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First they would use their powers to benefit themselves and then the government would find out and the person would get hired by the government doing what the government believes is good.
ah, but if one has superpowers, how does the government get them to do anything? I mean, they can just not listen to the government, and if you have superpowers, the government can't stop you, cause you're too powerful
They would use them for good however the problem is not how they would use them but how we the people viwe the useage of these for example someone may use the power to read minds cheat on a game show is thet good or bad well that all depends on how we look at thing using them for good or bad is arbitrary
Well this is someone so nobody specific. Therefore there is no incorrect answer to the question asked, due to someone being anyone. There are always people who are good at heart and bad at heart, to decide whether someone who discovered he/she had superpowers would use them for good or bad is purely and wholly hypothetical.
So I say that they would be good. Then again they have just as equal a chance of being bad.
I would very obviously use them to make world peace. I actually had a dream last night where I had every super-power I could imagine. If that where the case, I'd end all suffering.
Please... we're not all "little angels". As horrific as it may sound, human selfishness is more commonly deemed as the dominant force in rationality.
If I had the power to become super strong, I would be exploiting my ability at any given chance, especially if it meant drawing popular attention. I would be satisfying my own desires; the concept of 'good' or 'bad' probably wouldn't even make a difference; it would be what I wanted to do and nothing more. We all have desires, and we all want to fulfill them whenever we can.
If I had the power to become invisible, well, that would be every teenage boy's dream, but it would definitely become useful for certain activities in which I would prefer to remain unnoticed. Besides, we all want to go places where we won't be seen and listen to conversations no-one will want others to hear.
Our desires are often deemed wrong, or bad; with superpowers, there is no good or bad anymore, or at least there are no restrictions holding us back (with the possible conflict with morality).
Sure, there are plenty of us who would come right out and say "YES!!! I would save the world!!!" but seriously... would you? Wouldn't the spoils of life be just a little more tempting? Perhaps not to some, but I suspect that most will say one thing and do another.
The minimum length for an argument is 50 characters. The purpose of this restriction is to cut down on the amount of dumb jokes, so we can keep the quality of debate and discourse as high as possible.
Humans are selfish, with super powers you could turn yourself into an idol, a almost god like figure. Why turn yourself into a villain when turning yourself into a hero would have more benefits. You'll be state funded, science funded, in commercials, loved and worshiped. As a super villain you'll be hunted, despised, etc. You'll have more spoils as a Super Hero, then as a Super Villain.
A God like figure? Yes, superiority over others would be rather God-like.
Imagine; the boundaries of human beings no longer applied to you. A world without self-restraint, it seems a paradise for one's self. The desires of human beings vary, all dependent on their psychological, physiological and socio-cultural characteristics and morality. If I wanted to purchase a million dollar ring, but was without the necessary amount of money, I could easily claim that money, or even the ring itself, along with the use of superpowers. Sure, it's bad, but we are all selfish in one way or another, and we all have desires that we want to fulfill. Superpowers could grant opportunities to fulfill our desires; who among us would never consider it, let alone go through with it?
Hero or Villain, Good or Evil; these are all stereotypical boundaries of personality. Are we good in life? Are we bad in life? If in life we are commonly good, we are so because we live in a way which does not permit evil. Superpowers would change the playing field, and I suspect we would all play a much more evil game should we possess such power.
It would really depend on the super powers which a persons has, If someone can go invisible, so what? Thermal imaging and a gun has them gone pretty quickly. Which is what a government would do if the person failed to cooperate with them. If someone could fly, well governments have jets and lots of them . if they could fly and have laser vision, well the government would still have jets, and missiles. You would either have to have a lot of super powers or at least a few key ones in order to be able to simply claim something. If you didn't have the right superpowers you could put up a better fight then the non-super powered person, but you'll likely lose in the end.
What ever your super powers, it would give you more social leverage. This leverage doesn't have to be coercive. Non-coercive social leverage is more stable, and is more of a long term solution. As soon as someone learns that, and they are able to, they'll be a super-"hero". Would you rather have one shinny ring, and a hundred bullets embedded in you or a silver bullet in your gun and 100 shinny rings?
Again it is acknowledged that "Good use" of superpowers would be the rational choice. Rationality, however is an aspect of a world with boundaries; our world. If boundaries were to fall, who is to say that others would not attempt things beyond their previous capabilities? I've seen posts here on this very debate where people state that they would be robbing banks of what are considered as 'impenetrable security'. I am aware of human nature, it longs for a release in boundaries. We all dream of flying without wings to support us and lifting sky-high buildings; superpowers would turn these little dreams into big realities.
And who is to say that we all dream of saving the world? Don't we want endless fortunes that we can take at any time? Don't we want to stop working hard for our profits in life (as the life of a super-hero would conflict with)? If we want to turn dreams into reality then superpowers would be the answer; if someone gained superpowers then they will no longer dream as we do. If our dreams in life would be reflected as "bad" in today's society, then it should be obvious that superpowers would have us fulfill bad dreams.
On the note of a super-villain, however, I would much rather have world domination than mere "social leverage". Sure, planes could shoot you down and perhaps you would be enemy number 1, but it all seems so spectacular doesn't it? Don't deny that you'd be a little tempted...! It's all too desirable! Human selfishness would prevail in the majority of others; I'm sure of it.
Selfishness will always prevail. You don't have to be "bad" to be rich or to own most of the world. A strong Social leverage is indistinguishable from world domination, except in how those your dominating views you. Most people don't have dreams which are considered "bad" in and of themselves in today's society. How they plan to get there might be "bad" but the goals don't need to be and usually arn't. With super powers you'll have less obstacles stopping you from accomplishing your goals in both the "good" and "bad" ways. The "bad" ways would naturally lead to problems, the "good" ways would naturally lead to advantages. Why pick problems over advantages?
Alas, superpowers are the leverage any human being would want; whether it be social leverage or world domination. If I robbed a bank to feed a poor man in the street my crime is inexcusable, despite the 'good intentions' I may have had. Suppose others believe that I robbed the bank and gave the money to a poor man in an attempt to disguise my true intentions? What then? On top of that, the presence of superpowers would create fear and suspicion, which may cause the people of the world to fight against me. To defend myself, I need to use my superpowers against the people who exist within the boundaries I used to; therefore I must use my superpowers for "bad" purposes. My point in this is to reveal that having superpowers is naturally going to create conflict, and even if the primary intentions of the empowered person were good, they may very quickly be led to a life of bad intentions. Evidently, it is not merely picking "problems over advantages," but rather picking the most profitable path; one which will lead to a better solution for you personally than trying to do "good" in the world. The selfish natures of us all will also conflict with this, and I assure you that good would not prevail in the end.
They could create fear and suspicion, and also wonder and awe, and possibly a sense of security even. There are many possibilities and the situation may arise that one must be "bad" due to how society reacts to them. At first, most definitely fear and suspicion will arise, and it would be best to hide your identity or keep knowledge of your powers restricted. If a superPowered person could directly gather the support of the people, and was then attacked by government he would likely be viewed not as hostile but as protecting himself and thus remain "good" despite some "bad" he might have to do; so long as the people have faith in the superpowered person and won't believe the propaganda a government would send out. He would have to be like superman, flying around blowing out house fires; my guess is a person would have less useful superpowers and find it difficult to gather the type of necessary support, meaning they will either be hunted or in hiding. I guess alternatively a super powered person could work for the government, but then he'll just be a pawn.
If we were to conceal our true identities, it would seem rational that we could essentially get away with any act we may choose to perform. The world would be in fear, though they would never know who they were dealing with until the person chose to reveal themselves. Any super-powered person who used logic and rational thought could see this possibility. Government control is what many people fear, and a sense of 'rebellion' over the government is another possible outcome. Perhaps the super-powered person decided to assassinate Barack Obama, as he/she believed in a white presidency? Not only does it matter as to what powers a person has, but also who they are. We are all different, but, as I have stated, we all contain selfishness. I believe that superpowers would change our reasoning in life, and that no immoral act would be impossible to achieve.
Of course you'd have no obstacles stopping you from doing an immoral act, but if you are a moral person to begin with, I'd think you'd choose to be moral after gaining said super powers. You'd probably get things that you'd want and be selfish sometimes of course, but I doubt a moral person would go on a killing rampage just because there would be no consequences. I know I'd help as many people as possible, but I'd try not to be selfish. I would also like to still work for a living because I think my job is fun and I wouldn't want to steal money just because I had the ability to do so.
Who knows... perhaps we would. But as I've said: gaining superpowers would change the playing field; it is hard to tell how anyone would play their game. Moral beliefs may become no less than the "little voice" way off in the distance that you couldn't really hear anyway. The lack of consequences isn't the entire point either; we are talking about a new basis of superiority over the rest of mankind. A moral person might decide to help his/her family by stealing $100,000, and steal an extra $20,000,000 on their way out the bank vault. I can understand that you believe that you could control any of your selfish behaviours; we all have them, but are you accurately sure that you could? What if you your powers could allow you to rob a bank and get away with it? Would you not consider it? Is it not tempting enough...? What do you think is better: working for an annual wage or taking any sum of money at any time with no consequence? More importantly, could you answer no differently if you really did have superpowers? There's something to really think about!
Perhaps, perhaps not. It's a hard call since neither one of us have even the smallest idea as to what having superpowers really feels like. Even if you were a fully moral person, there's no telling how superpowers might change that. Adding human selfishness into the equation leads me to believe that superpowers would be used for "bad" purposes. This may be different to you but it would probably be relevant to the majority of the world.
That would be dumb, when you could use your super powers as leverage so you could eventually own a few of them. Sell your genetic material for millions if not billions, and buy a few.
You wouldn't be a commodity at all if you weren't willing to sell, you'll be hunted though. I guess you could rent out your labor for a time if you somehow didn't get hunted and weren't willing to sell your genetic material.
Most would consider the reason for which I would use such powers to be bad, which is why I am posting on this side; however I'd use them for a means which I consider to be good.
The 'good' that I would do would be to conduct a fight against the most horrific malady afflicting mankind: overpopulation.
At first (and this is based on the study of human nature), a person would use their powers for good. Eventually though, as we can see through history, power corrupts. So they would use their powers for their own selfish gains. And this is assuming they weren't bad in the beginning.
why thanx, i was afraid my response was to vague, but you understood it. you sounded like a real MacArthur capitalist there so i thought the response was appropriate
