[a wide character looks smug with a wide smile]
Your ideology is wrong and can’t work because “human nature” is to exploit others
[a thought bubble is connected to their head]
I really really want to exploit others, exploiting or being exploited is the only way I can picture society please God I play that you let me become an exploiter I dream of it every day
Like, even if that was human nature, shouldn’t we try to overcome it?
We should. And in an ideologically pure society we would. I honestly think people try.
But you don’t have to be a manipulative person to see the value of this argument, like the comic is suggesting. You simply need to look at the world you want to make through a defensive lens. The truth is, even if we built a society where it was not the norm to be manipulative and exploitative, there would still be manipulative and exploitative people - and in such a society they would quickly climb to the top of the social hierarchy and reclaim power. And the world would decline back to what it was.
This is not an argument for inaction, imo. Its an argument for vigilance. But it also means we cannot consider ourselves “above” or “beyond” the undesirable traits of humanity, because that would make us victims of the cruel and the selfish. It also means the acceptance of checks and balances on power, which sadly… don’t always stick around.