It seems to me that among all the "fundamentalisms" we suffer from, market fundamentalism may well be the most insidious and destructive - if only because it is too often not recognized and critiqued as one ... This is a great series and i hope to read others ...
Amazing article. You hit on so many relevant points which reflect both the situation around the world today and my own research. Yes, I agree that this construct was assembled in the Bronze Age, and yes metalworking played a huge role in that. But the hierarchies were already there in our minds, where we still can't get them out. Societies began to be organized hierarchically during this period: God-King/Elites/merchants and soldiers/the poor and wrestling fans/ slaves. It was also during this period that PHYSICAL hierarchies sprouted up in the form of ziggurats, which in turn mirrored the volcanoes which gave these ancient peoples the fire it needed to smelt metals AND grow the crops it needed to feed an exploding population their fertile soil. It's high time for decentralization! Well done!
What do you think of Kirkpatrick Sale's "Human Scale" and "Rebels Against the Future", the latter referring to the Luddites' revolt, quite literally, against the "machines" of their day.
Frankly I think the "Digital Revolution" is proving to be as disastrous as the "Industrial Revolution" - and requires as much, or more, energy to produce less and less of anything of real worth ... I confess to having an analogue brain, in my world there is an infinity of numbers between 1 and 0 ....
You imply that we should make friends of out neighbors, but I believe that before the collapse of the internet, we should do the reverse and make neighbors of our friends and especially our political allies. This is essential to winning local elections right now and will become essential economically and militarily as well in the coming dark ages. So put the cart before the horse and promote political migration.
With sea level rise, there is a probable collapse of civilization coming. When it is rebuilt privately held corporations must be prohibited. The liability shield of private corporations attracts and nurtures pathological narcissists that have no empathy. Almost all the evils of the modern world have been perpetrated by private corporations. Even the American Revolution was precipitated by private corporations, mainly The British East India Company and the Bank of England. The Boston Tea Party was because B. E, I. Company with shares held by members of Parliament received favorable tax laws. The Currency Acts favored the Bank of England and caused unemployment and poverty. Here again major share holders were in Parliament. George Washington, already rich, was a share holder in the Bank of England.
Thanks for the wonderful and insightful summary, Patrick. Now I'll have to finish reading the book! But I'll begin at the beginning again, as is just after such long neglect.
It seems to me that among all the "fundamentalisms" we suffer from, market fundamentalism may well be the most insidious and destructive - if only because it is too often not recognized and critiqued as one ... This is a great series and i hope to read others ...
Amazing article. You hit on so many relevant points which reflect both the situation around the world today and my own research. Yes, I agree that this construct was assembled in the Bronze Age, and yes metalworking played a huge role in that. But the hierarchies were already there in our minds, where we still can't get them out. Societies began to be organized hierarchically during this period: God-King/Elites/merchants and soldiers/the poor and wrestling fans/ slaves. It was also during this period that PHYSICAL hierarchies sprouted up in the form of ziggurats, which in turn mirrored the volcanoes which gave these ancient peoples the fire it needed to smelt metals AND grow the crops it needed to feed an exploding population their fertile soil. It's high time for decentralization! Well done!
What do you think of Kirkpatrick Sale's "Human Scale" and "Rebels Against the Future", the latter referring to the Luddites' revolt, quite literally, against the "machines" of their day.
Frankly I think the "Digital Revolution" is proving to be as disastrous as the "Industrial Revolution" - and requires as much, or more, energy to produce less and less of anything of real worth ... I confess to having an analogue brain, in my world there is an infinity of numbers between 1 and 0 ....
You imply that we should make friends of out neighbors, but I believe that before the collapse of the internet, we should do the reverse and make neighbors of our friends and especially our political allies. This is essential to winning local elections right now and will become essential economically and militarily as well in the coming dark ages. So put the cart before the horse and promote political migration.
We need a "Master Plan" derided here.
We need the "State" to implement it. There is no escape from coercion (mutually agreed upon).
This won't happen via voluntary individual cooperation and individual consciousness raising.
With sea level rise, there is a probable collapse of civilization coming. When it is rebuilt privately held corporations must be prohibited. The liability shield of private corporations attracts and nurtures pathological narcissists that have no empathy. Almost all the evils of the modern world have been perpetrated by private corporations. Even the American Revolution was precipitated by private corporations, mainly The British East India Company and the Bank of England. The Boston Tea Party was because B. E, I. Company with shares held by members of Parliament received favorable tax laws. The Currency Acts favored the Bank of England and caused unemployment and poverty. Here again major share holders were in Parliament. George Washington, already rich, was a share holder in the Bank of England.
Thanks for the wonderful and insightful summary, Patrick. Now I'll have to finish reading the book! But I'll begin at the beginning again, as is just after such long neglect.