"Why can't humans cooperate effectively in large numbers?
<p>Cooperating in large numbers (hundreds and thousands of people) is not really a trait of human beings. We can effectively cooperate only in groups of 100-150 at best. Once this threshold is crossed, the stability of groups starts to shake. What we need is fiction or a common imagined reality, a driving factor in which all the people of your group believe. Google works because thousands of its employees believe in Google. Human rights, democracy, law and order... All of this exists because millions of people choose to believe in it. They are not fundamental orders, they are not embedded in our genes, but we believe in them to create a more stable society. The best thing about imaginary social constructs is that the believers never say it is imaginary. In order to make people work together in large numbers, you need fiction, a common myth, a driving factor, a story, and never accept that your story is imaginary. If you tell a lawyer that law doesn't exist or a priest that religion is imaginary, then he will be outraged. Although these social structures are imaginary, they still have a huge impact on our life. They form our culture, our desires, our needs, and our opinions. And if you try to disturb this order, then you will have to face its consequences. As Voltaire once said, 'There is no god but don't tell my servant, lest he murder me at night.' This quote explains the situation. Even if you stop believing in these imaginary constructs, it doesn't matter. It won't affect a damn thing. So what if you want to remove a social construct? In order to do that, you have to convince a lot of people to not believe in something, or you will need a large number of people to cooperate, and for that, you will need another common imagined reality. Therefore, the social constructs can't be removed but replaced. You may think that you have made it out of the prison wall, but in reality, you are just running towards the ground of a bigger prison. These social constructs are not necessarily wrong or evil. As a matter of fact, they stabilize our society and allow millions of strangers to live in harmony (or cause a war). Social constructs are not objective phenomena like gravity; they will disappear if people stop believing in them. That is why maintaining social order is like walking on a thin rope which can break anytime.</p>
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