"All right. That's the premise of your story: The world was made for man."

"I can't quite grasp it. I mean, I can't quite see what it's a premise."

"The people of your culture made it a premise--took it as a premse. They said: What if the world were made for us?"

"Ok, Keep going."

"Think of the consenquences of taking that as your premise: If the world was made for you, then what?"

"Ok, I see what you mean. I think. If the world was made for us, then it belongs to us and we can do what we damn well please with it."

"Exactly. That's what's been happening here for the past ten thousand years: You've been doing what you damn well please with the world. And of course you mean to go right on doing what you damn well please with it because the whole damn thing belongs to you."*

*Excerpt from Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.