I've been around long enough to know that it's the same as it ever was. I don't think it's a majority, or ever has been a majority, that engage in scamming behavior. I could be wrong about that, but I don't think the ground truth has fundamentally shifted.

But that the majority must still behave rightly paranoid that it is the majority in order to protect themselves from a really pretty small minority.

>I've been around long enough to know that it's the same as it ever was

Yes well the whole point is to make things better - not just keep them the same

I'd say "cautious" rather than "paranoid".

This relates to a piece of advice I gave my children: most people are fundamentally good and decent. A small percentage are not. The problem is that you can't tell which is which just by looking at them.

I wouldn’t. The internet has been a game changer for scammers. Back I. The day, you could still run a boiler room, but it was an actual office in the US law enforcement could raid.

What a sad life it must be to be constantly fearful and anxious of every social interaction.

To be clear, I don't personally operate from this assumption nor does my community (generally)

However it is unquestionable that the default mode for humans in America to operate is out of fear - and the opposite is by exception

I'm a human in America and that's certainly not the "unquestionable" default mode that everyone operates on.

Is it really unquestionable?

Sounds like you're conflating scammy behavior with behavior that furthers one's goals. Just because something someone does furthers their agenda doesn't mean the person they interact with doesn't also get something out of the interaction, and it doesn't mean they were deceived in any way.

Even in human interaction amongst your closest friends and family, they only interact with you for their own benefit - that just happens to be in pursuit of the endorphins/dopamine gained when they spend time with the people they share memories with, and it happens to be reciprocal.

I refuse to make this assumption. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm getting a lot of mileage from assuming kindness and honesty at the start of every interaction.

Well, with exception of those which need to be shot with Hanlon's handgun[0]. There's surprisingly many of those, and not where people would suspect (e.g. I see it more often interacting with small businesses than with larger ones) - but in most interactions with others, I find it best to not reach for the handgun until it's clear it's needed.

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[0] - "Never attribute to stupidity that which can be adequately explained by systemic incentives promoting malice." -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21691282

> in most interactions with others, I find it best to not reach for the handgun until it's clear it's needed

This is excellent advice for both metaphorical and literal handguns.

Our economic system is based on systemic incentives promoting malice. I'm surprised how people aren't more scammy given how greatly it's incentivized.

Large corporations where all human values are made illegal are quite shining examples how humans should operate in our system. This is sadly quite common in non-profits too.

> I'm getting a lot of mileage from assuming kindness and honesty at the start of every interaction.

I agree with this, but there are situations where because of obvious incentives you cannot make this assumption. Car salesman treating me like his best friend? I wonder why?

Damn, that's a dark worldview. My personal experience in life indicates it's not even close to true, fortunately.

"the majority of people are attempting to, or engaging in some kind of scamming behavior in at least half of their interactions."

I think the numbers are way lower, but it is an old, archaic idea, you do good for your tribe/family - by taking from anywhere outside of the tribe. Stealing from the tribe is very bad and might get you killed. Stealing from another tribe however is not stealing, but reputable work, as long as there are no established friendly relations to that tribe. Many people indeed operate with this mindset (consciously or not)

But all in all I would rather say, that the number of people who consider all of humanity their family, is increasing.