[MD] -elitist ideas

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Kevin]
So getting a correct answer to the betterness question depends on the
motivation?  If the drive is emotional (read biological) then it may be better
for the individual but not necessarity society.  But if the dirve is
intellectual it's better for the individual _and_ society?

[Arlo]
I think I'd say "betterness", or Quality, is pursued on all MOQ levels.
Sometimes these levels conflict in value. In you question you say "it may be
better for the individual", and I think the represents an external perspective.
Certainly, in the immediate moment of action the individual sees some
"betterness" to his actions (such as releasing pent up rage), but this does not
mean that others, perhaps taking on social or intellectual or even long-term
understandings of biological quality would necessarily agree that the act was
"better". Take "sex", for example, although in the moment one could say the
individual achieves biological-level quality (ignoring the Kama Sutra for this
purpose), a longer term view of biological quality may be an avoidance of
biological disease.

As to you second point, if the drive is intellectual (such as the Boston Tea
Party), it could very well be "worse" for the individual and for the current
static social patterns, with only intellectual patterns emerging as "better
off". (Although you could adopt the neocon perspective that nobody does
anything that is not self-interest. Mother Theresa, for example, was an egoist
who did good works to make herself appear Great. The Boston Tea Party-ers acted
only out of self-interest in being seen as Heroes. Etc.) In any event, here you
have to separate out "good for the social level" and "good for the current
static social patterns of that level". The BTP was not at all good for the
current social arrangement, it thrust the social level into chaos and many
likely saw it as undermining comfortable social-level stability. But the
social-level itself is better now having its patterns structured on democracy
rather than monarchy.