..续本文上一页ut it is not really surprising. In context, it is only one of many ways in which negative change consistently tends to be easier than positive change. Throughout history, uprisings driven by genuine idealism have been rare compared to those driven by group self-interest, as it requires much less talent to motivate people by the latter. Evolutionary nature compels humans not to strive for improvement that benefits everyone, but to strive for advantages to one”s own group relative to another group, simply because those inclined towards latter are more likely to survive and proliferate than those inclined towards the former. The Buddha himself unequivocally stated that falsehood is more easily disseminated than truth in this world, hence predicted the inevitable decay of the dharma through the ages despite all efforts of his disciples to preserve it. Our hyperconnected society has merely served to sharply accelerate this process of decay by accelerating the rate at which all information moves around.

　　What could be a solution

　　 The Buddha also predicted an eventual restoration of the dharma by the future appearance of Maitreya Bodhisattva. The name Maitreya, rooted in the term metta, refers to the attribute of compassion. The importance of compassion as a motivator for activism may well turn out to be a key element in turning around our plight.

　　Let us consider: why does the Bystander Effect not apply to self-interested activism

　　 The answer is trivial: when the problem specifically concerns one”s own interests, one does not wait for the intervention of others! The Bystander Effect applies when we might be aware that taking action is the right thing to do, but have no personal stake in the outcome. Therefore the simplest countermeasure is surely to develop compassion so that we might feel a personal stake in matters outside of inpidual or group self-interest. It is not enough to intellectually know that one ought to take action; it is necessary to be emotionally compelled to do so to the same (if not greater) extent as we are naturally compelled to act out of self-interest.

　　And let us consider further: why has activism based on bad ideas been able to gain traction considering that we all know plenty of people opposed to such ideas

　　 Here too the answer is trivial: too few of those who intellectually oppose such ideas have bothered to make the effort to make their opposition public. More people may oppose such ideas than support them, but if the proportion of opponents willing to be active is far lower than the proportion of supporters willing to be active, then the visible support for the bad ideas is greater than the visible opposition, which is enough for the bad ideas to spread. It takes ethical sense to refuse to participate in aggression onself, but it takes a much stronger force, namely compassion, to be prepared to actively defend potential victims of aggression from aggressors. It is shortage not of ethical sense, but of compassion, that has allowed negative activism to thrive. Only through great increase in compassion, and hence great increase in motivation to counteractivism, might this trend be reversed.

　　Today, when so many of us - rich or poor, famous or unknown - have a potentially far-reaching voice, and where any changes in collective thinking - positive or negative - can occur more quickly and before a larger immediate audience than in earlier eras, it is more necessary than ever before to refresh and revise our definition of what compassion means. One who merely refrains from all oppressive behaviour in his own life cannot yet be considered compassionate. Only one can be considered compassionate who is prepared to oppose oppression and the ideas that lead to oppression wherever and whenever he encounters them. If this definition for compassion can be set as a new standard, then perhaps we will finally see the spectacular positive changes for which we have waited since the Information Age began.

《Compassion in a Hyperconnected World》全文阅读结束。