Age restrictions
Today my housemate aged 23 cut down half of a boysenberry tree so that his fucking Toyota Prius can park a little bit further down the back. This is quite symptomatic of the way the Chinese treat nature: whatever has no dollar value can be scrapped and discarded (hence the Great Leap Forward). But it made me wonder. Why is there so much unnecessary destruction these days?
Perhaps, the answer lies in the amount of power young people have. Let me explain. I have a theory that the younger someone is the more likely they are to inflict damage onto the environment, others or themselves. Prove me wrong. Now, years ago, albeit a much more miserable existence of the moral domain (just look at 17th century European wars), young people had much less power based on age restrictions (with the exception of the royalty). I believe, this might have been a mechanism to prevent total cannibalisation of humankind by ambitions, poorly-learnt and (forgive me for sounding like a moralist) immoral individuals.
These days, there is no age discrimination: a 20 year old can run a Microsoft-sized company if he/she is effective, visionary and powerful enough. But, does it necessarily amount to expanding non-religious moral domain? Could this be the reason why many big corporations can and do inflict so much damage on occasions? Most importantly, should age restrictions somehow come back?
What do you think?
Perhaps, the answer lies in the amount of power young people have. Let me explain. I have a theory that the younger someone is the more likely they are to inflict damage onto the environment, others or themselves. Prove me wrong. Now, years ago, albeit a much more miserable existence of the moral domain (just look at 17th century European wars), young people had much less power based on age restrictions (with the exception of the royalty). I believe, this might have been a mechanism to prevent total cannibalisation of humankind by ambitions, poorly-learnt and (forgive me for sounding like a moralist) immoral individuals.
These days, there is no age discrimination: a 20 year old can run a Microsoft-sized company if he/she is effective, visionary and powerful enough. But, does it necessarily amount to expanding non-religious moral domain? Could this be the reason why many big corporations can and do inflict so much damage on occasions? Most importantly, should age restrictions somehow come back?
What do you think?