Tyranny of the Status Quo

In 1980, Milton Friedman produced his documentary and book titled, "Power to Choose." In it, he outlines his view of economic and government reform. In a succint and logical manner, Friedman advocates the return of the American economic structure and government to that of a total free-market policy grounded in a consitutionalist political framework. He provides evidence of the detriment to society that socialist welfare programs, government bureacracy, and worker unions produce despite all their good intentions precisely because they allow the force of special interest to take control of idealistic policies. The removal of these programs in favor of a completely free-market place, with extremely minimum government involvement, would produce the quality of economic growth that England saw in the 19th century, Hong Kong in the 20th century, and Dubai in the 21st century.The beauty of his argument is that it gives evidence, based upon natural principal, of the benefits of economic freedom that are part, parcel, and integral to the ideal of total human and individual freedoms.

The One Percent Doctrine

Ron Suskind's new book is beginning to play the rounds in the media, painting a picture of what it was like in the White House beginning September 12, 2001. Obviously this is kind of a cover up for what we would really like to know, i.e. what was happening in the White House before September 11, 2001.

http://www.ronsuskind.com/theonepercentdoctrine/

Democracy is Dead

Irving Kristol the father of Bill Kristol, who is head of PNAC and that other conversative think tank, the American Enterprise Institute. Bill Kristol is editor of The Weekly Standard, often thought of as the leading outlet for the neoconservative movement. The White House alone receives 30 copies a year.

Corporate philanthropy should be dis-interested. If they are not, then corporate money can be used to shape public opinion. If public opinion is changed by corporate money then the public is no longer in control of their democracy.

Economic Citizenship

As the economic abilities of the nations of China and India continue to grow, how will the interpretation of citizenship for second generation asians accept the growth of their ethnic homelands.

The association of economic power and ethnic civilization has a major effect on racial prejudices.

Consciousness

The ability to imagine is the fruit of the random fluctuations at the quantum level of space-time that is filtered up to the realm of the cellular mind and organized and processed in a statistical way. Man himself is in a constant state of pattern recognition and analysis.

Economic Racism

Note the numerous economic deals that are currently tinged with the scent of racism. Notably the Dubai Ports World deal, Arcelor and Mittal steel, Petrochem of China being blocked in its acquisition of Unocal, Japan and its car companies. Whereas European and American deals are hardly ever blocked.

Mysticism

After the dissolution of an oppresive religion that demands control and complete submission, the mystical vision of the universe is repeatedly born. This occurs in all religions. It is akin to the repeated cyclical nature of civilizations as Russell has noted in his anthology.

Darwin

The concept of evolution that has been attributed to Charles Darwin is in reality a cultural conceit. The presupposition that Darwin was the first man on the planet to intuit the concept of evolution as a vehicle of change for all things is hard to accept when the ancients were well aware of his vision. We are not berating Darwin completely though, for it is unknown whether any man before him had attributed evolution to individual species, an important insight, but it seems rather perverse to accept this conclusion first and then extrapolate the concept of evolution to everything else.

State-Owned Corporations

It might be possible that the state owned yet capitalistic nature of China's communist nation might need to be emulated by Western cultures as democracy is eroded by the meritocratic power of corporations and their nepotistic selection of leaders. Workers need to have a say, and if all workers are citizens, then it is logical to conclude that these corporations must be controlled by the people, via the government.

Investigate the state-owned business culture of China and advocate for its style as being an eventuality to sustain a decent human society.

Some political theorists already are considering some kind of altered communism to combat the failures of capitalism during a period of globalization.

Free Speech

Why has free speech become so ineffective? Isn't the promise of free speech that each individual is at all times defended from oppression?

Evolution

Perhaps the idea of evolution occuring during the lifetime of an individual needs to be reexamined. The experience being added to the DNA blueprint, would be of great evolutionary benefit. In the consummation of a new DNA strand by two individuals, what is the force that propels the evolutionary adaptations that nature dictates into the newly formed helix? It does not seem to be in nature's best interest to grant us long life if she does not benefit from the vast experiences that we collect.

Capitalism

What effect does being publically traded have on a company? What are the future projections for a capitalist society as companies push more and more for a bottom line. For example, the recent floating of Elvis Presley's estate as a publically traded company, with future expectations of "growth", begs the question of how further Presley memorabilia is to be sold. At what point does hawking a piece of memorabilia saturate the market and lose the intrinsic value that a piece of memorabilia offers? In fact, in today's world it has become almost next to impossible to find a piece of exotica with mediocrity of the global landscape becoming increasingly uniform. What about capitalism itself? Pro-capitalists push the fact that capitalism pushes forward technological growth, largest of the economic tentposts. But a long range model or forecast of the possible effects of capitalism, even without a mathematical aspect to it, it can be seen that large aspects of the slower paced world will be left in the dust.

Clique

People in an unstructured environment become friends with people who they aspire to be rather than who they really are. If a source of structure is identified, it is deemed discriminatory, hierarchical, or meritocratic. Is it possible to identify a source of structure that is equitable both externally and/or internally? Group dynamics would infer that if individuals within a group policed each other, an automatic hierarchy would form based upon external features. This is because unless the tools of intelligence acquisition, and a subsequent and arbitrary ranking metric were provided, the conclusion of an acceptable order would be improbable...unless forced.

Controlling the Tribes

Despite my attempts to believe in the great dreams of equality in society and civilization that young people learn from textbooks and idealistic teachers, I am becoming increasingly dissillusioned with the facts that are constantly being presented to me. There are so many events that are taking place around the world that we relenquish our belief that we have any ability to monitor and ensure our best interests are being taken care of. Whose best interests? The best interests of a free humanity itself.

Lets connect the dots, starting with the big economic issues. Who really stands to gain from economic competition? Nations are organized by tribal leaders, who are surprisingly well versed in ancient history and philosophy, to be the engines of their racial and darwinistic paradigms on survival in the world. We should not be surprised that all the psychological science that has been researched this century is not being used by those who have access to this information. If in a psychology textbook one can learn how to influence the mind of an unguarded individual, who is to say that the marketing and advertising executives are not taking advantage of that information. These executives are compelled by the pressures of competition to manipulate this type of knowledge. We are foolish to believe that the media is unbiased and neutral in its presentation of the world, and we have to remember that the presentation of knowledge is just as important as the knowledge itself. It would be ok if this was our only problem. As Chomsky and others have pointed out, the manufacturing of consent is epidemic in the "free" world today. George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Philip K. Dick, imagined the type of mind control we have to be constantly vigilant against today. The leaders of the nations today are not thinking about iPod's and the other engineered props of life that keep the masses going, but rather follow through with the philosophies of survival that their mentors provide them with. If you wanted to make sure your tribe surived and won the world so that you could make sure everything went your way, how do you go about making that happen?

The Hegelian dialectic has been used as a tool of control, direction, and manipulation before Hegel made it explicit in his formal thesis, antithesis, and synthesis summary. It is also known as the problem, reaction, and solution paradigm. With careful strategy you can convince almost anyone to move in a certain direction using this approach. How does it work in today's world? Well, like the ancient roman courts, you only need to ask one question, qui bono? Who stands to gain from the direction that the world is travelling in. I don't want it to head towards war and sectarian strife, and I'm sure you don't either. But seemingly against all odds, crazy shit continues to happen, and it makes people afraid. Lets think about this some more.

The belief and possibility of eugenics and racial tribalism did not completely die with Hitler's regime. There is a schizophrenic approach to racism in the world today. Most people have encountered so many exceptions to the possiblity of a single supreme race that it is very hard to seriously believe in it. But the question is not so black and white, manichean if you will, than a cursary glance makes it seem. A second step up from a simplistic racial paradigm is that of the tribal paradigm. Hard evidence forces people to believe in the fact that they may not belong to the dominant race in any single metric that a racial supremacy ideology requires. But evidence is not required in the belief of a tribal supremacy, because tribes are more united by perspective than physiological similarities. That is not to say that racism does not play a part in the identity of a tribe, but it is simultaneously a lesser and greater priority that can be used or made subservient to other goals. Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Chanakya have not been remembered by history for no reason, and their existence is a testament to the primal ideologies of man.

In America today we are beginning to see the reemergence of an orchestrated and organized sectarian strife between European immigrants and Mexican immigrants. Overseas we have long overdue strife between the Israelites and the Palestinians. Organized strife between the subcontinent's Hindus and Muslims. Media bashing of the Latin American democracies. Perceived demagogory in Iran and North Korea. It is foolish to assume that all this strife is the spontaneous product of economic, security, and cultural woes only. None of the people in these battles ever gains anything from their commitment. Rather it is a diversion from the more important questions that need to be asked regarding the direction of humanity, because the evidence is clear that the renaissance of freedom that society has achieved could possibly be eclipsed again as it has so often in the short history of man's civilization.

The Housing Market

I have managed to piece a little bit of the big picture despite generally tabloid-ish nature of the media. I wouldn't say that cash is king at all, in fact quite the opposite, cash is a liability. Well at least some currencies.

As I'm starting to learn, only commodities can really be a safe investment before an impending economic slowdown. How quickly did the stock market bust take? Not very long at all. I am pretty sure that the housing bust will be a debilitating event for America's economic health.

I know this all sounds a little doomsday-ish, but even from a historical perspective, the current situation is disturbingly unique. All possible economic indicators, everything from job security to the education system in America are pointing towards a definite slowdown in the economic capability of the US. And the ultimate prognosis is that it can only get worse. Explain to me how the US can possibly maintain its standard of living, grossly above the rest of the world's, when everyone now has access to the same resources that initially provided America with its prowess. It all really is a little ironic actually. American productivity has given the world almost everything, freely, and now it will be destroyed by its creative gifts to the rest of the world. Its just amazing that it all happened so fast.

Quite frankly, I'm obsessed with the issue. I don't see how anyone wouldn't be if they knew how all this drama is going to affect them in almost every material sense. I don't even think I'm being naive in the thought that every young generation goes through a process of apocalyptic thinking...the internet has dramatically sped up the pace of all forms of evolution: social, cultural, and economic. The problem with all this speed is that no one has the time to think critically about the consequences of the decisions that are forced upon them everyday.

The Reason

Yes, during and after Lawrenceville I've pretty much been trapped in a "white tony enclave" my entire life. It is mildly suffocating, but I've seen so much more of the world that I do not mind the ignorance that I often encounter. The homogeneity of the white culture has actually refined my ability to understand and formulate my own conceptions of their society and the real nature of western civilization....a real asset. The chaos of a diverse environment, with many conflicting and contrasting truths, I think, would have eroded my perceptual abilities before they were allowed to develop. Its like having one big case study to follow. I didn't realize some truths during my time at Lawrenceville and for a while after, but I've come to know that America and to a greater extent Western Civilization are but one approach and outcome to society that is unique to a particular group of people. And because that is true, the veil that America is the world's leader and champion cannot be real.

I think many people in many parts of the world, notably Africa and Latin America, are realizing that America was far too often looking out for its own interests using the disguise and promise of real democracy and freedom. CNN paints Hugo Chavez as a kind of demagogue, a populist rebel or radical, like Castro and Evo Morales, but these men are in reality doing whats best for their countries. They are following the principles of the indigenous Simon Bolivar, of the Bolivarian revolution, with the ideals that natural resources must be used for the betterment of people and the government is the guardian and distributor of that wealth. There is no sham on the part of Chavez and Morales, they are not trying to undermine their peoples or the world. But because they are willing to challenge the status quo, the neo-liberal approach developed and known as the Washington Consensus, they are put under pressure to fail. I just heard these statistics today: Venezuela, despite being the fifth largest exporter of petroleum in the world, has seen a 61% increase in poverty levels since the 1960's. In the decade prior to Chavez's 1999 revolution, 14 million people were economically displaced into the ranks of the poor.

The real reason for the stunning stagnation prior to these new revolutions, which seem to be sprouting all over the world these days, was the ability of the Americans and the Soviets to contain these nations as satellite sources of natural resources. America's real problem now lies in its inability to maintain what it deems is in its best interests for "national security", a concept that many Americans feel to be their birthright. We were all duped of course into believing that one nation could really be a nation for all the world, I for one thought the American way was the best way. Of course when you are living in that society, as I have, that security is your security. The enlightened point of view is to realize where the line of hypocrisy must be drawn, and I think that will be the wake-up call for the next American revolution.

America is dawdling along towards a fat and lazy ending. They have been at the top for so long that they have forgotten how to survive. The aspirations of hundreds of millions of poor people are finally being released and they are hungry for success. Their hunger motivates them and gives them the energy and creativity to hunt for economic power and influence on their own terms. Sadly, this unbridled aspiration, modeled on America, will also be the undoing of these still ignorant and unaware masses, and us the elite as well. Their consumption will pollute the land, waste our water, and heat and poison the air. The American way of life is not sustainable for 6 billion people on a planet so small.

Of course the Americans and the Europeans are a people too, a white people with a clear and distinct heritage that they are proud of and should be, for the most part. It is much easier to understand them when you understand how they look at the world. And to do that, one has to realize that they are not the whole world.

Alex Jones is the avatar of Paul Revere

If anyone has had a chance to take advantage of Google Video lately, I strongly urge the viewing of the numerous documentaries researched and produced by Alex Jones of InfoWars.com. His research and oratory skills are impeccable, and he brilliantly outlines the bizarre and literally biblical developments taking place in the economic, political, and philosophical realms of the present. He will literally wake you up from the psychologically homogenous dreamtime we have been submerged in by men who look at the world from the most primitive perspective. Racism, tribal ideologies, and the lure of dynastic power is well and alive in the minds of the most powerful men in the world, and the manipulative battle these chieftains wave has truly transcended the physical plane. It is now happening within our minds.