The American Dream, Free Market Capitalism and Social-Darwinism
June 20, 2009 at 10:41 am (Economics, Mankind's Future and the Environment) (American Dream, Capitalism, Crony Capitalism, Economics, Free Market, Free Market Capitalism, Obama, Social Darwinism)
Wow Viking, your other post makes some great points. Credit itself does NOT create wealth, it in fact creates the illusion of wealth… …And yes, you are right the world is bankrupt, mainly westernized nations who have vote-buying socialist programs to maintain. It’s not sustainable… so get used to the idea of a return to Social Darwinism.
Listen guys, the good times are over. Not because of free market capitalism but because of CRONY capitalism where the goverment and big business are bed buddies and take care of each other at our expense (stealing our wealth through taxes or inflation). – Dannerrrr
Oh yes, I’m fully aware this is the reality of things. And very unlikely to change anytime soon. I have no illusions about the faux American ideals we have all been sold with. That only recieves lip service more often than not, as far as everyone having an equal chance to achieve the ‘American dream’ on the merits of their actions, and living in a ‘Democracy’ of the people, with ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty’ for all.
…When the truth is, just like in the times of my ancestors the Vikings, only the strongest, most cunning and ruthlessly deceptive and brutal recieve the lion’s share of wealth. …Other than the well-connected and established or just plain lucky. Except instead of straightforward physical strength, it favors the most manipulative and willful. Most people of decent ethical values, just assume to live a humble life of servitude to the oligarchy.
Btw the points brought up in that other post, I can’t take credit for. They come from the activist arm of the Venus Project, called the Zeitgeist Movement. I’m just trying to spead the message, which I wholeheartedly agree with.
Though I would like to note I do believe there are alot of really good intentioned people in this country, in the news media and in government right now, especially Obama. And they are going to do their best to work within the current system to attempt to adhere to the constitutional beliefs this country was founded on. Which could, in theory, be the most ideal societal structure man has come up with to date. If it works…
But with all the fluctuation and manipulation of the market, alot of people are starting to think the carefully crafted bubble is going to burst. And we will be forced to address the fundamental problematic foundations of society, or potentially see a whole new dark age of mankind.
The Whole World Is Basically Bankrupt
June 17, 2009 at 7:58 pm (Mankind's Future and the Environment) (Big Business Corruption, Capitalism, Class Conflict, Corporate Scams, Corruption, Economics, Environment, Future, Politics, Revolution, Social Issues, Society, Venus Project, Zeitgeist Movement)
How did this happen? Why is the US national debt $12,250,000,000,000 as of Jan 2009? Of the 203 countries in the world today, only four (!) do not owe others money. The collective external debt of all the governments in the world is now about 52 trillion dollars and this number doesn’t include the massive amount of household debt in each country.
The whole world is basically bankrupt. But how? How can the world as a whole owe money to itself?
Obviously, it’s all nonsense. There is no such thing as ‘money’. There are only planetary resources, human labor and human ingenuity. The monetary system is nothing more than a game… and an outdated and dysfunctional one at that.
Those in positions of social power alter the rules of the game, at will. The nature of those rules is guided by the same competitive, distorted mentalities that are used in everyday “monetary” life, only this time the game is rigged at its root to favor those who run the show.
For example, if you have 1 million dollars and put it into a CD at 5% interest, you are going to generate $50,000 a year simply for that deposit. You are making money off of money itself… paper being made from other paper … nothing more – no invention – no contribution to society – no nothing.
That being denoted, if you are a lower to middle class person, who is limited in funds, and must get interest based loans to buy your home or use credit cards, then you are paying interest to the bank, which the bank is then using, in theory, to pay the person’s return with the 5% CD! Not only is this equation outrageously offensive due to the use of usury (interest) to ‘steal from the poor and give to the rich’, but it also perpetuates class stratification by its very design, keeping the lower classes poor, under the constant burden of debt, while keeping the upper classes rich, with the means to turn excess money into more money, with no labor.
That reality aside, there are other games in the system which have worked for decades, but are just now starting to bloom into the inevitable mathematic disasters that should have been anticipated 100 years ago.What this means is that after a period of growth (boom) with the economic indicators now pointing towards a weakening economy, a choice can be made by the financial regulators/government to either:
[1] Continue the expansion by infusing even more money, often by lowering the interest rates (such as the ‘prime’ or ‘discount’ rate) or by simply moving large sums of money to certain sectors (such as the 2008 700 Billion dollar bank bailout).
or [2] Let the contraction (recession) run its course, raise the interest rates, and bring the economy back to some kind of equilibrium, thus preparing it for another expansion.As far as history is concerned, the pattern has been to do both, basically with the idea being to “ease” the recession by increasing liquidity.
The reasoning is simple. It is politically unpopular for the ruling class to have unemployed, poor citizens. This can lead to contempt for the leadership and perhaps revolution. Therefore, there is always the game of placating the public with false security in order to avoid the truth coming out about the inherent dysfunctionality and corruption of the Ponzi scheme known as the Monetary System.
Now, in response to these problems, very often people suggest ‘monetary reform’ as the solution.
These suggestions often consist of: going back to the gold standard; outlawing interest; shutting down the Federal Reserve and giving the power of printing money to the government and letting the government distribute it debt free…etc.
While these reforms and others all pose logical merits, they do not recognize an unstoppable phenomenon that has accelerated since the early 20th century, which has greatly impacted the labor force since:
The replacement of human labor with machines.While politicians, business leaders and labor leaders bicker over issues they claim are responsible for the growing unemployment in the world, such as foreign company outsourcing or immigrant labor, the real cause is going unaddressed in the public debate:
Technological Unemployment
In the words of Nobel Laureate Economist Wassily Leontief:
”The role of humans as the most important factor of production is bound to diminish in the same way that the role of horses in agricultural production was first diminished and then eliminated by the introduction of tractors.”
The age of Oil and fossil fuels, along with all the resulting pollution, is coming to a close. There is no reason to burn fossil fuels at all anymore, other than the profit oriented, vested interest which keeps new energy prospects at bay. Remember, the last thing the Energy Industry wants is abundance, for that translates into a loss of profits in the monetary system.
Now, one of the most important energy sources to recognize today is Geothermal Power. A 2006 MIT report on geothermal energy found that 13,000 zettajoules of power are currently available in the earth, with the possibility of 2000 zettajoules being easily tap-able with improved technology. The total energy consumption of all the countries on the planet is about half of a zettajoule a year, this means about 4000 years of planetary power could be harnessed in this medium alone. And when we understand that the earth’s heat generation is constantly renewed, this energy is really limitless and could be used forever.
Source - The Zeitgeist Movement
Despite all our modern advances, technology, conveniences and luxuries people were happier, healthier and more alive in the past.
June 13, 2009 at 9:35 am (Mankind's Future and the Environment, Social Issues) (Economics, Environment, Future, Humanity, Mankind, Politics, Revolution, Social Issues, Venus Project, Zeitgeist Movement)
With every passing day, as we are whisked away into the new modern age of mankind’s artificial world, we are less and less connected to the natural world and our place in it. It seems to me, the more artificial and convenient we make the world to our liking, the more our spirits are diminished and plagued with inner demons.
This process of disconnection from the natural world seems to speed up every day faster and faster exponentially with the advances of technology. And I sense a breaking point is imminent. That science and technology will either be our salvation, ..or our ultimate destruction.
As we are more and more dependent on our own self-created world and less on the natural world created for us, the more we must take responsibility for our own actions. And stop praying to the gods to come save us. As we have abandoned their ways and their natural world order in favor of relying on ourselves and to be able to make our own choices. With that freedom comes responsibility. We have no one but ourselves and one another to blame if we do not take our destiny into our own hands now. And we will be faced with the daunting task of explaining to our children why we failed to act before it was too late.
Now is the time, more than any other in human history, for real introspection and self-realization of the entire human species as a collective group. In order to transcend our mortal limitations. Or be doomed by them forever, due to our choices.
The choice is simple. It’s between selfish hedonism in the present, with all our resources being wasted by the few and the ‘trickle down effect’ benefiting only those closest to the oligarchy. OR the more difficult altruistic long term choices of fundamental restructuring of society based on science’s best understanding of how to manage our species and the world we live in. That will ultimately benefit every one of us. As well as our children and their children and future generations. In order to achieve sustainability and ultimately transcendence towards realizing mankind’s true potential.
If you want to learn more about this social change we must deal with before our fate is taken out of our hands and decided for us, and how you can be a part of it, I urge you to check out the Venus Project and the Zeitgeist Movement. And for a quick introduction watch the video series on youtube and see for yourself if it makes sense to you, ..or if you are just satisfied with things the way they are and the legacy we will be leaving to our children.
Thoughts on social equality and a sustainable future on World Environment Day 2009
June 7, 2009 at 10:43 am (Mankind's Future and the Environment) (Environment, Future, Humanity, Mankind, Society)
Social equality means willingly allowing personal freedoms to be dictated for the overall good of the majority. And accepting certain limitations in order to prosper from the work of society as a whole. As to create a sustainable future that is in balance with nature.
Willingness to comply with government decisions dealing with difficult issues of personal liberties should only happen with a true democracy of the people.
Over-population is the harsh new reality mankind must face and come to terms with.
Breeding should be a right reserved for the most successful as judged by value and contribution to society. It’s value should be determined and allowed to be purchased, with great care. The car of today, should be the child of tommorow. As something that is saved for and being one of the most important purchases of a person’s life.
Cars should be replaced by horses, bicycles (Quadracycles) and mass transit. And then eventually, ..electric/alternative fuel vehicles. Housing should be standarized. With larger homes and greater space available to be purchased by those that work harder toward higher education and that offer greater real contributions to society.
Idols, fame and athletes should not be worshipped with money.
Wealth should not be inherited or passed down. It’s a radical idea. But the only way to overcome inequality and special treatment.
If society continues to live by social darwinism and blatant income inequality, with the poor fighting for the rights to survive and to get ahead, …crime, random acts of violence, terrorism, drugs and warfare will always be with us. And no one will ever truly be safe from it’s poisoning effect on society.
