Excellent distillation. If only more people could face up to it.
I agree that there's little prospect of rebellion by the people here in the US against the Oligarchy (and to simplify your formula even further i see the security state, the political class, and corporate class as one Oligarchy but functioning as a criminal cartel, both nationally and internationally). This will continue until the cartel finally exhausts the nation it preys upon and we have a collapse. Indeed, collapse seems to be the next stage the oligarchs aim for in order to better implement a fully totalitarian society. Here is where the people may finally rebel and a strong man emerge. In a best case scenario, multiple strongmen will emerge to carve up the US into various states or regions where differing degrees of freedom exist and people can sort themselves to taste.
After so much uproar by the Strelkovists, Putin ordered the inevitable. +300,000 current reservists mobilized starting today.
Still, Russian Defence Minister Shoigu said that almost 25 million people in Russia meet these requirements of the partial mobilization, the country has “a huge mobilization resource.”
“So you can understand that this mobilization, partial mobilization, is 1%, a little more, 1.1%, maybe of the total mobilization resource,” the head of the Defense Ministry said.
Now what is Strelkov going to worry about? How is he going to keep himself relevant? What will it be his new shtick? That's currently the most pondered question among armchair analysts.
Your picture is too complicated for me! But as an explanation for the basic dynamics behind the wranglings between the various Earth-bound power groups, it is good.
However, it has already been discovered that Earth-bound leaders are being affected by off-Earth groups. And it appears that many of those groups simply want us to remain unaware of their existence and function, and that we are trapped here as spiritual beings. For the trap to work, we must not be allowed to travel too far beyond Earth orbit, unless we are carefully monitored. We must also not be allowed to become too spiritually sophisticated. Yet this unveiling is occurring as we speak, so there is alarm amongst the off-worlders and a sort of blind slow-motion run to lock us down without it becoming too obvious.
Whether or not you consider the above scenario more or less complicated than more Earth-based explanations, it seems at this point to be necessary for full understanding. In particular, this off-world interference extends to Putin and his group. I believe that they are taking actions without blinking that they would not have even entertained a few years ago.
Yes, all the petty wrangling between the various power groups on Earth makes for interesting news and discussions. But we can only stop there if we wish it to continue indefinitely.
I don't rely on channelled data, though I sense an implied bias by calling those sources "boomers."
There have been several research methods used that looked into a wide variety of past events where documentation or other "hard" evidence is not readily obtainable.
The academic work done that tends to validate the other methods being used is from Ian Stevenson's group at the University of Virginia. They have succeeded in demonstrating that the human personality is separable from the body but retains the ability to perceive and remember while "detached." Work done documenting NDEs also supports this finding.
That then opens the door to consult personal memory to locate and describe long-past incidents. That work has largely been done outside of academia, though some academics are involved.
The work I was first introduced to was Hubbard's. He used a meter held in the hands of the subject, and a modified form of question asking based on Dianetics techniques.
Many people have used hypnotic regression. This work is extensive but is considered less reliable because a person can be interfered with while he is under hypnosis.
Courtney Brown and his group use scientific remote viewing. They have been quite productive, though the results are more "fuzzy" as the technique, in theory, accesses a sort of shared memory, rather than specific memories of specific individuals.
A few others have dug up a variety of "confidential" documents, and many of these seem authentic. They mostly have to do with ET craft retrieval or ET interference in government. That's Steven Greer's little game.
There is also the realm of direct experiencers. Though their stories can always be challenged as concocted, some have been corroborated using other techniques.
Of course there are many other sources besides these two.
But many others would support these basic descriptions.
Much more common on Earth than the Mantids are the Reptilians, who appear quite often in remote viewing sessions, and have even been seen "in person" by a few people.
Breaking news: Donetsk and Luhansk referenda this weekend???
Well, if it was ok for Kosovo [as the UN said], then it will be ok for Luhansk and Donetsk.
Apparently, it's a done deal.
Can we expect Zelensky to authorize the SBU [the notorious Ukrainian Secret Police] to use fear and terror to intimidate the people of the Donbass so they will be afraid to vote?
Referendum in DPR:
The referendum on the entry of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) into Russia will be held on September 23-27.
This was reported in the People's Council of the Republic on September 20. (Izvestia)
Referendum in LNR:
"The head of the Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) Leonid Pasechnik signed the law on the referendum on joining Russia.
First Deputy Chairman of the People's Council of the LPR Dmitry Khoroshilov said that the referendum will be held from September 23 to 27.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that in case of holding referendums, negotiations with Russia will be permanently terminated. (from Kommersant)
The law signed by Mr. Pasechnik states that the referendum "is held in order to realize the universally recognized right of the people to self-determination."
The referendum will be organized in a secret ballot format, and participation in it "is free and voluntary."
The decision adopted at the referendum is "generally binding" and will enter into force from the date of its publication.
"Foreign citizens, stateless persons, foreign organizations, international organizations and international public movements are not entitled to carry out activities that hinder the preparation and conduct of a referendum, as well as in other forms to prevent participation in voting," the document says.
Foreigners can be accredited as observers if they have an invitation and an entry permit."
If these referenda go through [the people vote for it and the Russian Duma approves], then the Ukis will have to stop shelling and killing civilians in Donetsk and Luhansk as these republics will then be Russian territory and they will be killing Russian citizens.
If the world hasn't changed that much, then we're not so much oppressed by the elite as much as having chosen to lag far behind them. Effectively what it all comes down to is how much land, resources, etc. you've amassed and trained your children to train your grandchildren to hold. The difference between you (collective) and the elite is that they have the resources and you don't. But even on a local level, at least for me, this seems obvious. Powerful families in my area have land, produce food and sell it. Only *then* do they begin to turn their focus on governing if they so choose.
QE2's death made that obvious: Big Red forced to drop his military gear for the funeral brought into sharp relief that he's only two kills from the throne of England, if he wants it. As we have chosen "muh democracy" or "an oligarchy if you can keep it" instead, we remain largely in a near-feudal state while looking up to nerds with computers as our overlords, because they look scarier with the VR glasses on. But that's a choice.
If we turn our focus inwards, it's not nearly as dire a situation as it could be. Of course, we grow miniscule amounts of food ourselves and hoard grains in our little family collective, so it's not gloating, but it may as well be.
Rurik i just now today read this. You are correct. I will not go into too much detail but for me the full wlae up to what you are writing here for me began on 09/11/2001 when the US attacked itself. That followed by the model state health emergencies act folllowed for many years by the bs table top exercises realizing all along l this was a slow grab for more and.more.power. lo and behold the 2020 bs that most.of the country and sadly most of.my.so called family and friends believed to be "real".
"That’s pretty much the triad of power thats running the West."
Those parties are just agents implementing goals decreed from higher up. There's an invisible power structure using corporate financialism and banking that's actually calling the shots. Squandering resources on climate gewgaws and promoting unrestricted immigration, orchestrating monotone media policies, as well as cutting off Russian energy to Europe, are policies whose destructive potential should have been noticed and discussed at the outset. Nevertheless, they came into being pretty much undebated under some general umbrella of desirable "liberal values". Neither those who now pass for "leaders", nor the masses, originated these ideas.These policies were decreed, justified and amplified along the way by a steam of compliant news propaganda .
Just to demonstrate, try to explain how it came to be that all major investment companies suddenly and nearly simultaneously required corporations to adopt ESG policies as a condition for getting credit. And why PayPal floated the idea of confiscating funds as a form of censorship. Explain whose interest shackling companies in this way can serve. It's a pure power grab by some opaque governing structure calling the shots, and they're not benevolent.
Again I disagree, no one is truly in control so breaking things down to various blocks of the power structure doesn’t work for me. When dealing with structures of society human nature and again beliefs play a overwhelming role. It’s the “roadblock” liberals are hopelessly trying to eliminate; the fact that nobody really gives a shit about their vision, people will play along with their subversion, race to bottom but that’s where it stops.
As for “defeating” them it’s not as simple as rallying people and identifying the problem. The masses don’t respond well to agendas. Again the masses are all about human nature. Identifying the problem for them will always be their own unhappiness and the solution is someone who wants to fix it. The problem is with our side is we gave up trying to obtain power. The sheep will follow.
>no one is truly in control so breaking things down to various blocks of the power structure doesn’t work for me.
That's throwing all logic and reasoning out the window. OK, let's do that. Then its a demonic egregore in control, directing random peoples thoughts and actions to a common sinister goal.
The sinister part is our own “short comings” as human beings. I can invoke God but let’s not do that.
Neo-Liberals don’t seem to be doing much of anything except subverting every aspect of society. Unfortunately it snowballs as the more unhappy people there are the more people want to help the subversion. Everything they imply to believe is utopian, not a mark of intelligence, but at the end of the day they’re the same as what they’re condemning. They’re the black sheep, the weakling who would rather it burn then to be left out in the cold. They do understand power but only because at their core they feel so threatened. So to say they have a agenda is giving them sapience they don’t have.
So at best I would describe it as lots pieces of shit in governance bouncing the lowest fruit of ideas off each other. Ideas that only seem to benefit the fringes, in saying that what can we assume about them? Yes people are going along with this reductionism to our base instincts, but now people want blood, people want violence, liberals included. Was it a master plan or are we just back at square one?
As for the great apocalyptic hellscape they’re dragging us into, it won’t be the first time it happened. Now we just get a bonus of being oppressed with technology. People used to be oppressed for centuries in one run.
I try to keep my writings super simple and boiled down to their most essential. You repay my curtesy by copy pasting an entire essay in the comments section. Sad.
From what I understand, you want to bioengineer humans to be more empathetic? Why not just work on having northern Europeans produce more children then? Problem solved.
Interesting but flawed. As with all these idyllic solutions, who will be in charge of administering the tests and running the neuro Hogwartian sorting hat? Inevitably the psychopaths and sociopaths take control and we're back to the same old illusion of freedom stage managed by oligarchs. The only system safe from psychopaths and sociopaths is a small one, as small as possible. Matthew Crawford addresses this in re the Inuits and how they deal w "kulangetas" (psychos): they push them off the ice into the water. Small systems can recognize psychopaths and restrain them before they can amass real power.
I dont think my solution is idyllic. I think its been done all over the world and the results, flawed as they are, are clearly preferable to what we have now.
Regarding psychopaths and sociopaths.
Well, ideally, we do create a Hogwartian sorting system to find them and eliminate them. I prefer to use the Blade Runner test as my template though.
We know that we can sort for NPCs already by testing for 1) internal monologue 2) long-term memory 3) internal visualization.
I'm sure that an empathy test would weed out most psychopaths.
But, the problem isn't even lone psychopaths, but groups of psychopaths working together. Some of these psychopaths are bound together by religion and blood ties. But the gullible peasants aren't ready to realize this.
I should have been clearer. My reply was directed to Cc lum, not your comment. Your views, as far as i can tell from my recent sub, are not idyllic .
I am genuinely interested to know where you believe this Hogwartian sorting has been successfully implemented and has avoided the pitfall of the sorters being the same old crooks?
Well, it is the nature of this world that all things eventually fall to entropy. But, sorting for quality is done in literally every single organization. Colleges used to sort for smart kids. That got subverted. Militaries used to sort for the brave and resourceful. Eventually, paper-pushing bureaucrats took over. Esoteric orders selected for spiritually-gifted individuals, but, eventually, cults of personality took over.
It is simply the way of things.
You struggle and create something nice and you hopefully live long enough not to see it subverted. But, if it is, you hope that the next generation can do something about it and start the cycle anew.
How to set up a system that generates morally intelligent leadership - this intellectual head-scratcher goes back at least to Plato, at least on this planet.
Proposed solutions abound - the one that was most attractive to me in my youth was that proposed by E.F. Schumacher in "Small is Beautiful" - to approach economics and technology as though people mattered.
I've never really been able to let go of the dream/system he laid out, despite being buffetted by the razor-sharp realities of realpolitik.
As Gandalf told Pippin about the chances of defeating Sauron: "There never was much hope. Just a fool's hope."
Yes, that's my hope, in smallness. Similar to James Kunstlers world made by hand. I will check out your reference.
My theory is that smallness may be imposed upon us like it or not. The trajectories are moving toward a collapse of our current, complex, interdependent, global system notwithstanding the schemes of the Klepto Oligarchy to centralize and communize.
When the collapse occurs most of the world, particularly the deindustrial West will be up the proverbial creek, being mostly incapable of producing more than the basic necessities of life. This will force localities to rely on what's available in towns and regions and set up a system to survive as best they can. This is where the US splits all over the place. Florida, for example, might cohere better vy virtue of their agriculture, energy, climate, and population skills. Big cities otoh...not so much.
As this atomization unfolds, local and regional autarchs will naturally arise and either work out arrangements w other fiefdoms or suffer for it. In any case, we'll be forced back to a pretty basic lifestyle without most of the luxuries and tech we're addicted to now.
Excellent distillation. If only more people could face up to it.
I agree that there's little prospect of rebellion by the people here in the US against the Oligarchy (and to simplify your formula even further i see the security state, the political class, and corporate class as one Oligarchy but functioning as a criminal cartel, both nationally and internationally). This will continue until the cartel finally exhausts the nation it preys upon and we have a collapse. Indeed, collapse seems to be the next stage the oligarchs aim for in order to better implement a fully totalitarian society. Here is where the people may finally rebel and a strong man emerge. In a best case scenario, multiple strongmen will emerge to carve up the US into various states or regions where differing degrees of freedom exist and people can sort themselves to taste.
Collapse is immenent. Financial system is crashing. Worse than the crash of 29.
A thoughtful, well-written framework for analysis. It's not Plato's Republic, but it;s not hundreds of pages, either!
Plato was a weirdo.
On the one hand, it all seems so bloody obvious to me now.
On the other, it took me years to understand.
After so much uproar by the Strelkovists, Putin ordered the inevitable. +300,000 current reservists mobilized starting today.
Still, Russian Defence Minister Shoigu said that almost 25 million people in Russia meet these requirements of the partial mobilization, the country has “a huge mobilization resource.”
“So you can understand that this mobilization, partial mobilization, is 1%, a little more, 1.1%, maybe of the total mobilization resource,” the head of the Defense Ministry said.
Now what is Strelkov going to worry about? How is he going to keep himself relevant? What will it be his new shtick? That's currently the most pondered question among armchair analysts.
300k won't be enough though.
Especially with this equipment:
https://vk.com/apocalypsesnow?w=wall-77647564_238479
Opening relevant paradigm questions. Good! Could we talk?
bfk@siol.com or aktualno@zsz.si ?
Your picture is too complicated for me! But as an explanation for the basic dynamics behind the wranglings between the various Earth-bound power groups, it is good.
However, it has already been discovered that Earth-bound leaders are being affected by off-Earth groups. And it appears that many of those groups simply want us to remain unaware of their existence and function, and that we are trapped here as spiritual beings. For the trap to work, we must not be allowed to travel too far beyond Earth orbit, unless we are carefully monitored. We must also not be allowed to become too spiritually sophisticated. Yet this unveiling is occurring as we speak, so there is alarm amongst the off-worlders and a sort of blind slow-motion run to lock us down without it becoming too obvious.
Whether or not you consider the above scenario more or less complicated than more Earth-based explanations, it seems at this point to be necessary for full understanding. In particular, this off-world interference extends to Putin and his group. I believe that they are taking actions without blinking that they would not have even entertained a few years ago.
Yes, all the petty wrangling between the various power groups on Earth makes for interesting news and discussions. But we can only stop there if we wish it to continue indefinitely.
Not sure I buy the aliens stuff.
Far more likely that its what we know as demons.
Why do you say that? How do you understand "demons?" Do you discount all the data pointing to the reality of off-world civilizations?
What data is there except for Boomers channeling?
I don't rely on channelled data, though I sense an implied bias by calling those sources "boomers."
There have been several research methods used that looked into a wide variety of past events where documentation or other "hard" evidence is not readily obtainable.
The academic work done that tends to validate the other methods being used is from Ian Stevenson's group at the University of Virginia. They have succeeded in demonstrating that the human personality is separable from the body but retains the ability to perceive and remember while "detached." Work done documenting NDEs also supports this finding.
That then opens the door to consult personal memory to locate and describe long-past incidents. That work has largely been done outside of academia, though some academics are involved.
The work I was first introduced to was Hubbard's. He used a meter held in the hands of the subject, and a modified form of question asking based on Dianetics techniques.
Many people have used hypnotic regression. This work is extensive but is considered less reliable because a person can be interfered with while he is under hypnosis.
Courtney Brown and his group use scientific remote viewing. They have been quite productive, though the results are more "fuzzy" as the technique, in theory, accesses a sort of shared memory, rather than specific memories of specific individuals.
A few others have dug up a variety of "confidential" documents, and many of these seem authentic. They mostly have to do with ET craft retrieval or ET interference in government. That's Steven Greer's little game.
There is also the realm of direct experiencers. Though their stories can always be challenged as concocted, some have been corroborated using other techniques.
Kerth Barker says demons are insectoid aliens who project here, presumably to get a foothold.
Interestingly David M Jacobs, an abductions researcher, says in his work that the boss aliens are Mantids with formidable psychic powers.
Of course there are many other sources besides these two.
But many others would support these basic descriptions.
Much more common on Earth than the Mantids are the Reptilians, who appear quite often in remote viewing sessions, and have even been seen "in person" by a few people.
Breaking news: Donetsk and Luhansk referenda this weekend???
Well, if it was ok for Kosovo [as the UN said], then it will be ok for Luhansk and Donetsk.
Apparently, it's a done deal.
Can we expect Zelensky to authorize the SBU [the notorious Ukrainian Secret Police] to use fear and terror to intimidate the people of the Donbass so they will be afraid to vote?
Referendum in DPR:
The referendum on the entry of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) into Russia will be held on September 23-27.
This was reported in the People's Council of the Republic on September 20. (Izvestia)
Referendum in LNR:
"The head of the Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) Leonid Pasechnik signed the law on the referendum on joining Russia.
First Deputy Chairman of the People's Council of the LPR Dmitry Khoroshilov said that the referendum will be held from September 23 to 27.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that in case of holding referendums, negotiations with Russia will be permanently terminated. (from Kommersant)
The law signed by Mr. Pasechnik states that the referendum "is held in order to realize the universally recognized right of the people to self-determination."
The referendum will be organized in a secret ballot format, and participation in it "is free and voluntary."
The decision adopted at the referendum is "generally binding" and will enter into force from the date of its publication.
"Foreign citizens, stateless persons, foreign organizations, international organizations and international public movements are not entitled to carry out activities that hinder the preparation and conduct of a referendum, as well as in other forms to prevent participation in voting," the document says.
Foreigners can be accredited as observers if they have an invitation and an entry permit."
If these referenda go through [the people vote for it and the Russian Duma approves], then the Ukis will have to stop shelling and killing civilians in Donetsk and Luhansk as these republics will then be Russian territory and they will be killing Russian citizens.
If they do that, watch out.
If the world hasn't changed that much, then we're not so much oppressed by the elite as much as having chosen to lag far behind them. Effectively what it all comes down to is how much land, resources, etc. you've amassed and trained your children to train your grandchildren to hold. The difference between you (collective) and the elite is that they have the resources and you don't. But even on a local level, at least for me, this seems obvious. Powerful families in my area have land, produce food and sell it. Only *then* do they begin to turn their focus on governing if they so choose.
QE2's death made that obvious: Big Red forced to drop his military gear for the funeral brought into sharp relief that he's only two kills from the throne of England, if he wants it. As we have chosen "muh democracy" or "an oligarchy if you can keep it" instead, we remain largely in a near-feudal state while looking up to nerds with computers as our overlords, because they look scarier with the VR glasses on. But that's a choice.
If we turn our focus inwards, it's not nearly as dire a situation as it could be. Of course, we grow miniscule amounts of food ourselves and hoard grains in our little family collective, so it's not gloating, but it may as well be.
Rurik i just now today read this. You are correct. I will not go into too much detail but for me the full wlae up to what you are writing here for me began on 09/11/2001 when the US attacked itself. That followed by the model state health emergencies act folllowed for many years by the bs table top exercises realizing all along l this was a slow grab for more and.more.power. lo and behold the 2020 bs that most.of the country and sadly most of.my.so called family and friends believed to be "real".
Have you ever heard of the National Justice Pary?
yes, unfortunately.
"That’s pretty much the triad of power thats running the West."
Those parties are just agents implementing goals decreed from higher up. There's an invisible power structure using corporate financialism and banking that's actually calling the shots. Squandering resources on climate gewgaws and promoting unrestricted immigration, orchestrating monotone media policies, as well as cutting off Russian energy to Europe, are policies whose destructive potential should have been noticed and discussed at the outset. Nevertheless, they came into being pretty much undebated under some general umbrella of desirable "liberal values". Neither those who now pass for "leaders", nor the masses, originated these ideas.These policies were decreed, justified and amplified along the way by a steam of compliant news propaganda .
Just to demonstrate, try to explain how it came to be that all major investment companies suddenly and nearly simultaneously required corporations to adopt ESG policies as a condition for getting credit. And why PayPal floated the idea of confiscating funds as a form of censorship. Explain whose interest shackling companies in this way can serve. It's a pure power grab by some opaque governing structure calling the shots, and they're not benevolent.
When the right adopts wokenism, it is over.
Again I disagree, no one is truly in control so breaking things down to various blocks of the power structure doesn’t work for me. When dealing with structures of society human nature and again beliefs play a overwhelming role. It’s the “roadblock” liberals are hopelessly trying to eliminate; the fact that nobody really gives a shit about their vision, people will play along with their subversion, race to bottom but that’s where it stops.
As for “defeating” them it’s not as simple as rallying people and identifying the problem. The masses don’t respond well to agendas. Again the masses are all about human nature. Identifying the problem for them will always be their own unhappiness and the solution is someone who wants to fix it. The problem is with our side is we gave up trying to obtain power. The sheep will follow.
>no one is truly in control so breaking things down to various blocks of the power structure doesn’t work for me.
That's throwing all logic and reasoning out the window. OK, let's do that. Then its a demonic egregore in control, directing random peoples thoughts and actions to a common sinister goal.
The sinister part is our own “short comings” as human beings. I can invoke God but let’s not do that.
Neo-Liberals don’t seem to be doing much of anything except subverting every aspect of society. Unfortunately it snowballs as the more unhappy people there are the more people want to help the subversion. Everything they imply to believe is utopian, not a mark of intelligence, but at the end of the day they’re the same as what they’re condemning. They’re the black sheep, the weakling who would rather it burn then to be left out in the cold. They do understand power but only because at their core they feel so threatened. So to say they have a agenda is giving them sapience they don’t have.
So at best I would describe it as lots pieces of shit in governance bouncing the lowest fruit of ideas off each other. Ideas that only seem to benefit the fringes, in saying that what can we assume about them? Yes people are going along with this reductionism to our base instincts, but now people want blood, people want violence, liberals included. Was it a master plan or are we just back at square one?
As for the great apocalyptic hellscape they’re dragging us into, it won’t be the first time it happened. Now we just get a bonus of being oppressed with technology. People used to be oppressed for centuries in one run.
I try to keep my writings super simple and boiled down to their most essential. You repay my curtesy by copy pasting an entire essay in the comments section. Sad.
From what I understand, you want to bioengineer humans to be more empathetic? Why not just work on having northern Europeans produce more children then? Problem solved.
What's the problem with Eastern Europeans? And Southern ones?
Touché!
I love that you stay focused on truth and don't waste our time. Thanks!
Interesting but flawed. As with all these idyllic solutions, who will be in charge of administering the tests and running the neuro Hogwartian sorting hat? Inevitably the psychopaths and sociopaths take control and we're back to the same old illusion of freedom stage managed by oligarchs. The only system safe from psychopaths and sociopaths is a small one, as small as possible. Matthew Crawford addresses this in re the Inuits and how they deal w "kulangetas" (psychos): they push them off the ice into the water. Small systems can recognize psychopaths and restrain them before they can amass real power.
I dont think my solution is idyllic. I think its been done all over the world and the results, flawed as they are, are clearly preferable to what we have now.
Regarding psychopaths and sociopaths.
Well, ideally, we do create a Hogwartian sorting system to find them and eliminate them. I prefer to use the Blade Runner test as my template though.
We know that we can sort for NPCs already by testing for 1) internal monologue 2) long-term memory 3) internal visualization.
I'm sure that an empathy test would weed out most psychopaths.
But, the problem isn't even lone psychopaths, but groups of psychopaths working together. Some of these psychopaths are bound together by religion and blood ties. But the gullible peasants aren't ready to realize this.
@rolo
I should have been clearer. My reply was directed to Cc lum, not your comment. Your views, as far as i can tell from my recent sub, are not idyllic .
I am genuinely interested to know where you believe this Hogwartian sorting has been successfully implemented and has avoided the pitfall of the sorters being the same old crooks?
Well, it is the nature of this world that all things eventually fall to entropy. But, sorting for quality is done in literally every single organization. Colleges used to sort for smart kids. That got subverted. Militaries used to sort for the brave and resourceful. Eventually, paper-pushing bureaucrats took over. Esoteric orders selected for spiritually-gifted individuals, but, eventually, cults of personality took over.
It is simply the way of things.
You struggle and create something nice and you hopefully live long enough not to see it subverted. But, if it is, you hope that the next generation can do something about it and start the cycle anew.
@ cclum
Interesting, as are the responses to your post.
How to set up a system that generates morally intelligent leadership - this intellectual head-scratcher goes back at least to Plato, at least on this planet.
Proposed solutions abound - the one that was most attractive to me in my youth was that proposed by E.F. Schumacher in "Small is Beautiful" - to approach economics and technology as though people mattered.
I've never really been able to let go of the dream/system he laid out, despite being buffetted by the razor-sharp realities of realpolitik.
As Gandalf told Pippin about the chances of defeating Sauron: "There never was much hope. Just a fool's hope."
@jb
Yes, that's my hope, in smallness. Similar to James Kunstlers world made by hand. I will check out your reference.
My theory is that smallness may be imposed upon us like it or not. The trajectories are moving toward a collapse of our current, complex, interdependent, global system notwithstanding the schemes of the Klepto Oligarchy to centralize and communize.
When the collapse occurs most of the world, particularly the deindustrial West will be up the proverbial creek, being mostly incapable of producing more than the basic necessities of life. This will force localities to rely on what's available in towns and regions and set up a system to survive as best they can. This is where the US splits all over the place. Florida, for example, might cohere better vy virtue of their agriculture, energy, climate, and population skills. Big cities otoh...not so much.
As this atomization unfolds, local and regional autarchs will naturally arise and either work out arrangements w other fiefdoms or suffer for it. In any case, we'll be forced back to a pretty basic lifestyle without most of the luxuries and tech we're addicted to now.
@ginned
I'm with you on your analysis/predictions.
I am pretty certain you'll find Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful" useful.
His follow up shorter book, "A Guide for the Perplexed" is also highly recommended.