Moral Coherence vs. Survival — Incompatible Goods
Māori Genocide of Moriori vs Individualism Genealogy vs Atheism: Two Forms
Māori Genocide of Moriori vs Individualism Genealogy vs Atheism: Two Forms
Moriori chose Nunuku's Law and faced extinction. Individualism provides coherence but requires either accepting hierarchy or eliminating it—both costly choices. Atheism provides intellectual freedom but fragments morality.
In each case, choosing coherence means accepting vulnerability. Choosing survival flexibility means accepting incoherence. These are not compatible goods.
The collision is tragic: you cannot have both moral coherence and survival flexibility. A culture that commits deeply to values becomes vulnerable to populations that don't share those values. A culture that remains flexible and uncommitted survives longer but loses cultural identity.
The Moriori chose coherence and died. Other populations choose flexibility and survive but lose cultural continuity.
Cultures face a genuine tragic choice: commitment to deep values produces coherence but vulnerability; flexibility produces survival but loss of identity. Neither choice is simply better. The tragedy is that you cannot have both.