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Originally Posted by tsurara  The root of something doesn't necessarily need to commit the evil in question... it needs only to be the ultimate cause of it. We can argue the semantics for days, but in the end the sentence is designed to be filled with a single word to sum up a generalization.
I would agree that "money" is a decent nomination.
We're talking about the source... not necesarily the "evil" itself. |
People cause and create everything considered evil, even the definition of it. Simply put without us there is no such thing as evil. You can't say money causes anything because it is someone's love, desire, need or lust for it which causes them to even create, print or use money. Thus the "cause" is those feelings which we as people create. Meaning the "origin" or "source" of evil is people not an inanimate object.
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Originally Posted by tsurara ie. If we remove money from the equation, does wealth-seperation/greed still exist? Maybe... but a better case can be made for eliminating money than for executing everyone who is greedy. |
Money is only a medium for buying things, eliminate it and you have changed nothing. The greed and "evil" is still there. People will still kill, cheat, rob and destroy to "get" things. Even when they have no real need of it. Making a case for eliminating money to fix the problem is the same as changing a band-aid to a gauze on a wound that never heals. Neither caused the issue and neither can fix it, simply because you cannot "fix" human nature and human nature is evident.
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Originally Posted by tsurara If we remove religion from the equation, do faith-based conflicts end? does oppression of women end? etc. etc. Maybe... maybe not... but a better case can be made for stamping out religion than stamping out those who believe in it. |
People will find a way to war and conflict regardless of religion, it isn't the religion which is wrong but those who warp the teachings of that religion to perverseness and use that as a means of justification for their evilness. Much the same oppression of women is not a religious affair, while it historically is linked to religion it is not something that would disappear with the removal of religion. As long as people allow themselves to be repressed others will repress them. I am in no way blaming women for being oppressed just stating that religion is a medium, remove it and laws and statues will replace them. Remove those and other means will arise.
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Originally Posted by tsurara The root doesn't need to be a DIRECT cause. It can be the "bait", the "justification", the "reward", whatever... |
Your use of the word root in the sense of the question of this thread would imply the meaning primary source or the origin. "Bait", "justification" and "reward" are all superficial; a root is the hidden thing which sustains being. Remove "bait", "justification" and "reward" and you will still have evil because the root is none of those things. It
us in our heart of hearts which use those things to cover what we really are.