Several articles by Bitarch on “absolute NAP” have already appeared in this channel, by which he understands a ban not only on aggressive violence, but also on delayed retribution or the enforcement of sentences. I am not yet convinced by his arguments, but I consider the topic itself important enough to continue introducing you to it.
Briefly, the idea is as follows. Technical progress increases the scale of violence available to humans and reduces the relative cost of violent impact. Tomorrow, any biology student could launch a pandemic like the current one, so we need a society where people have as few reasons as possible to threaten such things and as many moral constraints as possible that prevent them from even thinking about it. As one option for action, Bitarch considers a non-violent state. To provide a hypothetical Greta Thunberg with arguments, he published an article on the externalities of violence, where he lists how violence harms society. I will briefly go through the theses of this article and several others on similar topics.
1. Referring to Konrad Lorenz, it is stated that humans have no natural morality of non-aggression toward members of their own species embedded in their genes, since human natural weaponry is small. Therefore, one alternative to violent punishments for violent crimes could be voluntary genetic correction of behavior, if it can be developed.
Humans have almost no genetically determined patterns of behavior; there are only some inclinations, while all the specifics are set through social mechanisms. Thus, references to biological evolution serve more as illustrations than as a literal guide to action. Social evolution also exists; it is better to look for examples there.
2. Examples are given of how humanity introduced a ban on certain activities and successfully enforced it (the use of leaded gasoline, DDT, CFCs). It is pointed out that in the same way, humanity successfully enforces restrictions on morally unacceptable actions (for example, cruelty to animals, children, and prisoners). Therefore, a campaign of political pressure would also help in establishing the absolute NAP.
The state is always happy to ban something; the justification is not that important. For instance, the arguments for banning CFCs, which supposedly eat the ozone in the stratosphere, and DDT, which supposedly can cause cancer, mainly boiled down to so-called scientific consensus. The same applies to the arguments for banning carbon dioxide emissions, which are supposedly responsible for global warming, which supposedly poses a threat to humanity.
So, for political pressure on a global level, serious arguments are not even needed; one only needs to seize a spot on the agenda. To do this, climate change will have to be pushed aside, but first, its younger brothers like the Rothschilds, microchipping, and GMOs must be overcome. This is a solvable task, but the methods of such campaigns require more screaming than thinking, and that is personally difficult for me, despite the fact that I am screaming in my avatar.
3. Arguments are presented regarding the long-term negative consequences of high social tolerance for violence. At the very least, widespread violence becomes a factor hindering the economy—too large a share of resources goes toward ensuring security, including the security of transactions. Conversely, the long-term positive consequences of low tolerance for violence are shown. For example, in a recent note, a study is mentioned on how a culture of hugging and freedom of teenage sex leads to a decrease in hierarchy within society.
Now, arguments are a different matter; there is something to discuss here.
To summarize. Anyone wishing to ensure the success of non-violence ideas will have to pass between the Charybdis of the sleaziness of moral hysteria and the Scylla of the limited impact of scientific discussion. I would advise Bitarch to stick closer to Scylla, as Homer enjoined us, but here let everyone who sails the waters of public discourse choose their own path.
P.S. We, of course, did not agree with Bitarch on the content of the article. I reworked some takes, but not all. So, most likely, a continuation of the discussion awaits us.