Yeah, shame on me, for I know that if I'd just squnch my mind down and concentrate on these pressing social problems 24-7 instead of ever wasting irreplaceable hours drinking beer or reading fiction or sleeping, they'd all be solved by now. But the problem is, I'm too hedonistic.
[WS:] I do not think your (or others' on this list) hedonism is problem. The problem is that if the masses, whose cause this list supposedly champions, confronted the grim reality they face and did something about it instead of soothing themselves with cheap entertainment - we would live in a very different world indeed.
However, I fully realize that such an expectation is unrealistic and based on an inaccurate behavioral model, which assumes that utility maximization is the driving force in human behavior. It is not. The driving force is transaction cost avoidance or effort minimization, and from that point of view escapism into hedonism or solipsism is perfectly rational because it indeed requires the least amount of effort.
As I explained in my previous posting, my intention was not to denounce technology or hedonism, and I am a bit surprised that otherwise thoughtful people are taking such cheap shots on what I wrote (or perhaps not, as taking cheap shots at someone in one's neighborhood is not only easy but also providing instant gratification.) My intention was to say that the author of a newspaper article posted to this list had a valid point that is often missed in discussions on technological innovation or institutional changes - namely that newer technologies (or institutions) may have long term negative impacts on people and social relations despite their clear and non-disputable short term benefits and utilitarian superiority over older technologies.
Wojtek