How Spock Would Solve Earth's Current Problems

Note from Sumner -  This was written with some words of Isaac Asimov in mind:

“Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction -- its essence -- has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."

Stardate: 2258.23
From: Commander Spock, Science Officer
To: Captain James T. Kirk
Subject: Overview and analysis of factors and conditions preceding World War III/Eugenics Wars of early 21st century Earth.

Captain,

As requested, please find below observations resulting from analysis of Earth history, regarding societal factors leading to the events of World War III/Eugenics Wars. Causes for the conflict are put forth, as well as my best hypotheses for possible solutions that could have been implemented to avoid the deaths of billions.

It is quite surprising that the human species survived, given its primitive drives based on animal instinct, as well as the predilection to allow emotion to override logic and empirical data.

This has been a fascinating process. I am curious as to why you set me to this task.

Live long and prosper.

Commander Spock
Science Officer

1) Natural resources - Enough natural resources existed for all humans to have their basic needs met. Yet geopolitical and economic forces were manipulated and controlled by a small percentage of the planet's population for their own benefit, at the expense of the many. This lead to social unrest and aggression between nations.

2) Economy - Most Earth societies functioned within economic paradigms that favored those who already had more resources than they needed. Citizens were not rewarded according to their true contributions to society, therefore social unrest arose.

3) Education - This may be the number one factor leading to the WWIII/EW. Only a small percentage of humans at the beginning of the 21st century understood the power and potential that lay within each and every single human mind. Yet, most children born at the beginning of the century did not receive adequate education, if any at all. Because children did not learn the importance of critical reasoning and empirical data, they were then easily manipulated as adults to serve the needs of those intent on increasing their wealth through the means of war.

4) Culture - Humans placed great emphasis on, and admiration for, others that may have been more aesthetically pleasing physically or more advanced in athletic activity, showing little regard for those that actively sought the betterment of the human species through science, arts, education and philanthropy. While the majority of humans fortunate to live in areas where resources were plentiful spent their time pursuing mindless entertainment and ignoring their own intellectual development, those intent on greed and power were able to dictate global matters.

5) Racism/Misogyny - Even though humans had been functioning as the species Homo sapiens for approximately 60,000 years, with essentially the same high level brain functioning capacities during that time frame, they still foolishly let outer appearances dictate the value of others. Skin color, gender, sexual preference, region of birth were all factors that the majority of humans utilized to gauge the worth of others, rather than focusing on levels of wisdom, education and overall contributions to one's society. Because of this paradigm, it was easier for one class of people to dehumanize another.

6) Politics - Various political paradigms existed at the start of the 21st century, but the names are not important. All could be broken down into two categories, each composed of two subcategories:
A) Financial
i) The small few that kept and maintained wealth and power.
ii) The majority that lived at or below basic levels of subsistence.
B) Biological
i) Those that were primarily driven by the amygdala, which is an area of the brain solely focused on fear, aggression, fight or flight.
ii) Those that were primarily driven by the prefrontal cortex, which is an area of the brain given to higher functioning such as abstract thinking as well as the ability to empathize with others.

Rather than using the political process as a tool to evaluate data and utilize logic to address the needs of the many, it essentially became the childish paradigm that you would designate "name calling." Because of this, those in power used politics to increase their wealth, while most of the citizenry were mired in superficial debate over inconsequential matters based on "belief" rather than "fact."

7) Religion - As we've learned on Vulcan, the structured framework of a religious system can be beneficial in implementing methods to better one's self. However, humans still clung to ancient and mythological texts as being fact, which then hindered their understanding of the universe within which they lived. Even in the 21st century, many humans still accepted the belief that the Earth was created in 6 days, that talking bushes existed and that men flew on horses. These differences in thinking, and avoidance of empirical data, led to much unnecessary bloodshed and death. Also, even though the core teachings of every belief system included the importance of love and compassion, religion was primarily used as a method for furthering divisiveness, political power and material gain.

8) Science - Humans in the 21st century operated within a curious paradigm where just as much validity and respect was given to "faith" and "belief" as "fact." Their actions clearly indicated that if one believes something, it must be true. Because of this, they ignored all empirical data that clearly indicated that fossil fuels were rapidly depleting, that damage to the environment was quickly reaching dangerous levels and that overpopulation was imminent. Respect for others beliefs is honorable, but not recommended when one's species is on the verge of self-annihilation.

9) Energy - Humans were still utilizing archaic methods for energy production when they had the necessary technology on hand to harness all the renewable energy they needed from their own sun. Their primary sources of energy were fossil fuels, yet within their own solar system, the sun was providing 8.2 million quads of Btu energy per year.

10) Wisdom/philosophy -  Throughout Earth history, there are examples of a small select group of humans from various periods and cultures that consistently attempted to show humanity methods to achieve higher states of functioning. However, at the core of all their teachings was the message "Think more of others than yourself," which is an idea that was consistently contraindicated by all major organized political, religious, economic and cultural powers.

As you can see Captain, the simple fact that humans have survived into the 23rd century is remarkable.

Regarding solutions that could have been implemented to avoid Earth's WWIII/Eugenics Wars, I would ask you to review the basic tenets of Vulcan philosophy. However, since we're speaking in the context of early 21st century humans, I will use simplified language, and list basic ideas below that would need to have been implemented at the start of the 21st century.

1) Being human should have automatically implied the right to basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing and education.

2) Education of children to utilize critical thinking skills and empirical data should have been a fundamental goal of every society, placed before national defense, economics, ancient dogmas and politics.

3) A global message should have been put forth and stressed that the best way to ensure one's own happiness and development as a human is to lead a life more concerned with the benefit of others than solely being focused on one's self.

4) Although religion/spirituality can be used as tools to better one's self, there is no "one correct way." Also, if empirical data and the scientific method disproves a particular belief in ancient texts, the former must be given credence.

5) A person's status and use of resources should be directly connected to levels of wisdom, education and skills used to benefit society, rather than birthright, physical attractiveness or ability to sway others through rhetoric.

6) Believing in something does not make it true.

Of all of the factors above offered as solutions, the most important would be number two. If a population is educated and taught the principles of logic, then wisdom would only follow.

For more Trek, check out Sumner's Trek for Rookies: A Quick Reference Guide.

Stephen Sumner is the science fiction columnist for Action A Go Go. His favorite sci-fi series include Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. He can be followed on Twitter at Sumner@vierlights or on the Tumblr machine at NX01Sumner.