(tends to be sort of shitty.)
Walk
a Mile, and all...
Our Culture dismisses introspection....places little value on looking within, and on conducting thought experiments that might engender Compassion.
Indeed, compassion is often regarded as Weakness...something to be avoided.
Our Culture dismisses introspection....places little value on looking within, and on conducting thought experiments that might engender Compassion.
Indeed, compassion is often regarded as Weakness...something to be avoided.
The
more to the Right our social structures lean, the more
Compassion-less they become.
Witness the rise of Hypercompetition and Tribalism, since the advent of Reagan's Revolution.(it can be argued that these features were on the decline, since FDR)
This is no accident, but is a necessary part of the success of that Revolution.
The Value System of the Rich and Privileged are imposed on the rest of us...so that we find it difficult to get together, and take the fucker over....or, at least, mitigate the more egregious abuses.
Instead, we find ourselves factionalised, and shattered into many competing groups...at each other's throats...Fear and Misunderstanding are maximalised...
As I've said many times: The System selects for Psychopathy.
Witness the rise of Hypercompetition and Tribalism, since the advent of Reagan's Revolution.(it can be argued that these features were on the decline, since FDR)
This is no accident, but is a necessary part of the success of that Revolution.
The Value System of the Rich and Privileged are imposed on the rest of us...so that we find it difficult to get together, and take the fucker over....or, at least, mitigate the more egregious abuses.
Instead, we find ourselves factionalised, and shattered into many competing groups...at each other's throats...Fear and Misunderstanding are maximalised...
As I've said many times: The System selects for Psychopathy.
=>”By definition,
the rich and powerful have more material resources and spend more of
their time telling others what to do. Those with fewer material
resources get told what to do. As a result, the rich value
independence and autonomy while those with less money think of
themselves as more interdependent with others. [13] In other words,
the rich prize the image of the “rugged individual” while the
rest of us focus on what group we belong to. “
=>”How do people explain the extremely unequal distribution of wealth? Those with more money attribute it to “dispositional” causes—they believe that people get rich because their personality leads them to work harder and get what they deserve. Those with less money more often attribute inequality to “external” factors—people’s wealth is due largely to events beyond their control, such as being born into a rich family or having good breaks in life. [14] “
=>”This line of research confirms that (1) people with fewer financial resources identify with a larger “in-group;” (2) “attention to and recognition of suffering is a prerequisite step before compassion can take place;” and (3) “moral emotion is not randomly distributed across social classes…” [19] Compassion toward the suffering of others is less likely among the 1%. “
=>”How do people explain the extremely unequal distribution of wealth? Those with more money attribute it to “dispositional” causes—they believe that people get rich because their personality leads them to work harder and get what they deserve. Those with less money more often attribute inequality to “external” factors—people’s wealth is due largely to events beyond their control, such as being born into a rich family or having good breaks in life. [14] “
=>”This line of research confirms that (1) people with fewer financial resources identify with a larger “in-group;” (2) “attention to and recognition of suffering is a prerequisite step before compassion can take place;” and (3) “moral emotion is not randomly distributed across social classes…” [19] Compassion toward the suffering of others is less likely among the 1%. “
Given
this, perhaps a year in a trailer park, with all the trappings that
go along with extreme Poverty, should be a prerequisite for any
business or managerial...or Law...degree.
Perhaps
a seat in Congress should entail a Vow of Poverty...let them be paid
more in line with the lowest paid of their Constituents....and be
forbidden the trappings of wealth and privilege.
Like a Permanent Food Stamp Challenge.
…....................................
Like a Permanent Food Stamp Challenge.
…....................................
=>”Before
the 1920s, give or take a decade or two, capitalism was producing
largely for needs, with the luxury items of the rich being the
exception. But as it became clear that it was possible to satisfy the
basic necessities of the vast majority, the 1% began a brave new
adventure into the world of manufactured needs and planned
obsolescence. Products designed to go out of style or fall apart
became more frequent until they became the norm following WWII. [28]
Of course, people accepted this fetishism of things to a great or
lesser degree—some Christians still thought that spirituality was
more important than bowing to golden calves. One of the best known
psychological critics of the emerging life style was Abraham Maslow,
who coined the phrase “deficiency orientation” to explain those
who wrap their lives around the illusion that happiness can be found
in material goods. [29]
“
…..................................................
=>”Studies documented that people who prize material possessions are significantly less happy. [30]
…..................................................
=>”Studies documented that people who prize material possessions are significantly less happy. [30]
Karl
Marx wrote of the prime directive of capitalism being to “Accumulate,
accumulate!” [31] Decades before the end of the twentieth century,
capitalism had spread its pathological world view and created a new
law of accumulation:
Manufactured
Needs = Manufactured Unhappiness
It
is well documented that possessions do not bring happiness; but,
then, what does? Recent research has confirmed what philosophers have
written and religions have preached for millennia. Happiness is
associated with close personal relationships and control over
essential parts of one’s life. [32] One study which interviewed
college students found that those who were the most happy (1) spent
more time with others and (2) reported more satisfying relationships.
A society dominated by the 1%, however, pushes us in the opposite
direction. In 1985, 75% of Americans reported having a close friend,
but by 2004 that had fallen to 50%. [33] “
….................................................................................
So....again,
to be clear....Eat the Rich.
It may just come to that....
In the mean time, there are other avenues that we can try.
I've asserted that Tea is a Creature of the Right...specifically the 1%, who controls the Machine...which leans well to the Right.
The Movers and Shakers created Tea in order to hang on to Power....it was intended to be another iteration of the Class War, a Hail Mary Pass, in the 9th Inning, when they saw that their 35 year run was ending.....ramp up the Divisions among the People, set them at each other's Throats...
But that Creature escaped the fence, and gained access to positions of Power.
Make no mistake...Ted Cruz likely only half believes all the bullshit he spews...he knows on which side his bread is buttered...
I'm not so sure about such specimens as Louie Gohmert...or that Hayseed Caricature, Farenthold....they appear to be actually representative of the Rough Beast that was never intended to gain actual Power.
If the Electoral Process still functions well enough to allow the entry into Congress of Hateful Morons...why not more Enlightened Folks from the ranks of the Hoi Polloi?
Congressional Staffers do all the heavy lifting, any way....
I can think of many average Joe's who would be better Representatives than the Assholes and Greedheads we see, today.
…..............................................................
It may just come to that....
In the mean time, there are other avenues that we can try.
I've asserted that Tea is a Creature of the Right...specifically the 1%, who controls the Machine...which leans well to the Right.
The Movers and Shakers created Tea in order to hang on to Power....it was intended to be another iteration of the Class War, a Hail Mary Pass, in the 9th Inning, when they saw that their 35 year run was ending.....ramp up the Divisions among the People, set them at each other's Throats...
But that Creature escaped the fence, and gained access to positions of Power.
Make no mistake...Ted Cruz likely only half believes all the bullshit he spews...he knows on which side his bread is buttered...
I'm not so sure about such specimens as Louie Gohmert...or that Hayseed Caricature, Farenthold....they appear to be actually representative of the Rough Beast that was never intended to gain actual Power.
If the Electoral Process still functions well enough to allow the entry into Congress of Hateful Morons...why not more Enlightened Folks from the ranks of the Hoi Polloi?
Congressional Staffers do all the heavy lifting, any way....
I can think of many average Joe's who would be better Representatives than the Assholes and Greedheads we see, today.
…..............................................................
=>”A
natural question might seem to follow: Would getting rid of the
current batch of corporate psychopaths benefit the world greatly?
Actually, no. It would do no good whatsoever because what
psychologists call the “reward contingencies” of the corporate
world would still exist. The fact that capitalism prizes accumulation
of wealth by the few at the expense of the many would mean that, even
if the worst corporate criminals disappeared, they would soon be
replaced by marketplace clones.
Progressives
should avoid using the same “categorical” model so adored by
right wing theorists for its utility in hating the poor. A much
better explanation for psychopathy among the 1% is that the corporate
drive to put profits before all else encourages norms of manipulating
people without compassion. The more readily corporate leaders succumb
to this mind set, the more likely they will be to climb the ladder.
As the corporate mentality dominates society, it reproduces its
attitudes and expectations of behavior throughout every organization,
institution and individual it
touches.”
…...............................................................................
Again...System Selects for Psychopathy.
I think that most folks would likely want to avoid a French Style Revolution....
…...............................................................................
Again...System Selects for Psychopathy.
I think that most folks would likely want to avoid a French Style Revolution....
It
was, after all, quite Bloody, and ended up beheading even those who
started it...as well as thousands more who were not in any way
members of the Court.
That's where we're heading...and our own Aristocracy seems to be aware of this.
Just look at all the Surveillance and other Social Control Mechanisms put into place, just in the last 15 years, or so.
The Hyper-Rich see Us as an Existential Threat...and feel the need to not only Watch Us, but to harden the Fences around us...Legal and Regulatory.
The Overton Window for a Peaceful Revolt won't last forever.
At some point, the Rulers will go too far...and the People will lash out with fire and blood and destruction.
Folks like me, who read too much, would like to avoid the Latter.
But perhaps there's nothing that can be done to short circuit such Historical Processes....
The Hyper-Rich are unlikely to just give up....become more compassionate, and less....Evil.
…..........................................
=>”In challenging what the market does to our souls, Alan Nasser said it so well:
That's where we're heading...and our own Aristocracy seems to be aware of this.
Just look at all the Surveillance and other Social Control Mechanisms put into place, just in the last 15 years, or so.
The Hyper-Rich see Us as an Existential Threat...and feel the need to not only Watch Us, but to harden the Fences around us...Legal and Regulatory.
The Overton Window for a Peaceful Revolt won't last forever.
At some point, the Rulers will go too far...and the People will lash out with fire and blood and destruction.
Folks like me, who read too much, would like to avoid the Latter.
But perhaps there's nothing that can be done to short circuit such Historical Processes....
The Hyper-Rich are unlikely to just give up....become more compassionate, and less....Evil.
…..........................................
=>”In challenging what the market does to our souls, Alan Nasser said it so well:
A certain kind of society tends to produce a certain kind of person. More precisely, it discourages the development of certain human capacities and fosters the development of others. Aristotle, Rousseau, Marx and Dewey were the philosophers who were most illuminating on this. They argued that the postures required by successful functioning in a market economy tend to insinuate themselves into those areas of social intercourse which take place outside of the realm of the market proper. The result, they claimed, was that the arena for potentially altruistic and sympathetic behavior shrinks over time as society is gradually transformed into a huge marketplace. [35]”
…..............................................................
Push
more and more folks into Penury....
Manipulate more folks to split off into competing Tribes...
Set all against all, in order to accumulate more Power and Privilege...
Manipulate more folks to split off into competing Tribes...
Set all against all, in order to accumulate more Power and Privilege...
And
at the same time, Rape the Biosphere.....
And Reap the Whirlwind.
Perhaps
nothing can be done.
Perhaps the Damage is already too great...the Mindfuck, too successful....
Perhaps the Virtual Fences around all of Us...from NSA, to Drug War/GWOT, to the Transfer of Regulation and Rules from Them to Us...Perhaps the Gaps in those Fences are too small, now, to fit through....
Ever Tightening...
Until We spill over in a wave of retribution, directed....not only at Them that Caused the Problems....but at Ourselves.
Perhaps the Damage is already too great...the Mindfuck, too successful....
Perhaps the Virtual Fences around all of Us...from NSA, to Drug War/GWOT, to the Transfer of Regulation and Rules from Them to Us...Perhaps the Gaps in those Fences are too small, now, to fit through....
Ever Tightening...
Until We spill over in a wave of retribution, directed....not only at Them that Caused the Problems....but at Ourselves.
…..................................................
=>”As
long as society continues to be deeply divided between those who tell
others what to do and those who get told, it will not be possible to
establish the emotional sharing that is the basis of widespread
altruism. If the 1% are to develop the same level of understanding of
others that the 99% has, they will need to walk in their shoes. If
they continue to be the ones who live their lives telling others what
to do while the rest of us continue being told what to do, they will
not develop levels of compassion typical of the 99%.
“
…...............................................................
…...............................................................
Either
the Rest of Us take over peacefully(or, as peacefully as
possible)...
And Soon....
Or we enter the Hell of Eating Each Other.
Better get busy.
And Soon....
Or we enter the Hell of Eating Each Other.
Better get busy.
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