Seeking Clarity,
How much of the false-presentation of reality, with which we are increasingly deluged, has been well-planned and arranged, and how much has been thrown like spaghetti against a wall, and used until it quit sticking? You might also have been struggling with how to approach models of human behavior in times of rapid change, brought on by economic degradation, as the provisions for life become unpredictable, then life-threateningly short. A society entering crisis needs to adjust, but the specific needs of the owner class, the working class and the skilled classes may be so disparate as to make that impossible until some class capitulates. It migh have to be the owners who capitulate in order for an actual, healthy reformation of social economy, the "social contract" to start getting worked-out..
This article says that "Ideologies are no longer the way we know them, and that means the world is being reconfigured". There are always flaws and corruptions of ideologies, also. Ideologies are simplifications that people can "agree" upon to work in harmony, but with a range of interpretations and embodiments.
Capitalism at war means monopolies arising, while communists at war means massive genocides arising. Corroded ideology is not necessarily a bad thing, but it shows a breakdown in thinking in society
Ideologies arise as a way of trying to organize models of government, and several of them have even been criminalized around the world due to the massacres they have carried out. But at the same time, this does not mean that they will cease to exist.
When a society thinks 50% one thing and another half thinks 50% another thing, this means that there is a polarity of thoughts that can only lead to chaos and barbarism, because the people, hungry or in difficulty, are not able to come to a consensus, and then authoritarianism and popular uprisings arise.
Bill sends this fine article about the Psychology of Totalitarianism, part of a series by Harrison Koehli, which has been looking at and synthesizing the observations and theories of some of the best authors. This is a snippet from somewhere in the middle. Good concentration is essential to understanding this piece. A key concept is that of the inherent order of mass behavior which arises from a few simple guiding "rules", as in the movement of a murmuration of starlings, or the Sierpinski Triangle.
(Ponerology: The study of evil.)
..Anyways, those are Desmet's views. How do they compare with Political Ponerology [PP]? Pretty well, on the whole. On the last point, Lobaczewski warns: "oversimplification of the causal picture as regards the genesis of evil — often to a single, easily understood cause or perpetrator — itself becomes a cause in this genesis" (PP, p. 132). More generally pathocracy is a "complex causal system" (PP, p. 79) that emerges largely unconsciously, as a result primarily of psychobiological factors. Here are some quotes that get across the point:... in leaving behind our old natural method of comprehension and learning to track the internal causality of the phenomenon, we marvel at the surprising exactness with which the latter turns out to be subjected to its own regular laws. ... The entirety is ... clearly subject to causative determination to a degree that the researcher could not have anticipated. (PP, p. 235)
... the system is rigidly causative and lacking in natural and rational freedom of choice. (PP, p. 256)
... the image of the phenomenon is so dominated by psychological causation that there is not much room left for free choice. (PP, p. 316)
The range of causal factors Lobaczewski brings to bear is extensive (more extensive than Desmet's). His account involves a number of what he calls "pathological factors" (specific personality disorders and disturbances, whether primarily genetic, organic, or functional, of varying severity), "ponerogenic phenomena" (like pathological narcissism, paramoralisms, reversive blockades, conversive thinking, spellbinders), and "ponerogenic processes" (like hystericization and ponerization of groups) that proceed roughly in stereotypical sequences, utilizing ideologies. All of these form a complex mosaic structure that makes up the macrosocial phenomenon of pathocracy, much like the fractal of Desmet's description.
For Desmet, "The whole of society has a part in [totalitarianism's] rise in one way or another; every person bears a responsibility in it" (PT, p. 139). Similarly, for Lobaczewski,
In ponerogenic processes, moral deficiencies, intellectual failings, and pathological factors intersect in a spatio-temporal causative network giving rise to individual and national suffering. (PP, p. 224, cf. p. 78)
He often repeats that one kind of evil ("normal" human weaknesses and failings) "opens the door" to another (psychopathic). In this regard, the people most responsible for the early stages of ponerogenesis are not evil per se. They are just weak. And that weakness provides the opening for unimaginable evil.
Desmet thinks that ideology is what selects for position in totalitarianism. Here, Lobaczewski would disagree, arguing that ideology becomes increasingly irrelevant and essentially window dressing as pathocracy takes on its dissimulative form. In an ordinary society, a social structure forms as a result of many factors (see PP, pp. 38-48). The resulting structure is in no way planned, but a kind of self-organizing superorganism the develops out of all the individual and group interactions, cooperation and competition of the people that constitute it.
Pathocracy is a demented Bizarro-world version of this process (OK, he doesn't use those terms precisely). Ideology may provide the initial impetus and outer clothing, but the ultimate selection process, like the causality, is psychobiological in nature. In terms of ponerogenic groups like the Bolsheviks, "Rigorous selective measures of a clearly psychological kind are applied to new members" (PP, p. 165), resulting in a "pathological social structure." (The same dynamic applies to the periodic purges of Party and society.) Just as humans tend to self-select into suitable roles based on their unique cognitive repertoires, a similar process plays itself out in ponerogenic groups and, ultimately, in a pathocracy...
Maajid Nawaz, It's about Globalism, Stupid There is a lot here about the reorganizations in the UK and Sri Lanka, as well as other countries, and one should consider the assassination of Shinzo Abe in Japan, which we will touch on later. Joe Biden going under the bus is not a fix, just a head-fake to expect.
Ever wonder why Bill Gates was in Pakistan for his first ever visit not long before that country’s populist PM Imran Khan was deposed? Well, keen twitter observers have noted that the same Bill Gates appears to also have landed in the UK on the day populist Boris Johnson was deposed.
The Consciousness f Sheep looks at the Globalist plans to break eggs preparatory to cooking their BBB omolette. The Great Unravelling
"The supply destruction that is going on behind the scenes as corporations shut down operations and scrap equipment, machinery and vehicles will only come to public prominence when governments declare the pandemic to be over. Only then, when key fuels and resources are no longer available to us in the quantities required will we fully understand the folly of shutting down economies in a failed attempt to halt the spread of a not particularly dangerous virus. But the consequences of that third wave, which will give rise to evils from third world debt defaults and increased poverty and hunger to trade and resource wars, will be beyond our capacity to resolve. Lacking the energy and resources even to develop a steady-state economy, the global economy which emerges out of the pandemic response can only collapse; most likely rapidly.” This was always going to create the greatest risk to states like Sri Lanka which are heavily indebted and dependent on just one or two commodity exports to secure the foreign exchange currency they need to stay afloat. According to the US thinktank the Council on Foreign Relations, Sri Lanka is just one country which was at risk of collapse. Others include Argentina, Egypt, Ghana, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Nor is the risk limited to the global south. European states like Albania, Lithuania and North Macedonia are also candidates for near-term collapse as their dollar-denominated debt becomes unpayable.
The problem is compounded by a global investor flight which is driving the US dollar up to unsustainable highs… thereby devaluing the currency of any state which needs dollars to do business. This is setting up a vicious spiral in which as more national economies crash, the more investors will seek the relative safety of US assets even if the return on these is miniscule… or even if the Federal Reserve takes the rate negative.
The pachyderm on the sofa in all of this though, is the volume of derivative “assets” which have been created on the back of all of this increasingly unrepayable sovereign debt. Just as in 2008, we only discovered the extent of the derivatives based on mortgages after the banking system began to collapse, so this time round we will likely only fully understand the extent of the problem as the entire global economy succumbs to a world-wide sovereign debt crisis.
Unlike 2008, there won’t be any states left standing to bail the system out. And with western leaders seemingly determined to drive the emerging Eurasian/BRICS bloc into setting up an alternative system which disadvantages the west, the prospect for a rapid descent into economic, political and social chaos looks inevitable.
Surplus Energy Economics looks at The Affordability Crisis. which results from the above. (Heavily edited)
..We need to be absolutely clear, though, that money has no intrinsic worth, but commands value only as a ‘claim’ on the material products and services made available by the energy economy.....Central banks can ‘print’ money (digitally), but they can’t similarly print low-cost energy. The banking system can lend money into existence, but we can’t lend resources into existence...
..Whether we think in energy or in financial terms, what’s happening now is that the economic resources of households, and of the economy itself, have ceased to expand, and have started to contract, whilst the costs of essentials are rising.
This is what is meant by an affordability crisis.
An affordability crisis does what it says on the tin, and has two main effects.
First, consumers who have to spend more on necessities have to cut back on purchases of discretionary (non-essential) goods and services.
Second, households suffering from affordability compression struggle to “keep up the payments”...
..Perhaps the biggest single risk of the lot would be a wave of ‘can’t pay, won’t pay’ reaction by the public...First, consumers who have to spend more on necessities have to cut back on purchases of discretionary (non-essential) goods and services.
Second, households suffering from affordability compression struggle to “keep up the payments”...
..None of this is going away. An outbreak of peace and conciliation between Russia and its opponents, welcome though this would be, wouldn’t alter the fundamentals, which are that the ECoEs of energy supply are rising, reducing the affordability, not just of energy itself, but of all energy-intensive resources and products.
Fourthly, there’s no “tech fix” for structural affordability compression...
..It’s worth remembering, in this context, that energy sources must precede applications...Fourthly, there’s no “tech fix” for structural affordability compression...
..Technologies are optimised to the energy sources available, not the other way around.
The big question now isn’t whether an affordability crisis is going to happen – because it already is – but when this reality is going to gain recognition as a feature of the system... (Dick Cheney always knew this. Who else?)
..Discretionary consumption has entered an irreversible decline, and that the economy, just like millions of households, is struggling to ‘keep up the payments’ required by an increasingly financialized system.
The Rape Of Europe Is Next Jorge Vilches (Already underway from my vantage point. It's more than "grooming".)
It is becoming ever clearer for European public opinion that without Russian energy, Russian food, and Russian produce at large quite simply Europe cannot survive. So as Frank Sinatra foresaw, the end is now near and Anglo-Saxon+EU joint plans for Russian piracy – plan A — are just about over. Never in their history have Europeans depended so much strictly from Russian produce that very simply cannot stop coming in. All the way to very distant Japan and South Korea, with these Russian sanctions their much-required ´Just-In-Time´ strategy is rapidly becoming ´Just-In-S**t. So now Europeans and Western-compliant Asians would freeze and starve with massive migrations democratically spread out everywhere. That´s why plan B “let´s rape Europe instead” will necessarily kick in soon.....The Anglo-Saxons basically just want to change the tide and win at something-anything, so if Russia cannot be defeated they´ll rape continental Europe first and try to make buddies with whomever later, even Latam or Africa… with investments profits on top. And Australia, as an active part of the AUKUS core may also perform a key role regarding “unfriendly” Asians. And beware: if you care to believe the Anglo-Saxons, between Fort Knox and the Bank of England they both pretty much vault everybody else´s gold, Europe´s included. So be carefully aware of the plenty of food for thought before you. Gold is real money as Lawrence of Arabia learned the hard way...
A few excerpts from the recent (Swiss Strategic Security veteran) Jacques Baud interview. Thanks Noirette. (When will Europe realize she is being raped?)
In the English-speaking world, the U.S. and European Union strategy is increasingly being questioned by military and intelligence officials. This trend is reinforced by U.S. domestic politics. Republicans and Democrats have a very similar view of Russia. The difference, however, lies in the effectiveness of the investments in support of Ukraine. Both share the goal of “regime change” in Russia; but Republicans have noted that the billions spent tend to backfire against the Western economy. In other words, they seem unable to achieve their intended goal while our economies and influence weaken.....In Europe, and in the French-language media in French-speaking Switzerland, France and Belgium, the rhetoric faithfully follows what the Ukrainian propaganda says. We are shown a fictitious reality that announces victory against Russia. The result is that we are not able to help Ukraine overcome its real problems...
..There is a general anti-Russian mood there. People are more Catholic than the Pope. That was also the case with the oil embargo. The U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, advised the EU against an oil embargo. But the EU wanted to do it anyway, leading to skyrocketing oil prices. So, it is obvious that there is a certain dynamic in the EU related to the generation of the current political leadership. European leaders are very young, have no real experience, but are ideologically fixed... ("Young Globalist Leaders")
..In Europe, our understanding of the problem lags behind that of the USA. We are not able to discuss the situation calmly. In the French-language media, it is impossible to take an alternative view of the problems without being called “Putin’s agent.” This is not only an intellectual issue, but first and foremost a problem for Ukraine. By confirming the view proposed by Ukrainian propaganda, our media have pushed Ukraine towards a strategy that costs a huge number of lives and leads to the destruction of the country... ..In the United States, a distinction must be made between the government and the mainstream media on the one hand, and the military and intelligence professionals on the other. Among the latter, there is a growing sense that Ukraine will suffer more from Western strategy than from a war with Russia. This sounds like a paradox , but more and more intelligence people seem to recognize that. In French-speaking Switzerland—in my experience—people do not understand that. They follow the rhetoric of the American government. This is an intellectually limited, extremely primitive, extremely dogmatic and ultimately extremely brutal view towards the Ukrainians. It is, again, a view that is more Catholic than the Pope, because even the US military seems to understand that this approach will lead to failure...
..Let us consider the situation in Mariupol. Our media seem to deplore that the fighters of the Azov Movement surrendered. They feel sorry for them. They would have preferred that they all died. This is extremely inhumane. But now it appears their fighting had no longer any impact on the situation. If you read the Swiss French media, they should have fought to the death, to the last man. These media would have done a “wonderful job” during the defense of Berlin in April 1945! .....NATO is not a peace organization. NATO is fundamentally a nuclear-power organization, as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. That is the purpose of NATO—to put allies under the nuclear umbrella. NATO was founded in 1949, when there were only two nuclear powers—the U.S. and the USSR...
..The very concept of war was not adapted to the realities. NATO is a regional security and defense organization. It was designed in 1949 for a war in Europe with nuclear weapons, tanks, artillery, etc. In Afghanistan, however, there were no nuclear weapons, tanks, or fighter-bombers. That was a very different kind of war. But NATO did not identify the problem...
..To make it simple, let’s say that a war in Europe is a technical challenge. A war in Afghanistan, on the other hand, is a societal challenge. NATO has not understood this essential difference. I mentioned the war in Afghanistan because NATO was engaged there as an organization. In Iraq, it is better to talk about “NATO countries.” But the fact remains that they did not understand that they were waging totally different types of war. Western armies are not prepared for it and have a dogmatic understanding of war...
..To make it simple, let’s say that a war in Europe is a technical challenge. A war in Afghanistan, on the other hand, is a societal challenge. NATO has not understood this essential difference. I mentioned the war in Afghanistan because NATO was engaged there as an organization. In Iraq, it is better to talk about “NATO countries.” But the fact remains that they did not understand that they were waging totally different types of war. Western armies are not prepared for it and have a dogmatic understanding of war...
.. The idea of a common European house, as formulated by Gorbachev and favored by the Russians, is inconceivable to the United States. For this reason, Russia has always had a certain respect for the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). After the end of the Cold War, this model could have been expanded to build security through cooperation rather than confrontation...
.. A 2017 US Army study found that the USSR did not attack Europe because it never intended to. So, our security does not depend on NATO, but on our ability to have good relations with our neighbors. In fact, I believe that NATO membership would put our security at risk. That applies equally to Finland and Sweden...
..Since the early 1990s, the Russians had a conception of security in Europe that was inspired by the OSCE: security through cooperation, not confrontation. That’s why the Russians were interested in joining NATO at that time. But the very concept of NATO, with a dominant power tied to the very nature of the organization itself, cannot integrate the Russian perspective. If you look at the current challenges in the world, the Russian vision can be seen as much more realistic than the Western vision...Red contributed this analysis of the assassination of Japanese Nationalist "paramount leader" Shinzo Abe:
The critical event that likely triggered the process leading to Abe’s assassination was the NATO summit in Madrid (June 28-30).
The NATO summit was a moment when the hidden players behind the scenes laid down the law for the new global order. NATO is on a fast track to evolve beyond an alliance to defend Europe and to become an unaccountable military power, working with the Global Economic Forum, the billionaires and the bankers around the world, as a “world army,” functioning much as the British East India Company did in another era.
The decision to invite to the NATO summit the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand was a critical part of this NATO transformation.
These four nations were invited to join in an unprecedented level of integration in security, including intelligence sharing (outsourcing to big tech multinationals), the use of advanced weapons systems (that must be administrated by the personnel of multinationals like Lockheed Martin), joint exercises (that set a precedent for an oppressive decision-making process), and other “collaborative” approaches that undermine the chain of command within the nation state.
When Kishida returned to Tokyo on July first, there can be no doubt that one of his first meetings was with Abe. Kishida explained to Abe the impossible conditions that the Biden administration had demanded of Japan.
The White House, by the way, is now entirely the tool of globalists like Victoria Nuland (Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs) and others trained by the Bush clan.
The demands made of Japan were suicidal in nature. Japan was to increase economic sanctions on Russia, to prepare for possible war with Russia, and to prepare for a war with China. Japan’s military, intelligence and diplomatic functions were to be transferred to the emerging blob of private contractors gathering for the feast around NATO.
We do not know what Abe did during the week before his death. Most likely he launched into a sophisticated political play, using of all his assets in Washington D.C., Beijing, and Moscow—as well as in Jerusalem, Berlin, and London, to come up with a multi-tiered response that would give the world the impression that Japan was behind Biden all the way, while Japan sought out a détente with China and Russia through the back door.
The problem with this response was that since other nations had been shut down, such a sophisticated play by Japan made it the only major nation with a semi-functional executive branch.
The NATO summit was a moment when the hidden players behind the scenes laid down the law for the new global order. NATO is on a fast track to evolve beyond an alliance to defend Europe and to become an unaccountable military power, working with the Global Economic Forum, the billionaires and the bankers around the world, as a “world army,” functioning much as the British East India Company did in another era.
The decision to invite to the NATO summit the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand was a critical part of this NATO transformation.
These four nations were invited to join in an unprecedented level of integration in security, including intelligence sharing (outsourcing to big tech multinationals), the use of advanced weapons systems (that must be administrated by the personnel of multinationals like Lockheed Martin), joint exercises (that set a precedent for an oppressive decision-making process), and other “collaborative” approaches that undermine the chain of command within the nation state.
When Kishida returned to Tokyo on July first, there can be no doubt that one of his first meetings was with Abe. Kishida explained to Abe the impossible conditions that the Biden administration had demanded of Japan.
The White House, by the way, is now entirely the tool of globalists like Victoria Nuland (Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs) and others trained by the Bush clan.
The demands made of Japan were suicidal in nature. Japan was to increase economic sanctions on Russia, to prepare for possible war with Russia, and to prepare for a war with China. Japan’s military, intelligence and diplomatic functions were to be transferred to the emerging blob of private contractors gathering for the feast around NATO.
We do not know what Abe did during the week before his death. Most likely he launched into a sophisticated political play, using of all his assets in Washington D.C., Beijing, and Moscow—as well as in Jerusalem, Berlin, and London, to come up with a multi-tiered response that would give the world the impression that Japan was behind Biden all the way, while Japan sought out a détente with China and Russia through the back door.
The problem with this response was that since other nations had been shut down, such a sophisticated play by Japan made it the only major nation with a semi-functional executive branch.
Globalists are racing time against this threat!
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt plan to join BRICS, and their potential membership bids could be discussed and answered at next year’s summit in South Africa, Purnima Anand, the president of the organization, told Russian media on Thursday.....“I hope that these countries will join the BRICS quite shortly, as all the representatives of core members are interested in expansion. So it will come very soon,” Anand added.
The news of the three nations’ plans to join BRICS comes after Iran and Argentina officially applied for membership in late June, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh touting the bloc as a “very creative mechanism with broad aspects.”
The news of the three nations’ plans to join BRICS comes after Iran and Argentina officially applied for membership in late June, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh touting the bloc as a “very creative mechanism with broad aspects.”
Pepe Escobar has broad-ranging analysis of Eurasian economic integrative processes again:
As it stands, it’s important to realize that dozens of BRI projects in industry and investment and cross-border inter-regional cooperation will end up consolidating the Russian concept of the Greater Eurasia Partnership – which essentially revolves around establishing multilateral cooperation with a vast range of nations belonging to organizations such as the EAEU, the SCO, BRICS and ASEAN."Quitting bad science" : I can relate...
Health experts are quitting the NIH and CDC in droves because they're embarrassed by 'bad science' - including vaccinating children under 5 to 'make their advice palatable to the White House.'(finally dinged for) Breaking-the-law:
A federal district court in Ohio has temporarily blocked the Biden administration from enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on thousands of U.S. Air Force service members who remain unvaccinated after having opposed the shot on religious grounds but have had their religious exemption applications denied.
And it's not just sugar. There is wholesome food for thought here:
Research suggests sugar can trigger reward and craving states in your brain similar to addictive drugs, and lead to brain-related health issues such as depression, learning disorders, memory problems and overeating.The Ethical Skeptic: The ‘Worthless Human’ Lie of the Diet Cartel
(5-courses of intellectual nourishment for the thoughtful.)
Seasonal Diner (pictured recently with veggies after morning gathering)
Garden looks good John, except the tomatoes, damn things don't like the heat but yet I find them in the kitchen all the time!
ReplyDelete"Globalists are racing time against this threat!"
The latest from Alexander Mircouris suggests that with the upcoming meeting between Russia Iran and Turkey leaders in Tehran that Russia now sees clearly that sanctions are no threat to his Russia. By extension that means he can pursue trade with Iran at no cost and may even look toward North Korea all with the quiet backing of Beijing. It has been suggested, maybe by Alexander, that the Siberia 2 gas pipe line into northern China will be pushed into NK by Chinese energy companies as they build out electric generating stations all along said pipeline. The more I watch and look into the west vs Russia in Ukraine the more it looks like the western elitists i.e. WEF are quite happy about the fall of western Europe. In fact most seem to be cheering it along. At the present rate of dissent into bankruptcy of everything in Europe it should be as third world as any of the emerging nations today. The talk of sanctions failure and NK starts around the twenty five minute mark if my link isn't right, it most likely isn't! Steady on old boy the first hundred years are the hardest.
https://rumble.com/v1cvfrj-zelensky-orders-troops-to-hold-siversk-despite-heavy-losses-purges-more-off.html
I'm signed in as Red but it posted as anonymous.
DeleteOkay it won't sign me in. A new one from CoS:
DeleteThe massive rise in the cost of essentials like food, fuel, gas and electricity, which have wrongly been called “inflation” – in reality they are a supply shock resulting from two years of lockdown, exacerbated by sanctions on Russia – are creating a massive crisis of affordability, as half of all households no longer have enough money to get to the end of the month. And within a year this is expected to rise to a staggering 90 percent of us. This signals a massive switch from discretionary to essential spending which will devastate the economy. As Tim Morgan explains:
“The ‘cost of living crisis’ is the biggest challenge that has confronted households, and governments, in decades… But an affordability crisis is much more serious for the system than it is for the individual.
“Customers can decide to holiday at home rather than abroad, but the outlook for airlines, cruise operators and travel companies is grim if they do. Households can get by without entertainment subscriptions, but the providers of these services cannot survive if this happens. Motorists can hang on to their current vehicles for longer, and put off buying a new car, but the automotive industry is at grave risk if this happens.”
https://consciousnessofsheep.co.uk/2022/07/20/those-who-the-gods-wish-to-destroy/
Red
Thanks Red, We are getting into "tomatopause", the summer season when the heat at night precludes the tomato plants from fruiting. Even the Juliets need it to get below 78F at night to make tomatoes. We are still getting a few juliets, but not many.
DeleteI sure agree that discretionaryspending is down. mine sure is since I got fired for non-vaccination for COviD, except for the house, but this is a one time opportunity I have long planned.
I ate out once, one burrito, since getting fired in October. We were on the road...
:-)