Dear Ed,
The Hard, Central Truth Of Contemporary Conservatism
Except, of course, for the loaves and fishes.
But never mind.
If you can rationalize Trump, you can rationalize anything.
Thanks for sending this article.
"La buena nueva" of Christianity is that we are no longer subject to the ironclad cyclicalness of endless repetition but instead -- with Christianity's creation of goal-directed History playing out on a time-line -- we are now hurtling toward the Apocalypse. (As an aside, I will mention that apocalypse does not mean Armageddon in the intrinsic sense of apocalypse, even though Armageddon and Apocalypse can, in theory, coincide.)
Literally "apocalyse" means "revelation" or "lifting of the veil." https://www.etymonline.com/word/apocalypse (The cataclysmic meaning of "apocalypse" first appeared in 1858.)
On the socio-political-economic "level," that "veil" has always blocked common folks' vision of what takes place on the other side of the glass ceiling" where "the wealthy" reside -- people whose inner-sanctum operations-and-machinations are deliberately hidden so that when "the masses" look around for someone to blame, they see "nothing" when "they look up" and therefore settle on other slobs much like themselves. And the most desirable slob-demon-whipping-boys are people with dark skin and different religions (even if those religions are secular).
The New Thing (la buena nueva") that is happening on Christianity's "time-line" -- as opposed to the inherent materialism of "eternally recurrent cycles" -- is that people are starting to discern Oz lurking behind the curtain, and increasingly they know that he is a very small --- and small-minded man --- essentially indistinguishable from Donald Trump.
Until the Industrial Revolution (which began around 1750) 90% to 98% of humans have been illiterate peasants.
Now, in addition to 30% of humankind still clinging to peasant stupefaction as it relates to "los de arriba" (and consequent submission to their job-providing "patron"), another 30% are aware that "los de arriba" are among "the dumbest-of-fucks" and not "the hyper clever, creative people" that Will and Ariel Durant spotlight.
Clearly, this conversation requires much discussion.
But I will close for now by saying that people like Carl who "trend right," are, at bottom, pragmatic fence sitters claiming they are not Trumpistas, when in fact they are among Trump's most effective enablers by thinking (as libertarians do) that there is no need to take sides.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
And if enough good men do nothing we regress to iron-clad cyclicalness of a purely materialist understanding of the zoological phenomenon of "naked apes." Nothing suits the money-obsessed better than reducing humankind to nothing more than apes. If we're talking brute dog-eat-dog zoological impulse, well -- of course the dogs will eat the dogs.
"Fetch The Pitchforks!" Amazon Will Pay $0 Taxes On $11,200,000,000.00 Profit
And so, my summary observation/challenge for ALL old guard Republicans (and derivative non-partisan "conservatives") is this: "YOU created the "ground" in which Trumpism took root. Yet you take NO responsibility for what you've done. In effect you want the chaos we've got because it justifies the chaos of your self-seeking greed."
The Hard, Central Truth Of Contemporary Conservatism
The hard, central "fact" of contemporary "conservatism" is its insistence on a socio-economic threshold above which people deserve government assistance, and below which people deserve to die.
The sooner the better.
Unless conservatives are showing n'er-do-wells The Door of Doom, they just don't "feel right."
To allay this chthonic anxiety, they resort to Human Sacrifice, hoping that spilled blood will placate "the angry gods," including the one they've made of themselves. http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/09/harvard-study-45000-americans-die.html
Having poked their own eyes out, they fail to see that self-generated wrath creates "the gods" who hold them thrall.
The Evangelical Persecution Complex
(Projection's Finest Hour)
Almost "to a man," contemporary "conservatives" have apotheosized themselves and now -- sitting on God's usurped throne -- are rabid to pass Final Judgment.
Self-proclaimed Christians, eager to thrust "the undeserving" through The Gates of Hell, are the very people most likely to cross its threshold.
Remarkably, although they are prone to believe all manner of Trumpeted nonsense, none of them are tempted to believe in their own spiritual peril.
The Pharisees Are Always With Us.
Here's What They "Look Like" Today
But never mind.
If you can rationalize Trump, you can rationalize anything.
"The Hard, Central Truth Of Contemporary Conservatism"
It is the essential do-nothing irresponsibility of trending right fence sitters that enables them to pursue a particularly ugly kind of self-interest, "washing their hands" of Trump so that they have more time-and-energy to invest in their own self-centered economic advancement while "The Common Good," "The General Welfare" and a truly "Social Contract" wither from lack of input.
And the ultimate justification for their indolent self-interest is that "equality" needs to make way for tyranny in any event.
But now we are on the verge of "apocalypse," and if fence sitters' indolence doesn't exacerbate the occult operation of Big Money with the end of evoking global calamity -- and all the "dust-obscurity-hiddeness" that calamity brings in tow -- people will see behind the curtain as "the veil begins to lift" and there will no longer be perceived need for "dogs eating dogs" but instead there will manifest
Conservative Christianity, Armageddon As Sell-Fulfilling Prophecy, And Return To The Neolithic
Notably, Christianity emerged as a slave religion which enabled the slaves to see their worth.
As the lyric in "O, Holy Night" puts it: "He appeared and soul knew its worth."
That is la buena nueva.
As we approach apocalypse, the slaves (from time out of mind) are able to see their worth, and -- as Chesterton put it -- democracy makes all people equal in by dignifying all people equally as "children of God."
On Sat, Dec 28, 2019 at 2:27 AM EM wrote:
From my (non-Trump supporter) R leaning stock guru (Carl):The Evolution of Political RegimesSeptember 17, 2019 / Alex Barrow /Plato, using Socrates as his mouthpiece, wrote the following condemnation of Athenian democracy in his Republic:
[The citizens] contemptuously rejected temperance as unmanliness… Insolence they term breeding, and anarchy liberty, and waste magnificence, and impudence courage… The father gets accustomed to descend to the level of his sons and to fear them, and the son to be on a level with his father, having no shame or fear of his parents… The teacher fears and flatters his scholars, and the scholars despise their masters and tutors… The old do not like to be thought morose and authoritative, and therefore they imitate the young… Nor must I forget to tell of the liberty and equality of the two sexes in relation to each other… The citizens chafe impatiently at the least touch of authority, and at length…. They cease to care even for the laws, written or unwritten… And this is the fair and glorious beginning out of which springs dictatorship… The excessive increase of anything causes a reaction in the opposite direction;… dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme form of liberty.
Plato reduced the evolution of political regimes to a sequence of monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, and dictatorship. In the excerpt above he’s commenting on the fraying democracy in Athens that was driven by a widening gap between the rich and poor… sound familiar?
The wealth disparity drove the poor to try and enlarge their cut of the pie through legislation, taxation, and revolution. The rich banded together to protect themselves and their money. This division fractured Athenian society and opened the door for Philip of Macedon to invade and conquer Greece.
Greeks had grown so despondent with their political system that many actually welcomed his conquest. Greek democracy transitioned to dictatorship.
Nearly 300 years later we saw a similar sequence play out in Rome. The Roman Republic created enormous amounts of wealth through its vast control and exploitation of foreign lands. The new aristocrats curried favor with the leaders on Palatine Hill through bribes and political support. Over time, the government began to work for the special interest of the few.
In response, the commoners supported Julius Caesar who seized power and established a popular dictatorship. He was then stabbed in the back (literally) by the aristocrats and replaced by another dictator, Gaius Octavius. Democracy became a dictatorship which then became a monarchy.
Political regimes like much of nature seem to oscillate between extremes (democracy and autocracy), where each extreme sets the conditions for the inevitable transition towards the other. How a nation’s wealth is divided amongst its people is one of the biggest drivers of this constant pendulum.
In Will and Ariel Durant’s The Lessons of History they write that “inequality is not only natural and inborn, it grows with the complexity of civilization. Hereditary inequalities breed social and artificial inequalities: every invention or discovery is made or seized by the exceptional individual, and makes the strong stronger, the weak relatively weaker.”
This fact keeps the political system in oscillation between extremes. Where — again quoting both Durants— “…freedom and equality are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies. Leave men free, and their natural inequalities will multiply almost geometrically, as in England and America in the nineteenth century under laissez-faire. To check the growth of inequality, liberty must be sacrificed, as in Russia after 1917. Even when repressed, inequality grows; only the man who is below the average in economic ability desires equality; those who are conscious of superior ability desire freedom; and in the end superior ability has its way.”
When economic prosperity is relegated to a few, society’s desire for political freedom becomes merely a conciliatory afterthought. This arises not so much through the wealthy’s direct exploitation of the poor but rather due to the increasing complexity of the economy and government. This complexity puts an additional premium upon one’s superior ability to navigate it, which further amplifies the concentration of wealth and political power.
Running under all of this is the Bridgewater style long-term debt cycle. The wealthy are the creditors that hold the assets, the poor the debtors who suffer under the liabilities. The larger the balance sheet grows, the more complex the economy and the more enriched the wealthy and the more financially strangled the masses become. Until of course, a natural limit is hit… equality pushes back at freedom… and democracy inches towards autocracy.
The Durant’s note that when “our economy of freedom fails to distribute wealth as ably as it has created it, the road to dictatorship will be open to any man who can persuasively promise security to all; and a martial government, under whatever charming phrases, will engulf the democratic world.”
The interesting political events of late (ie, Brexit, Trump, the rise of nationalist parties in Europe etc) are not causes but rather effects of the debt cycle and the natural evolution of the political sequence as described by Plato some 2,400 years ago.
That is not to say we are going to see a shift to dictatorship or anything of the kind in the near future (we aren’t)… nor am I saying that is what Trump in any way represents (he doesn’t). Rather, I’m talking about the large tidal forces at work; the historical cogs that are turning and driving the current rise in populist sentiment and which will play out for many years to come.
We are witnessing the battle between two opposing forces of political and economic nature unfold. Neither is good or bad, they both simply are. Each is embedded in the evolution of our natural system where equilibrium is merely a concept and constant change a reality.
It is with that understanding that we must judge and assess things to come. Taken in this context, the current insanity of the world begins to make a lot more sense.
The course we are on now is not a sustainable one.
I fear the rise in populist politics is only just beginning. Let’s hope we don’t swing too far back in the other direction…
Co-Founder of Macro Ops, Global Macro Fanatic, Former U.S. Marine Scout Sniper & Intelligence Professional
No comments:
Post a Comment