22. History of the Development of Egoism
The Pattern of Human Development
Human history follows a recognizable pattern of growing appetite. At first, a person needs almost nothing—just enough food and shelter to survive. Over time, that appetite grows to shape the immediate surroundings, settling into a fixed, local routine. Eventually, it reaches outward. This outward drive built cities, expanded trade, and created the technology to conquer distances. It is a drive for more that never quite settles. Today, society is pushing into a fourth stage. Here, the drive shifts from taking more territory to finding connection with other people, while keeping the physical needs of the body to what survival requires. The environment we live in today is the pressure of that shift happening.
The Acceleration of Change
Every period in human history has moved faster than the one before it. The earliest stages stretched over tens of thousands of years. The era that built early agriculture and fixed settlements covered thousands of years. The industrial and technical ages took only a few centuries. Development keeps accelerating. The shift into the current stage—learning to live in complete connection—is compressing into decades.[1] Change that once unfolded across many generations is now landing inside a single lifetime. That speed is exactly why the transition feels abrupt today.
The Pressure on the Old Rules
Look at the strain visible today: broken families, people retreating behind screens, weakened bonds between generations.[2][3] This happens when a society tries to manage a new level of connection using old rules. The old rules were built around dividing the world into mine and yours. They worked well enough when life was local and separate. Today, the basic requirements of a stable life—food, safety, shelter, health—depend on global systems that only function when people cooperate.[4][5] The boundaries between people are dissolving whether anyone chooses it or not. When cooperation fails at this scale, the breakdown affects everyone, not just the people directly involved in a conflict. Nature is pushing for a tighter network. The friction against that push is what we feel as crisis.
Two Paths Forward
This shift happens in one of two ways. A person can look at where the process is heading and move toward connection deliberately. Or they can wait for the crises to grow until they can no longer be ignored. Both paths lead to the same outcome. The difference is how much suffering accompanies the transition. Choosing the deliberate path is a recognition of necessity. It starts with studying the pattern honestly and seeing the strain already building. A person who looks directly at the situation sees the need for change. That clear view makes it possible to adapt early, guided by understanding rather than forced by pain.
Anticipating What Comes Next
Seeing the whole shape of human history provides the basis for navigating what comes next. Studying the pattern allows you to anticipate where the pressure will keep building. It gives you the footing to act deliberately instead of just reacting to the next emergency. Seeing the trajectory does not remove the difficulty of living through it. But understanding why the pressure is building lets you respond correctly.
The Shape of a Good Life
The aim of this development is a good life for everyone, built around connection rather than endless accumulation. In a balanced system, work is spread evenly. Each person contributes a few hours a day toward what society needs to function. The rest of their time is freed from the anxiety of survival. That time goes toward learning, family, and building the ties that sustain a community.
Q&A
Is this the final stage of the process?
Nobody knows. We can only observe the historical pattern of the four stages arriving at a turning point today. What lies beyond this transition is outside our current view. We stick to what the evidence supports.
If harmony is better, why doesn't everyone do it as soon as they understand it?
Understanding an idea and having the will to act on it are two different things.[6] Most people have only ever known the relief of trading a large discomfort for a smaller one. They have no experience of lasting ease to compare it against. This gap between knowing and doing is why a supportive environment matters. The community supplies the pull that intellectual agreement alone cannot provide.[7]