No escape from hedonism?

[Z500]

I was just reading Godless Dave's thread Modern Satanism (http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61237) where I realized Satanism itself is hedonistic ("1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!"). Then I got to thinking about law enforcing order, therefore making life generally more pleasant for law-abiding citizens. Most people will try to obey the law so that they aren't punished. Isn't that hedonism as well?

[ComestibleVenom]

Z500,

I had been asking the same sort of questions for a long time. There are fantastic answers available to us by way of evolutionary game theory. It turns out that it is quite possible to descend irretrievably into a situation where nobody is happy. Not only is hedonism not inevitable, it's a downright stupid strategy in societies with recognition mechanisms and punishment for those who promote their own interests at the expense of others.

I highly suggest you read the introduction of the following article:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/game-theory/

Another fascinating angle on such phenomenon as altruism is http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/game-evolutionary/