Social Axioms

 Social Axioms

27 June 2015 © Vitali Kaufman

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Content

• Formulation of the problem
• Who, where and why
• Facts-axioms
1. About criticism
2. Planning horizon
3. Victims of scam 
4. The justice is absent
5. Interest as a major incentive
6. Monopoly dangerous
7. People are different
8. Time and attention - the super-value
9. Good intentions ...
10. The intelligence of the crowd 
11. Less state 
12. Right - at whose expense 
13. Taxes and creator 
14. Answers and questions
15. The randomness and regularity
16. Bad law
17. Re-upbringing
18. War and Peace
19. Migration
20. Structure of authority
21. Registration revolution
22. Employment revolution

·       Supplements

Formulation of the problem

Select and clearly articulate a set of statements about facts, properties of social reality that can serve as a basis for the development of rules of social intercourse, aimed at optimizing explicitly selected parameters ( * ) human society.

Allegations of the most important properties of the facts of social reality I call social axioms. They are designed to work in the discussions on the updated social rules is quite similar to how work mathematical axioms to prove mathematical theorems.

To solve the task - to create a coherent set of social axioms - is inconceivable without the active discussion. I would be glad if these notes will serve as the basis for such a discussion.

See also Registration revolution, Social rules, Cult of understanding, FAQ.

Who, where and why

Statement of the problem and the facts themselves, the axiom does not necessarily have to be taken, or even confident enough understood by all or even a majority - is assumed to be a high level of training to the manipulation of the wording and reasoning. An axiom need to justify and facilitate the creation of rules of social intercourse.

On the other hand, own the social rules are just for general use and for this reason should be clear to almost anyone who wants to.

These notes are based on my personal experience, including the experience of father and grandfather, as well as professional experience at least in math, programming and teaching.

I think this part of the professional experience is very important from the point of view of the problem - in fact we need to, in effect, do a usual job for the above category of professionals - to optimize the structure of the (self) management of a complex system. Of course, we are talking about the system of exceptional complexity - about human society.

This exceptional complexity should not be forgotten, but it is hoped that a common culture of working with complex systems is rather useful than harmful.

On the other hand, the author does not claim any expertise in the social sciences. It is possible that the lack thereof will be more beneficial than harmful.:)

Axioms are presented in the form of a triad (with possible additions, comments, explanations):

• the axiom itself
• a brief explanation
• the main conclusion
• from the point of view of the main purpose of axioms - contribute to improving the social rules

Facts-axioms

1. Almost any statement, position or opinion concerning the society, can be subjected to well-founded criticism
• I heard many times from Eugene A. Zhogolev
• Justified criticism is not sufficient for rejection of the criticized social rule
2. The planning horizon key influences on behavior in society
• I really like the definition of religiousness (belongs Valentin Turchin) as a setting goals beyond human life
• Management planning horizon can and should be used as the basis for updating the social rules
3. Scam is extremely easy if you are happy to be deceived  
• simple and natural explanation of many mental disorders
• including racism, fascism, idiotic selfishness J
• who wants to be deceived is called “loh” by scammers
• Updated social rules must resist scam
• in particular scam that threatens public safety
4. The justice is not exist and can’t exist ( * )
• what seems fair for you, it could be absolutely not fair to the other
• The concept of justice can’t be put in the basis of the social rules
• however successful rules can help avoid injustice
5. Interest - the main stimulus to act
• Any other incentives are consequences of interest. Hiding the true interests - a special (very common) interest ( * )
• The concept of interest, incentives and balance of interests can and should be used as the basis of the social rules
6. Monopoly dangerous
• First of all because it ceases to serve the original intent, since more and more serves own interests
• DANGER - not banned! When the need for some of the monopoly (for instance, a monopoly of the death penalty) is clear some monopolies may be laid down in the social rules, but always in the presence of checks and balances
7. People are different (*)
• The main interest for some is to give, for other - to take
• The social rules must to take into account the existence of such differences by the most significant way
8. Time and attention - the most important irreplaceable resource
• In our super-dynamic world - a super-value. Sometimes more valuable than money 
• Conventional money depreciate over time - it stimulates the increasing race, that encroaching on our time and attention without our permission
• The social rules can and should protect against unauthorized encroachment to our time and attention
• reasonably resist the race
• They should be focused on supporting the real equivalent of universal values  (in the short term, one of the contenders - virtual currency)
9. By good intentions without profound knowledge paved the road to hell
• A good example - "juvenile justice"
• without checks and balances leads to a violation of the basic principles of management of complex systems : 
• parents are responsible for the fate of the child, and are almost always interested in it, but decisions are made by officers that are  not interested and are not responsible
• my wonderful Dad (the only time in my life and because of a serious cause) hit me with a belt - and taught me instantly and immediately
• but now a aunt-uncle with 'well-intentioned'  received a legal right to isolate a son from such a father for such a reason
• The social rules must be based on knowledge and on clearly articulated priorities, rather than good intentions (see also prohibitions)
10. The larger the size of the crowd, the crowd is more stupid
• The intelligence of the crowd of hundreds of people is like intelligence 3-year-old child. Easily and quickly moves from elation to crying, etc.
• The social rules should take this into account
11. State must be exactly as much as is absolutely necessary (i.e. as little as possible)
• Civil servants are spending someone else's money. The owner of the money, as a rule, removed from the evaluation of the effectiveness of these expenditures - feedback is weak and slow. In addition, the state is a monopoly
• On the other hand, some semblance of a state structure, financed by all citizens, it may be necessary. For example, for security
12. The right - at whose expense (*)
• The method and form of payment can be, of course, various
• The fundamental question - at whose expense - must always be present in the formulation of the social rules
13. The tax system conflicts with the creator
• The more the creator has given to society, made, created, the more the creator should pay to society. Unfortunately, there is nothing more effective in terms of payment of the common needs, but we live in a super-dynamic world
• Updated social rules must seek to minimize this conflict. Ideal would be to eliminate the taxes completely
14. The more answers, the more questions
• The more humanity learns about reality the better is understanding how much we do not know
• the development of knowledge increases the borderline space between the known and the unknown
• "Pushing the horizons" of the known, the science encounters with the unknown wider and deeper
• The fundamental limitations of our knowledge of reality can and should be taken into account in the social rules
15. Randomness is no less important than regularity
• given the well-known laws, it is necessary to protect themselves from accidents - for example, by feedback debug 
• and be able to enjoy the wonders around us J
• social rules must take into account the accident possibility - the possibility of absence "causes" of events or the inability to install them
16. Bad law worse than the lack of law
• Unlike the situation with the law, poor standard (de facto) better lack of standard precisely because such a standard is voluntary, but the law is mandatory and involves coercive apparatus, and has its own development trends (especially Parkinson's Law), that could be completely different than the law goal
• It is best to refrain from accepting a law, than to accept bad law (*)
17. Re-upbringing of criminals is not justified
• the success can’t be verified
• the success rate is not justified by the risk of new casualties (*)
• the whole idea is based on a wishful thinking
• the idea can’t be put in the basis of the social rules
18. Want  peace - prepare for war
• there is no insurance from the appearance of the aggressor - people are different
• the aggressor can only be stopped by force, able to inflict unacceptable for him damage
• trying to appease the aggressor - encourage and whet
• the social rules must ensure public safety
• preserve the constant readiness of society to ensure unacceptable damage to a potential aggressor
19. Migration issues - the key issues of the day
• Figuratively speaking, "well-fed" ceased to give birth, " hungry " ceased to die
• Migration issues should be very substantially addressed in the social rules
20. The existing structure of authority is not fully fit to our  super-dynamic society
• It does not provide the speed and adequate decision making
• The migration crisis - the clearest confirmation
• the most important thing - not ready for him, not only society, but also the authorities,
• inability to discuss its essence
• adoption of the "solutions" that create a more severe problem than the supposedly "decisive"
• Super-dynamics of society should be reflected as soon as possible and reasonable in the updated social rules
21. There is another cost revolution - registration revolution
• the fourth in a row - after the transport, industrial and information revolutions
• technical means of registration, which can’t be forged
• protected from hacking
• The updated social rules must take into account the registration revolution
22. The displacement of people from the sphere of production and service by robots will lead in the coming years to the employment revolution
• demand will fall sharply, say, for professions such as drivers, train drivers, cashiers and others.
• Updated social rules must take into account the employment revolution by the most significant way

Supplements

17.12.15. Glad to thank Valeri Väisänen and Nikolai Mustonen for very productive discussions.

Terminology

19.7.20 The term “social axioms” (“Social Axioms”) is used in the work of M. Bond and K. Leung with co-authors and their followers in a completely different sense - as the most common human beliefs about oneself, about other people, social environment, physical or spiritual world, as a central to a person's belief system.

Social axioms in my sense are not beliefs, but facts about the structure of society (and not personal beliefs, not personality traits). It is the facts that are worth identifying, formulating, explaining in order to build social rules on their basis.

It is rather strange to call the beliefs of a specific individual as social axioms.

Prohibitions counterproductive

• Suffer normal citizens
• The goal is not reached - the side effects worse than the original evil
• There is a growing black market - a classic example: no alcohol law

Super-fresh example: the Belgian police and WhatsApp

• after the terrorist attacks they could communicate through Whatsapp only
• called open police easy access to the data of social networking (!) - in other words, a ban to hide such data
• demonstration of incompetence of authors as in the part of their duties, and in part to the over-the dynamism of the modern world
• for normal citizens – serious problems
• for attackers - at the time of next failure of police communication - the ability to read the police reports in social networks
• no problem to use other, less popular, but not worse protected means of communication - they are at their hand without any restrictions

Instead of prohibitions need methods of struggle, incentives, propellants of what they are trying to ban

On justice

The wording has repeatedly offered to change to "Absolute justice is not exists and can’t exist.". I prefer to leave as is. Otherwise, focus moves to the word "absolute" and the axiom is trivial (absolute nothing at all and can’t be J), but the essence escapes.

Of course, we are not talking about the absence of the notion or feeling of justice, the existence of which there is no reason to doubt.

The thing is that in many important situations, there are no criteria of justice that are acceptable to all. And not because someone does not want it, but because the existence of these criteria , in principle, impossible .

On the other hand, the idea of justice, adopted by an individual or group of people of justice criteria - a powerful motivator of behavior. Even though so a way to resolve arising in connection with the concept of justice conflicts should be provided in the social rules. Traditional and natural social institution for this - the court .

It is important that the court dealt primarily just resolution of conflicts, the search for compromise, for balance of interests, and not a statement of "fairness".

03.30.16. In the formulation and interpretation of this axiom is considered a comment by Vladimir Chukharev on 30/03/2016 at 00:52.

The interest

Of course, a person or a group is not always understands (recognizes) of the interest or does not always act in accordance with it, even when understands. However, the complexity of the relation of interest and actual behavior does not interfere confidently assumed right and possible to put the concept of interest, incentives abd balance of interests into the basis of social rules.

Equality

The idea of ​​human equality in one way or another often aspires to the role, logically it is not appropriate in the hierarchy of priorities. It can be, and has been extremely relevant in certain historical circumstances, but in the formulation of general rules of its dormitories should be used with caution, carefully formulating the conditions of its applicability.

Let's say one thing - the equality of citizens before the law, it is a different matter - the claim to equality in income.

By the way, equality before the law does not prevent formulate the law so that the court could take into account the peculiarities of a person found guilty - to be effective, punishment must be borne in mind that the culprit is really a punishment, and that - is a mockery of justice.

• It is foolish to punish people who are accustomed to hardships such as hunger and thirst, "deprivation of liberty" in civilized prison with the Internet and a special menu, which takes into account the religious preferences
• An example of a more appropriate punishment in such cases - isolation from family, inability to eat according to religious preference, and others.

Similar considerations dictated by a desire not to take revenge, but only the desire to make the penalty effective, comparable with the effect of imprisonment on people to hardships quite accustomed.

On the right

The essence is not in that there should be a fee for every right. The bottom line is that the right always and everywhere is paid by somebody. The desire to ensure the rights of some always means restriction of the rights of others, often not less socially significant rights. An explicit statement of this fact in the form of axioms only underlines this fact so that the social rules should not never ignore it.

The right to oblivion

• right to be forgotten - a vivid example of the counterproductive ( bad ) law
• It creates more problems than it solves
• moreover new problems are more serious than problems supposedly solved
• an obvious step in the direction of the Ministry of Truth, instead of respect for the true story
• "Resentful" may become more cautious, can publish a refutation, to go to court,
• but no changes of the real history (after all, the slander and dissatisfaction were in reality etc.)
• everything will remain in the normal history
• narrows the planning horizon
• Among the numerous examples of bad laws - the possibility for the producer to evade responsibility for the damage caused to the client, clearly telling him about it
• now almost all manufacturers of software products reject responsibility this way
• It raises the question of irresponsibility producer and customer habit to ignore the warnings - they are usually directed against its interests, not for his benefit
• it would be good to introduce a law "warning about the unwillingness to take responsibility for the damage not exempt from this responsibility" 
• in fact we suggest something opposite to known rule (to make legal experts extremely required :) ): "ignorance of the law is no excuse"
• that works even when the law is so abstruse that a normal person can't in principle to "know" it

No danger to society?

Decision-makers on parole, is not directly responsible to the potential victims discharged to freedom of convicted criminals, including those committed very serious crimes. Feedback between the decision of the "expert" and a potential victim of his(her) decision is absent.