[https://ranprieur.com/archives/046.html]

Google Is Not What It Seems. Julian Assange writes about being interviewed by some people from Google who appeared to be politically neutral, but they turned out to be representing the American foreign policy establishment, and he argues that Google has been allied with these people and their world view for a long time:

By all appearances, Google’s bosses genuinely believe in the civilizing power of enlightened multinational corporations, and they see this mission as continuous with the shaping of the world according to the better judgment of the “benevolent superpower”… This is the impenetrable banality of “don’t be evil.” They believe that they are doing good.

If you think about this, it puts a twist on the popular idea that the elite simply rule the world. On a deeper level, the world is ruled by the stories the elite have to tell themselves to feel like they’re the good guys. These stories include: that global-scale decisions must be made from the top (or center); that political stability is more valuable than political participation; and that anything you can call “economic development” is good.

But the story I find most interesting, is that you raise the quality of life of ordinary humans by taking away their pain and giving them stuff. I’m thinking what people really want is interesting choices — partly inspired by Sid Meier’s famous definition of a game as a series of interesting decisions, and partly by an email I got more than a year ago from Owen:

In game design, they talk about choices that matter. If a choice is presented but people feel obligated to take only one of the branches, that’s not really a choice. You must take this option, taking that other option is stupid. Or if taking a branch doesn’t result in any perceived consequence. Then take any branch, the choice doesn’t matter. They put those kinds of choices in front of you all the time. How do you like your steak cooked? Should I use the gelpacks or the powder for the dishwasher?

This is important so I’ll say it again in my own words. If the choice doesn’t effect your path, like Coke or Pepsi, then it’s not interesting; and if one choice is obviously stupid, like keep your car on the road or run it off, then it’s not interesting. But deprive people of interesting choices for too long, and they start making the obviously stupid choice just to feel alive. Another way to say it: we would rather do the wrong thing that we choose ourselves, than the right thing that is chosen for us. I think this explains a lot of behavior that otherwise doesn’t make any sense, and it’s why even the most benevolent central control can never make a good society.