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-in any case, this was a riveting read, maybe the reason why it's so easy to corrupt us is because we live in an age of affluence and decadence https://nationalvanguard.org/2014/11/the-roots-of-decadence/

I've thought a lot about this, and my theory is that humans have two brains, a "human brain" (which has abstract rational logical long-term thoughts), and a "monkey brain" (which is just based on emotions and short-term gain).

Our monkey brain quite literally cannot understand long term consequences, it cannot understand the past or the future, it only understands immediate pleasure and pain.

All animals have a monkey brain, but only humans have a human brain, it is the one and ONLY thing which makes us separate from animals. Our human brain is the reason for all of our achievements and accomplishments, it is the reason why we have civilization.

However, our human brain and our monkey brain often conflict... our monkey brain says "oooh tasty food, om nom nom gimme dat", but our human brain says, "hold on, if I eat that I'll get fat and have health problems".

In order to fix this problem, every civilization has taught children to have self-control, which basically means doing what your human brain says, and ignoring your monkey brain.

Hedonism is a philosophy where you stop listening to your human brain, and instead indulge in your monkey brain. Hedonism teaches that self-control is bad, that it is restrictive, and that you will be more free if you give in to your desires.

But what happens is the exact opposite: since your monkey brain is in control, you become addicted to various things (porn, alcohol, food, drugs, video games, gambling, etc.) and you can't stop (even when you want to). You end up destroying yourself because you only make short term decisions.

And rather than feeling free and empowered, instead you feel helpless and humiliated, because your human brain can see how wrong things are, but it can't stop because the monkey brain is in control, and this leads to depression. Essentially, hedonism means you become a slave to your own desires.

A lack of self-control means you are literally no longer human, you have lost your humanity, you are simply a mere animal, since your monkey brain is in control.

Self-control, on the other hand, is freedom, because self-control means that everything you do is because you decided to do it, not because your monkey brain had some urge or whim. Self-control means that you are a proper human, that you are superior to animals.

I believe that all addictions are ultimately caused by a lack of self-control. And the reason people lack self-control is because they were explicitly taught that self-control is bad, and that hedonism is freedom. And nobody has a reason to learn self-control.

But once you realize that hedonism is intrinsically evil (because it makes you a slave, it makes you an animal), and that self-control is intrinsically good (because it makes you a strong independent superior human), it is much easier to fight back against addiction, because now you have a reason to learn self-control.

By the way, self-control doesn't mean that you live as some sort of monk who abstains from all pleasure. That's a myth which the hedonists created to try and make self-control seem bad.

It's completely fine to indulge in the pleasures of life, but the difference is that you indulge in pleasure because you chose to indulge in it, not because your monkey brain told you to do it.

And because your human brain is choosing to indulge in pleasure, it will do so in moderation, because it understands the long-term consequences of over-indulgence.

Of course you can never get rid of your monkey brain, it is an intrinsic part of yourself, however you can choose whether to listen to it or not. So whenever my monkey brain gives me some sort of urge, I ask the simple question, "do I decide to do this?" If the answer is yes, then I will do it, and if the answer is no then I will ignore my monkey brain.

Your monkey brain can give advice, but the point is that your human brain must always be in control, that everything you do is because your human brain has decided to do it. It's not okay to just go with the flow, because that means you're following your monkey brain. You have to explicitly and intentionally decide to do things (or not do things).

And even if your monkey brain complains and doesn't like it, well that's just too bad, because being a slave to your monkey brain inevitably leads to self-destruction and depression. So you must never let your monkey brain decide anything, for the sake of your own human dignity and mental health.

Hedonism is the underlying root of liberalism
that's what liberalism is, the removal of existing moral restrictions and replacing them with freedom
except "freedom" just means "doing whatever you feel like doing", so you end up being enslaved to your own desires
rather than being in control of yourself
since you only do things you feel like doing, you will never do anything which is hard, difficult, or painful
and this all stems from the idea that pleasure = good, pain = bad, and that indulging in your desires is a good thing
but as the Romans said, "nothing without great effort", you can never be successful if you only follow your monkey brain's desires
hedonism is the deep underlying philosophy of the modern times, which is fundamentally at odds with the human spirit
you can't just punish/reward people in order to make them good
goodness has to come from within
and it starts with self-control
this issue has been around for a long time, and it was pondered over by the Greeks and Romans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism
and in contrast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonism#Abrahamic_philosophy

it's important to remember that people didn't follow the moral rules because they were afraid of punishment, they genuinely believed in the moral rules, they had internalized the moral rules
White people aren't like niggers, niggers only follow the rules when they are punished
but White people internalize morality
because we have a human brain, which is above our monkey brain
but niggers only have a monkey brain
and so hedonism reduces you down to the same level as a nigger.

Also, it's important to understand that although hedonism (a lack of self-control) is evil, our monkey brains are not evil. Our monkey brain evolved to help us survive, and it is doing the best job it can. Our monkey brain is not trying to hurt us, it is trying to help us. But just like how a child is ignorant about the world (and thus you should not allow children to have power), the same is true for our monkey brain.
So we shouldn't hate our monkey brain, and we shouldn't fight against it either. Instead we must make peace with it, and understand its proper role. Our monkey brain gives us advice on what we should do (emotional urges), and then our human brain decides whether that advice is good or not. The monkey brain acts as an advisor, but the human brain is the king that makes the decisions.

our monkey brain is very good at making rationalizations and justifications, so you need to be very careful about that.
If you have decided something is good, then just do it, and do it without any guilt or shame. If you have decided that something is not good, then just don't do it.
If you make excuses and do it anyways, then you will feel constant guilt and shame, and it's just not worth it.
Also, self-control is a skill, and like all skills you need to practice it in order to get good at it, you're not going to have perfect self control right away, so don't be discouraged if you fail, just keep practicing self-control and you will get better at it over time
If you're struggling, you can start with practicing self control on something small and insignificant (such as fasting or avoiding alcohol) and after you've gained self control in that one area you can then expand it to other areas
But it's worth it in the end, because you feel at peace, and you have a sense of pride and accomplishment.

credit goes to mystiker