Dynamics of Will: The Invisible Hand of Society
To solve various issues, such as environmental problems and risks posed by AI, it is crucial for society as a whole to cooperate. Generally, it is believed that suppressing selfishness and fostering an altruistic spirit are essential for societal harmony.
However, expecting society to change through the spread of altruism is a challenging reality. For those struggling with daily survival, simply protecting their own lives is a full-time endeavor. Even individuals who have achieved a certain level of success do not always adopt an altruistic mindset.
I believe that instead of relying on altruism, it is vital to ensure that society harmonizes as individuals act based on rational self-interest. Self-interest does not inherently disrupt harmony; rather, healthy and rational self-interest can actively drive societal harmony.
This may seem counterintuitive at first glance. However, upon logical examination, this notion becomes clear.
In this article, I introduce a conceptual framework called the Dynamics of Will to explain this idea. This approach categorizes human motivational orientations into goal-oriented, comparison-oriented, and survival-oriented behaviors and analyzes how these motivations influence societal prosperity and harmony depending on the overall social environment.
Based on this Dynamics of Will framework, it becomes evident that healthy and rational self-interest naturally forms and sustains societal harmony.
Dynamics of Will
Human behavior is motivated by three key orientations: goal-oriented, comparison-oriented, and survival-oriented motivations.
Goal-oriented motivations aim to achieve specific objectives and dissipate once those objectives are achieved.
Comparison-oriented motivations strive for a more positive state by comparing oneself to others or to one’s past self.
Survival-oriented motivations aim to ensure the persistence of the motivation itself.
From the perspective of societal harmony, goal-oriented and comparison-oriented motivations often do not contribute to harmony and may even disrupt it.
Survival-oriented motivations, however, vary significantly in nature depending on the social environment.
In a disharmonious society, rational survival-oriented motivations tend to amplify their influence on society. Consequently, survival-oriented motivations often clash in such environments.
Conversely, in a harmonious society, rational survival-oriented motivations aim to balance their influence on society.
This is because, in a disharmonious society, failing to amplify influence often leads to existential risks. On the other hand, in a harmonious society, prioritizing balance, even among conflicting motivations, ensures easier survival.
In a harmonious social environment, the imbalance caused by over-amplified influence is outweighed by the pressure from surrounding forces to restore balance.
This is the principle of the Dynamics of Will.
The Problem of Inertia
To create a harmonious social environment, sufficient prosperity to ensure survival is necessary. Severe deprivation drives survival-oriented motivations toward disharmony.
However, even when sufficient prosperity is achieved, it does not automatically lead to a harmonious social environment.
This is due to the inertia of goal-oriented and comparison-oriented motivations.
In societies lacking prosperity, survival-oriented motivations often generate derivative goal-oriented and comparison-oriented motivations.
When survival necessities are scarce, goal-oriented motivations emerge to secure immediate needs.
Similarly, competition with others fosters comparison-oriented motivations toward others.
Additionally, preparation for deprivation and competition encourages comparison-oriented motivations with one’s past self.
Thus, in societies with insufficient prosperity, goal-oriented and comparison-oriented motivations arise out of necessity.
Once society achieves sufficient prosperity, these motivations are no longer necessary. However, they continue to appear essential due to inertia.
Continuation of Disharmony
Even in sufficiently prosperous societies, the persistence of goal-oriented and comparison-oriented motivations perpetuates societal disharmony.
When societal disharmony continues, goal-oriented and comparison-oriented motivations appear rational for individuals and organizations, despite being irrational on a collective level.
As a result, these motivations form a strong feedback loop with societal disharmony, perpetuating the situation.
This situation leads to three significant problems.
First, resistance to wealth redistribution. Despite having enough prosperity to satisfy everyone’s survival-oriented motivations, comparison-oriented motivations hinder redistribution.
This creates misfortune by denying necessary prosperity to survival-oriented motivations.
Second, risks to individual survival-oriented motivations. Societal disharmony constantly heightens the risks of survival failure for these motivations.
This manifests as excessive stress, incitement of fraud or crime, and actual threats to survival, resulting in misfortune.
Third, risks to societal sustainability. As long as goal-oriented and comparison-oriented motivations persist, society as a whole continuously strives for maximization.
Such maximization depletes the resilience of external and internal environments, leading to irreparable misfortunes, such as resource depletion, environmental destruction, and internal societal collapse.
Confusion of Desires
The motivations of goal-orientation, comparison-orientation, and survival-orientation are rooted in desires.
Among these, survival-oriented desires are the most fundamental. They underpin individual survival, cultural and societal continuity, and the perpetuation of beliefs and love — essential foundations for many individuals and communities.
In contrast, goal-oriented and comparison-oriented desires are secondary.
Achieving goals, gaining recognition, competing with others, and personal growth all have certain value. However, when they jeopardize survival-oriented desires, they become counterproductive.
Particularly in societies with sufficient prosperity, pursuing goal-oriented and comparison-oriented desires at the expense of survival-oriented desires is a confusion of irrational desires.
This confusion is not altruistic but selfish.
Individuals and organizations pursuing goal-oriented and comparison-oriented desires risk not only others’ survival-oriented desires but also their own.
In sufficiently prosperous societies, this confusion of desires is not inevitable and can be resolved. However, the feedback loop between these motivations and societal disharmony makes resolution difficult.
The Social Invisible Hand
In economics, the concept of the “invisible hand” refers to the phenomenon where individuals and organizations, by pursuing their self-interest through rational choices, inadvertently contribute to the harmony of the overall economy.
The Dynamics of Will demonstrates that, in society as well, individuals and organizations acting rationally based on survival-oriented motivations can naturally lead to societal harmony.
This social invisible hand has three distinct advantages:
The first advantage is that it aligns with human natural desires. Because it does not rely on sustained societal efforts to instill self-sacrifice or altruism, the mechanism itself is highly sustainable.
The second advantage is its ability to elicit creativity and effort from individuals and organizations. In a society of perfect equality or utopia, it is challenging to motivate people to improve society further. The social invisible hand overcomes this weakness.
The third advantage is its inclusiveness of individual diversity. Competitive societies often marginalize those less adept at adapting to competition. Additionally, individuals who excel in competition may become overly consumed by it, leading to feelings of emptiness — a confusion of desires.
The social invisible hand allows individuals to contribute to societal harmony based on their capacity to adapt to society. By prioritizing activities driven by survival-oriented motivations, the confusion of desires becomes less frequent.
These three advantages are not only idealistic but also practical and realistic.
Once the invisible hand begins to function, a feedback loop reinforces this state within society.
This system is not merely stable but increasingly self-reinforcing in its stability.
Thus, once this situation is established, it naturally strengthens over time, allowing society to continuously enjoy these benefits.
The Barbecue Party Example
Imagine a regularly held barbecue party.
Participants, within their abilities, proactively take on tasks that match their skills or that others are not handling. Small children or those with physical limitations may not contribute to physical tasks, but they might help by setting the table or providing engaging conversation to make the party enjoyable.
Most attendees do not shirk responsibilities; instead, they actively look for tasks to help with once they finish one. Regardless of how much they contribute, everyone receives a satisfying portion of food. No one tries to hoard food or insists on eating more than others.
To ensure future parties, participants handle tools carefully, clean them properly, and store them neatly. They also use only the necessary budget and resources for the current party.
The motivations for participating vary by individual. Some people enjoy delicious food, others love chatting, and some may take pride in their grilling skills.
These motivations are entirely personal and require no special altruism. The simple fact that the party becomes enjoyable and continues regularly benefits everyone involved.
In Conclusion
The barbecue party exemplifies the effective functioning of the social invisible hand.
The ease with which we can imagine harmony in a barbecue party suggests that we already possess a deep understanding of the social invisible hand. However, when looking at society as a whole, we tend to view it through a different lens unnecessarily.
Additionally, the barbecue party serves as a useful model for thought experiments about how changes to societal structures or individual mindsets might affect outcomes.
What would happen if attendance were mandatory, there was enough food for everyone, but participants believed they had to compete for their share? What proposals or rules could transform such a barbecue into an enjoyable gathering?
Engaging in such thought experiments clarifies the Dynamics of Will shaping current society. As more people deepen their understanding of these dynamics and spread the insights gained, society will gradually evolve through the influence of the invisible hand.
Eventually, once a certain threshold is surpassed, this evolution will become an unstoppable current, and society will flow gracefully toward harmony.
