While I do not glorify ignorance, famine, murder, greed and so on, I think the world would suffer much more without such suffering. And while many believe things would be a lot better with the Beatles, Beach Boys and so on as our only musical variety, with no sex or violence in the media, there’d be no controversy to gain positive awareness from. And while world peace might sound ideal, there’d be no real life to live. All would be stagnant.
Actually, they’re pretty good. Check out the album “Pet Sounds” sometime, you’ll be suprised.
I object, yer honor.
You assume that the neccessary requirements for growth are found in the dialectic of human struggle against one another, so that for every “good” there is an antithetical “bad,” which advances progress by the mediation between the two.
To portray my point metaphorically, consider a team of mountain climbers ascending a mountain. During their trek, they encounter many oppositions and dangers, which they in turn overcome. But never are the members of the team opposed to one another, and the activity continues to progress and remains creative without becoming stagnant or predictable.
Extend this metaphor to encompass the whole of humanity, and make the mountain the natural disasters that threaten humanity.
Humanity can still get its kicks without the problems that are present in the world today regarding man-against-man. Sex, violence, controversy…all are uneccessary components for inspiring growth and the task of uniting to overcome something.
Nietzsche once stated something along the lines of: “a few hours of mountain climbing will turn both the villian and the saint into two rather equal creatures; exhaustion is the quickest way to fraternity.”
Nice, eh?