Welcome to the revolution
Yes it is here. You may not be aware yet but we have reached that point. Marx was pretty clear about all this if you realize the time and context of his writings.
Once the system reaches a point where it can no longer sustain itself it will transform spontaneously. The oligarchy will seize power openly and the façade will disappear. So called "public institutions" will be taken over completely and there will be no apology.
We're there folks. Social security, health care, public education and other aspects of the social contract are now being ripped apart.
What can you do? You really have no choice. You will resist to the best of your ability and band together with others to find means for collective survival.
It has been an interesting trip getting here but we are here now. Let's get busy.
Comments
Burning it down
and killing millions and billions with it is what will happen.
It won't matter much, as there isn't time to make a utopia.
Knock. Knock.
Who is it?
Mother Nature.
Mother Nature who?
(No answer).
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
What about targeted economic sanctions - The state department
likes them for "rouge" states. The transfer of funds and contacting financial institutions seems to have helped the DAPAL protests. It does require building coalitions and influencing public opinion to be effective.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
That will be allowed until it begins to threaten profits
We are living in a country where organized economic action may be declared illegal, e.g. BDS.
OzoneTom any form of protest may be problematic
Check out Whitehouse.gov and the new police state look!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Given the complexity it will be a chaotic transition.
There will be casualties.
The casualty count has already started.
If we only count deaths related to actual group protests the number is very small. Does the reason of the protest make a death countable or not? Another group to include is the victims of mass shooters indicating they were trying to create a flash point for the revolution they saw coming.
The harder numbers to evaluate are the non-direct deaths. The increased deaths in the states who did not accept Medicaid expansion,deaths due to lack of medical care during incarceration, shortened life spans of minority groups, the decreasing life span of blue class whites (similar economic class), deaths related to homelessness, suicide increase and deaths due to abortion restrictions.
These deaths are not flashy, do not make the evening new and are suffered as individual events by small spheres of people. It becomes easy to fool ourselves if we do nothing there will be no trigger that may effect us and the people we personally know.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
I wrote about my friend some time ago.
Poor healthcare (and the lack of healthcare for the poor) kill daily.
I know how the homeless live in places like Portland, Oregon, a place known as paradise for some.
We live in a throwaway society: very thing from a soda straw to the drunk on fifth avenue are disposable and not worth a second thought.
I think of the homeless, residing in culverts, that get washed away during thunder storms, or freeze for the lack of a blanket during a quick freeze · · ·
None of the above are hypotheticals, they are examples from the real world.
So, believe me, you and I are on the same page.
Political Entropy
that is all.
"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage
Two conditions
have to be in place for revolution ( hopefully peaceful).
1 - People don't want the old way.
2 - The oligarchy can't rule in the old way.
Given the state of Neo-liberalism...Yep...We're pretty much there.
I want a Pony!
Trump's election is a singularity event
If you have read the Foundation Trilogy by Asimov you might remember "The Mule". He was an unpredictable event in cosmic history, causing havoc with all psycho history predictions. He completely upsets the timeline.
Trump,having done so now, equilibrium will need to be re-established. Since events are drastically different from the formation of the post WWII government, the new equilibrium will be totally different. The screaming we hear is the death of the existing equilibrium. It's fun to watch, I must admit -- the pain, the wailing, the disbelief, the searching for alternatives to restore the old order. Also the old Liberal order has been exposed as a farce. It was basically the Deep State with an identity politics face on it to co-opt liberals. I love the wailing, I just hope that no one gets physically hurt in the current dis-equilibrium .
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
This has all happened before
I've just started reading Scheidel's The Great Leveller, and this happens all the time through history. Specifically, one of four things happens:
I really don't know how we are going to get out of this without a lot of violence. The only thing that might work is someone going to Davos with a big clue bat, but that is not happening:
There are occasional bits of sanity:
but it's not like Ma is a champion of the theory of surplus value...
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg