What are the catalysts for simultaneous collapsing governments, dictators, economic theory/practice, institutions, and ideologies? One historical fact: debt and decline are synonymous. Is it ironic / appropriate / coincidental that the cradle of western civilization and democracy – Greece – is the first domino (potentially) falling in the EU? A crisis waiting to happen and ignited by its youngest offspring (the US) and its exotic financial instruments, corruption, and deregulated greed? Freedom, a volatile concept...without regulation and unconstrained, free to do whatever, whenever without fear of consequences. The invisible hand connected to a manipulative arm has negligible intention beyond immediacy and self satisfaction. And there will always be imperfect information (and limited access to it) along with rogue males, eternal moral hazard, emerging complexity, fascist ideologues, and natural disasters of all possible scope and scale affecting power structures/experiments.
But nothing can stop a meme whose influence infiltrates even the most traditional societies - and democracy is the goal in the Middle East. Education and social media have incited a revolution threatening despotic regimes that are scrambling for an effective response beyond the classic violent repression. Because oil rich states in the Middle East have traditionally been autocratic, their wealth goes into buying off the military, manipulating media, bribing citizens with benefits and low/no taxes - all while concealing the real wealth that maintains power. Sanctions haven't worked because oil demand is so high. Another reason to fuel alternative energy research and policy.
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| Voting with their feet |
Global turbulence seems like a large-scale reaction to typical constraints on any system: scaling + entropy. Everything devolves to chaos, but it has to be structured enough to collapse, so you can’t have chaos without a foundation to begin with (and thus my issue with the 2nd law of thermodynamics). Forces are initially random, chaotic, then coalesce, develop depending on conditions, eventually reaching limits with corruption and decline. Corruption is natural and necessary. Everything deteriorates and dies and that's the good news, because something else will emerge from the vestiges.
Systems constantly test limits because stasis is death, and death is always the end product anyway, so why not experiment and see how far it will all go. We’re good at that, because life is good at that. A string is too slack won't play, and if it’s too tight, it’ll break. Continually adapting equilibrium creates a healthy, robust system: The Middle Way. So much for that practice/wisdom. Now that some form of collapse is in progress, fascist fundamentalists emerge (life is an opportunistic affair) but also rational actors with a new toolkit that see ever evolving possibilities. Creative Destruction.
Fundamentalists and ideologues have one agenda – now we go back to basics, and I have the manual to control everyone with. Fortunately, there are more educated people now that understand the epic silliness of unquestioned dogma, and are armed with the two most powerful words in human history – PROVE IT. But can the neocortex win the battle with the do or die limbic system that thrives on fear and hysteria? Trying to control Nature (inwardly and outwardly) has been big business since the monkeys started evaluating the environment.
Who’s the alpha male? Who’s calling the shots? And why is anyone following this dude? Are they inspired / afraid / intimidated / controlled? Once the alphas were fearless, strategic warriors that helped protect the group – king material. The supporting cast of males are in constant evaluation and competition in case the position was open due to death, treachery, lineage dispute, etc.
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| May the best genes win |
Balancing all this chest bumping and thumping has been the philosophical precept of nonviolence. All religions have this awareness of constraint, self-control, and benevolence. The Abrahamic religions appropriated/manipulated other narratives for legitimacy, as is standard practice, and have a whole lot of smiting and revenge because of their tribal origins and patriarchy / misogyny. (Sex and Power in History by deReincourt). Buddhism is the only egalitarian philosophy where violence is not only self-defeating, it’s not even in the realm of consideration. Once you enter the arena of violence, you're back at square one. Over and over and over again...
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| No Fear (or violence or any other delusional activity, thank you) |
Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. have been recent historical heroes of nonviolent resistance to domination. Gene Sharp’s books The Politics of Nonviolent Action (1973) and From Dictatorship to Democracy (1993) have been in global circulation and used effectively from Serbia's Otpor to Tahrir Square. Sharp’s theme is that power is not an intrinsically powerful monolithic entity radiating from some ‘divine right of kings’ scheme (popularized by the patriarchal revolution) and reinforced by complex cultural power structures such as with Mayan kings, Japanese emperors, Egyptian pharaohs, etc. in addition to institutionalized religious taboos and a vast bureaucratic labyrinth.
This arrangement played well until literacy and scientific thought/empiricism evolved. Then it became more difficult to make the argument of the divine right of kings. Scaring the illiterate peasants with reprisals of the gods and fairy tales became less viable, although religious fundamentalists seem to only have that card to play, and why they vilify intellectualism. Another Inquisition will be their agenda.
More recently, the power of the President elected by an educated populace is a more appealing/inclusive process. This gives actors the sense of responsibility in their social and personal development, because a little education goes a long way. But all power structures are supported by a variety of institutions, and loyalty/citizens are maintained by the carrot and stick approach to obedience. (Fame by proxy, social status, and wealth, v. fines, imprisonment, etc). Deciding to not obey deprives authority of power, and resistance + social media has taken the idea/action to an unprecedented level. Traditionalists and Pioneers – apparently we need both, but what worked for grandpa isn’t going to work for the kids. And the kids are always smarter, because the increasing trend of access to information makes them better equipped to analyze and define problems cohesively - What's your agenda, how did you acquire it, and can you function independently of it to get to the truth? Can the truth exist independent of an agenda, or it it always relative? The sum of all agendas approximates the truth.
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| Next, your rights |
So why does information and power converge at a central point with radiating supporting systems? Dictators fall with the promise of democracy, while democracy is revealing that power is still concentrated in the ruling elite. Divine right of $$, 1%, emerging Global Elite - the systems reboots. Revolutionaries eventually become tyrants, and the whole process reactivates. Density dependence theory shows the system is only so plastic, and population density contributes to various social structures. But throw in literacy and tech, and a whole new organism is emerging.
Democracy defined:
1688: The First Modern Revolution, Steve Pincus
The Science of Liberty, Tim Ferris
Civilization, Niall Ferguson
Democracy leveraged:
Too Big to Fail, A.R. Sorkin
Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson
The Big Short, Michael Lewis
