market choice’. It is the individual consumer who chooses the system.
    We all have choices and with that in mind the system continues unabated. If we all used the power that we have inside of us more than half of what is happening today just simply would not be. People have got busier and think nothing of globalisation until it is too late. This is how organic produce is making big inroads once again on supermarket shelves, because the public want good food. There are many other scenarios like the Vietnam war, many Americans stood up and did something about it – NOT today though, nearly all have been hood winked as also the populations around the world. And with so much lies and chaos the ‘elite’ are getting their way.

  5. Perhaps what Prof. John McMurtry did not address is the endemic pervasion of the theory loosely described as ‘social/ biological Darwinism, or, as sold to the greater western world in the 19th century as ‘survival of the fittest’.
    Of course no-one explained that the fittest, in this instance, referred to those in command of oligarchic monopoly capitalism, including Central Banks, Corporations [public and private] especially speculative trans-national investment vehicles. Indeed it was these interests that financed Marx’s axiomatic critique/anti-theory that is, upon objective analysis, nothing more than a central banker’s wet dream.
    However, upon further objective analysis, the genetic make-up of these self-proclaimed ‘fittest’ represents one of the most in-bred and volatile gene pools. Haemophilia, among many other fundamental health maladies, plagues this self-styled class of individuals.
    in 1973 Sir Cyril Burt, a research social scientist operating in the UK lied about test results he obtained by attempting to manipulate them to demonstrate that nature [white European genes] was a greater influence than nurturing [environmental factors] on intelligence quotient (IQ). This is another example of the same machinations – as is eugenics, environmentalism, secular society etc.
    Until educational institutions, and their envoys, accept and acknowledge the utterly theoretical and totally unscientific basis of Darwinism [and other similar phenomena], then esteemed Professors will continue to appear somewhat clueless to this interference in intelligent and credible discourse..

  6. People invent a system and become slaves of the system, until there is chaos. After chaos revolution comes. For example you can bring a voting system, and everone need to be equal so, their votes should be equal; but stupid people usually don’t get high education, and start making kids earlier in life, and percentage of stupid people grows, and quality people have lower quality babies because of delaying too much. And these stupid poeple will easily elect the wrong person, I don’t mean Putin or Trump, who are good people..But if smart people’s votes were worth more, a good smart person would be the leader, and all problems would be discussed with other smart people and solved without asking stupid people’s opinion. I don’t like dividing people into stupid and smart categories, which would be very harmful,…but there must be a solution to stupidity.

    1. Hate to be one to inform You MIKE…People are NOT “Born Stupid”…They are MADE to be Stupid by their so-called leaders…WHO do NOT want “Everyone” to become “Dumbed-Down”…Just the “Masses” to be Stupid…to HOW they Mislead them.
      THIS “System” now in control is about FEEDING on it’s Citizens (Slaves)
      This is WHY they keep so MUCH “Knowledge” FROM the masses, and have SECRECY among themselves….and even MEET in secrecy to make their “Plans: to KEEP the Sheeple STUPID…and with FEAR:
      FEAR vs FREEDOM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=373&v=9Lgojy_0bmQ/
      Scared Chit-less people are EASIER TO CONTROL…Understand???
      By the way MIKE…Do YOU actually “Believe” ANY Government can CHANGE this planet for the Better when they can’t even be honest with their Citizens about ANYTHING…TRUMP OR PUTIN??!!

      1. Yes, governements can be good or very good, but bad people were in power for a long time, and they “chose” bad governements who would obey their agenda. When elections are fair, stupidity can be dangerous. When it is not, this may not be the main problem”: whoever has money, media power, mafia, can have advantage.

      2. Mike, I disagree with your comment totally. What were the differences in candidates that run for this last US presidency? There were none. The parties have the same agenda, they are both two sides of the same coin. This is what the public vote for because they are dumbed down, not stupid. Take for instance that Winston Churchill never attained the ‘ordinary level’ qualification from school. He went on to become PM of Britain, so how does someone who failed the school system become PM? Could it be connections in high places?
        From the very beginning of life all fables enforce through their fairytales that we can only be saved by Royalty, that ‘superman’ or that ‘superwoman’ – from the very beginning, we are indoctrinated every step of the way. It is the system.
        What happens when that very same system teaches you lies and have been deceitful and continue to lie, you accept it as a truth – this is all wrong Mike.
        So whoever has the money etc has the power – this has been the case and the very reason why the rich invented governments. Far easier to control us then for their own good and nobody else’s.

  7. The article DOES outline some of the symptoms of the innate character of ALL living organisms: We are reinforced for behaviors that seem to benefit us, an Amoeba absorbs something that is perceived as nutritive, plants tend to orientate toward the sun, our probability of repeating a behavior is increased to the extent we find it REINFORCING.
    Capitalism is an example of this: successfully engaging in it gains the entraunapruer money which is exchangeable for about anything desired. behavior that is frequently reinforced creates a behavioral habit.
    This process has been extensively researched and is perhaps the MOST empirically sound of the various aspects of Psychology. This behaviorial characteristic seems to be reasonably called: HUMAN NATURE.

    1. Its NOT “Human-Nature” because they are the “First-Born” of “Divine Source’s” creation of people on this planet.
      Man-KIND??? Are nothing more than “Avatars” like presented in the movie AVATAR.
      They were Only “Allowed” to exist to “Refine” the ORIGINAL “Melanin beings” created in “Divine sources’ Image.
      Man-KIND is the “Luciferian/Satanist” creation that is responsible for ALL the world’s problems.
      If so-called “Capitalism” worked for ALL “humanity’s” good…IT WOULDN’T BE SUCH A “MISSIRABLE” FAILURE…BECAUSE IT ONLY BENEFITS THE “ONE-PERCENTER’S” ON THIS PLANET.
      It Clearly benefits the WHITE SATANIC SUPREMEST…Who are under VATICAN/Zionist control.
      Check out THEIR latest post at; https://www.redefininggod.com
      Their White God attempts to CORRECT all his “Screw-ups” with the latest details about what they “wish” to try next.
      HEY!!! The “Connected” Beings will LOVE this site, because its the Best Laugh to have DAILY about what god’s latests efforts are to REDEFINE HIMSELF???
      I guess god messed a few THOUSAND things along creating “PERFECTION”…Huh?
      NOW!…REMEMBER to “Give god” more of YOUR “Hard earned” money…CUZ GOD NEEDS MONEY…OK????

      1. Those “Avatar’s” (Man-KIND) created ALL this mess on this planet, so small wonder WHY there is so much Evil ongoing.
        This planet was “Seeded” by Divine Source with the “Melanin (Black)Humans”.
        The White Creatures (Man-Kind/Avatars) Invaded this planet around 6 – 7000 years ago…melanin Beings were here over 550,000 years BEFORE THE “Avatars” invaded here.
        It IS “Written-in-Stone” WHAT their FATE will become…OBLIVION.

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