Question 4

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1. 

   JMG Posted 9:56 am
   08 Apr 2008

   That we still haven't figured out... how to deal with the collective action problem of fantastic levels of benefits accruing to a few through actions that impose an imperceptible penalty on the many (or a perceptible penalty, but one imposed on "others" -- people in the future or far away, or with dark skins, etc.)
   
   Save your community: Cut greenhouse gas emissions 5% per year.

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2. 

   LGT Posted 9:59 am
   08 Apr 2008

   One answer . . .It's "legal!"
   http://feww.wordpress.com/2007/10/16/earths-sentence-deat ...

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3. 

   caniscandida Posted 4:29 pm
   08 Apr 2008

   "knowing what we know"Well put, JMG and LGT.  Socrates would say that the few to whom the fantastic benefits accrue do NOT know what we know, in fact.  They indeed know that it is "legal" to build the dirty coal plant, and they know that building it will enrich them or empower them somehow.  But they do NOT know that none of that is good for them, truly.
   
   Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

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4. 

   sindark Posted 12:25 am
   09 Apr 2008

   International lawPartly, it shows that there is a fundamental tension in the nature of the present international system. It emerged at a time when (a) states made sense as the highest unit of organization and (b) the greatest danger was them going to war with conventional weapons.
   Now, the degree to which humanity is impacting the world is increasingly rendering both claims invalid. Finding legal and political mechanisms to deal with that is an enormous challenge.
   
   a sibilant intake of breath

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