Knowing human nature, if we all had to share those warlike conditions, maybe we'd just endure sucking for everyone to keep the war effort going.

There’s a really great science fiction novel where that’s sort of the climax, but I guess I can’t cite it without dropping a mammoth spoiler…

You know at first that sounds glib but the more I think about it the more profound that statement appears..

If I could elaborate more I was just thinking of various statements of political philosophy that people have made to me in the past.

“The Golden rule is the one thing that all religions have in common.”

“Liberals just want to spread the misery around.”

“What we need is facts and logic, not emotion.”

“Liberty, equality, fraternity.”

“An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

I can’t tie this all up in a bow but there are some interesting themes and counter themes there. If I was a philosophy major I might be able to make more sense.

One could accomplish that with forced empathy and memory injection.

We already have fMRI tech that can do some of that.

The ease with which you’ve transformed empathy into a form of oppression...

I'm certainly not the only one to think of this.

I know of Twilight Zone episodes to have used that. Specifically one I can think of is the Dachau Nazi "doctor" comes back to relive his glory days, and is forced by the ghosts who still live there to forcefully feel their pain for the rest of his life. It's supernatural, but still the same idea.

There were also episodes of Outer Limits that did similar, but with a machine that forced them to live with the crime they committed.

I believe Black Mirror also did some of this as well.

We don’t need fMRI. There is plenty of opportunity to experience the conditions first hand.

Or we'd select for masochists.

One thing shown by modern politics is that you're absolutely correct: Plenty of people in modern society are happy to act (and in particular, vote) in a way that will hurt them as long as they think someone who deserves it will be hurt more. Not to mention that some people simply won't be hurt by things that other people can't handle.

Not sure why you're getting downvoted, it seems like a perfectly plausible outcome to me.

Inspired by a "what could possibly go wrong" moment.

Selection incentives are a real beast.

Or sadists. If you consider that Hitler went through gas warfare I have no optimism that we would be better off with politicians that know war.