it's amusing to read you espousing beliefs anathema to Conservatism, such as diversity and learning from other species/cultures previously; and now a philosophy anathema to free-market capitalism:
"Obviously, a sentient species has the advantage of being able to predict and plan, and doesn't always have to wait for nature to slap it down the hard way."

Does the phrase "global warming" ring any bells?

Are you saying that Conservatives aren't sentient?

But I digress, at least by the standards of this board. To a certain degree, anyway, but I wonder if, since you maintain that your political philosophy is based on science and logic, it wouldn't be as appropriate to discuss Conservatism here as, say, Intelligent Design? Pretty good analogy, I'd say--I react to your claims of Intelligently-Designed Conservatism as we both react to the creationists' ID.

It wouldn't be a good idea to pursue that line of inquiry here, of course, because it would turn acrimonious. But that's a shame, because the question of why different minds gravitate to different belief systems seems to me to be one of profound scientific interest. In the context of this thread, one might ask what sorts of belief systems alien minds might develop (given my experience of humans, I can only laugh hysterically at the faith that alien minds must be more rational and logical; 50/50 odds they'll be even crazier than we are). In the context of another recent thread, "AI" might learn something from such an inquiry--wanna bet that a genuine "AI" would prove to be highly irrational? (A rational AI would be just a very powerful computer; only an irrational AI could pass a Turning test administered by an irrational human.)