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Recent news from Paris France once again brought forth the issue of terrorism, security,  and modern civilization. Here are some generally accepted background facts as well as  my personal observations:

1.    Inequality under capitalism: It has been pointed out both theoretically and experimentally  that the capitalistic system of governing creates inherent inequalities between the  “haves” and the “have nots”. The latest incarnation of this idea is the best selling  economic treatise by Thomas Picketty on “Capital in theTwenty-First Century”. More commonly we have the saying  “the rich get richerand the poor get  poorer”

2.    Glaring Inequality produces discontent:The old Chinese saying “不怕窮,只怕比 (I do not mind of being poor but worry about being compared.) In a society when you have co-existing economically unequal groups with little possibility of upward mobility, discontent by the “have nots” and fear by the “haves” are unavoidable which lead conflicts or even revolutions.

3.     Globalization and TV makes such inequality obvious.

4.     Education and knowledge become increasingly important:  As manufacturing and service jobs are mechanized, more and more the  less-educated part of the population  becomes unemployable and must be supported through welfare. This “underclass” sees no opportunity for upward mobility which breed anger and conflict.

5.    People are generally short term oriented: By and large, we, as a group and as individuals, see and like to take advantage of short term opportunities for improvement even though they may have longer term disadvantages. One prime example is the use of cheap labor. From the slave labor in the Americas during the 18^th -19th century to the current mass European immigration of laborers from Africa and Middle East are all based on economic reasons.

6.     Discontents can become focused when “race” and/or “religion” are involved: These two issues automatically becomes the rallying point for the discontent as recent events in the US,  Europe, and Middle East demonstrated.

7.     It is a delicate balance act that government must resolve under1-6 above:  Primarily, government  tries to ameliorate such inequalities through redistribution  of income (taxes)  and beneficial legislation (welfare). But this is a delicate act of balance.  Too much of one destroys innovation and incentives. Too little produce conflicts.

8.     There are limits to the” freedom of speech” : That this is not an unlimited right is clear  (For example, you cannot falsely cry “fire” in a darkened and crowded movie theater).

9.     It all depends on your point of view: Collateral damagesof the killing of innocent persons during a war and deliberate killing of ordinary citizens during a terrorists strike  can be viewed the same way depending on which side you are on.

10.    Modern civilization is fragile http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-1565-223319.html : and dependent on the cooperative behavior of everyone involved.  Thus, there are many soft targets and weaknesses. Requirement of privacy also makes prevention of attack difficult.  These provide a somewhat leveling playingfield for  individuals against a mighty governmental force. This is particularly true when one is willing to die for the cause.

11.      A really cynical hypothesis: Faced with #1-10 above, sometimes  one wonders whether  or not the  whole process is a deliberate choice of governance.  Instead of large scale war, civil or international, we tolerate these occasional killing  of innocent victims via terrorists acts of violence to let off steam.  For the price of a few dozen lives, we maintain more or less “peace” and avoid “war” and let  citizens  enjoy short term economic advantages in developed countries.  Long term consequences are the problem of others or the future generations.  In the US, we tolerate ten of thousands of death by auto accidents each year as the price  of freedom of movement. At the same time, almost everyone in the US still believe in moving ahead if you work hard. Up to now such belief still makes the US system work.  China on the other hand enjoys a large homogenous Han race. Insignificant and isolated minorities do not pose a problem under meritocratic but one party rule.  But pessimists think  that human beings are doomed to self-destruct sooner or later. Does the world really have a bright future? That is the question!