A GERMAN COMPANY IS BUILDING AN ARMY OF ROBOT ANTS: “SkyNet fears aside, what becomes of the human race when our every whim is catered to by robots?”, Steve Green asks. Come for the photos of the freaky-deaky German robot ants, stay for the Arthur C. Clarke versus H.G. Wells-inspired philosophical mediation on the future of mankind. Or the lack thereof:

This Progressive thinking goes back to Plato and his Republic: Centralize the economy, abolish religion, raise children by the state, mold Perfect People. That’s more or less what Europe has attempted in the postwar period, but instead of molding Perfect People they’re running out of people to mold, period.

The irony is this. Progressives believe that religion is a danger to humanity’s continued existence, and in need of tempering (at the very least) by the State. But if religion really is contra-survival, then why do religious societies tend to thrive while officially atheistic ones do not? This isn’t an endorsement of any particular god or religion, but it is a perfectly valid observation about human nature.

As an intelligent species, without the hope provided by spirituality and the excitement provided by struggle, maybe we’re just no damn good.

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