Uh, Markaba? I thought you didn't like "mystical" thinking.

And, when you start talking about a "purpose" to evolution, that sounds awful mystical to me.

On the other hand, Lao Tzu had some good ideas, though his ideas of weapons are wrong. A few years ago some researchers did a little research on private ownership of weapons, and found that the nations with the highest rate of private ownership of firearms (the U.S. and Western Europe - despite gun control laws, there are still plenty of privately held firearms in Europe - I'm thinking Finland had the highest ownership rate there) were the most peaceful, and the continent with the most war was Africa, which had the lowest rate of private ownership of firearms.

Thing is, when one party feels secure in the knowledge that they can terrorize others who cannot fight back, they are more likely to do so. On the other hand, knowing that the little old lady who's walking with a cane might just whip out a .38 and put a bullet between their eyes, tends to make these sorts of bullies think twice. There's a reason why Colt's revolver was given the names "Peacemaker" and "Equalizer" - for the first time, all men - and women - were equal. Physical strength and speed does not mean half as much when both parties have firearms.

Among other things, we need to keep in mind that there are many people who will abuse others if given an opportunity to do so. They may have never been abused themselves, or deprived in any way - but they just want their way and don't care about anyone else. Decent people can never assume that others are as decent as they are. (I have personally felt that this was the primary weakness of communists, socialists, and the like - the devoted ones presume that given the opportunity to be good, most people will be good - but most people are self-centered and not bright enough to see the advantages of cooperating with people they aren't related to.)

Hmmm. I seem to be getting pretty far from my original point. Anyway, I'll mention that I still prefer less rules, but also an open environment where abuses can be spotted and prevented right away.