When Centralization Scales Beyond Our Control
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Fenno Jacobs Schoolchildren staging a patriotic demonstration, Southington, CT 1942 In an article about NATO exercises in Estonia, just 300 yards from
[See the full post at: When Centralization Scales Beyond Our Control]<I>They all end up serving only their most powerful members, at the cost of the smaller and less powerful.</I>
_________________________________A very good example of this relationship here:
<b>F-35 procurement troubles may hurt military’s relations with allies</b>
Internal document says tough procurement rules affect hundreds of foreign deals signed by the Forces
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/f-35-procurement-troubles-may-hurt-military-s-relations-with-allies-1.2967731I share your hopelessness in general, but schools may point to a way out of this mess. Universities are completely lost, totally devoted to evil; but public schools in smaller American cities are changing in positive ways. They’re focusing on job-relevant skills instead of rote memorization, and they’re starting to pick up discovery-based learning in science.
This happened because private and religious schools, and home schooling, grew so large that public schools in many places lost half their students and were trending toward complete loss.
Which raises the question: How can we develop similar “mammals” to outcompete the “dinosaurs” in those other areas like universities and NATO?
I think the answer to NATO is already coming, with the old Ottoman Empire and Russian Empire regrowing and joining forces. NATO was meant to include those Ottoman countries like Hungary and Turkey, but now they’re moving East. This may also undermine some of the financial forces like WTO, but that’s not as clear.
“NATO is our Frankenstein. And if we don’t stop it now, it will end up coming after us.”
But replace “NATO” with anything related to government.
“Militarization of cops is our Frankenstein.”
“Common Core is our Frankenstein.”
“Increasing taxation is our Frankenstein.”
“Debt based fiat is our Frankenstein.”
“Surveillance is our Frankenstein.”
“Uncontrolled immigration is our Frankenstein.”
“Nuclear waste is our Frankenstein.”
“Un-prosecuted fraud and corruption is our Frankenstein.”
“Subsidies and protections for big industries like Monsanto is our Frankenstein.”
“ISIS, al Qaeda, Xi (mercenary groups), and the CIA are our Frankensteins.”
“A disastrous war on drugs and burgeoning private prison industry is our Frankenstein.”
“Rigged markets, rigged prices, and rigged balance sheets are our Frankensteins.”
“Monopolistic medical cartels is our Frankenstein.”
“Legislation by the various government departments rather than Congress is our Frankenstein. Executive Orders and Signing Statements issued by the President is our Frankenstein. And if we don’t stop it now, it will end up coming after us.”It’s a long list, and that’s just a start.
Of course, the government sees it otherwise:
“The lone wolf patriot is our Frankenstein.”
“Gun owners with .223 ammo is our Frankenstein.”
“Honest cops and a real system of justice is our Frankenstein.”
“Home schooling is our Frankenstein.”
“Falling tax receipts is our Frankenstein.”
“Any digital device that we can’t hack is our Frankenstein.”
“Whistle blowers is our Frankenstein.”
“The U.S. Constitution is our Frankenstein.”
“Allowing people to refuse vaccines is our Frankenstein.”
“Allowing people to label GMO crops is our Frankenstein.”
“Waiting for Congress to declare wars before we fight them is our Frankenstein.”
“A free market with honest price discovery is our Frankenstein.”
“Ending price supports by legalizing marijuana is our Frankenstein.”
“People boarding planes without receiving TSA abuse is our Frankenstein.”
“Repeal of the Obamacare tax is our Frankenstein.”But so long as “we” as individuals keep using the word “we” in reference to a collective, we as a collective will continue to regard government as the way to solve our problems. And we as individuals will continue to suffer under all of the monsters that Frankenstein can endeavor to produce (on our dime).
I suspect Ron Paul would agree.
Long ago, it was conventional wisdom that when companies grew too big, they became inefficient. Smaller companies would successfully compete, and the big company would eventually have to either split up or fail. It was all just a well-demonstrated feature of free market economics.
Thank goodness the government stepped in and changed all that. Now we have giants walking the Earth – – giants that own our legislatures – – giants that enjoy virtual immunity from prosecution. The modern, government-supported ethos: “might makes right.” Three cheers for growth! (Which, by the way, means you little guys – – 99% of you – – will all have to keep shrinking.)
A modern prayer: “Gov is great, Gov is good, and we thank it for our food.”
Nope, “we” will never learn.
“Russian military plane over international waters 25 miles from the UK coast is “real and present danger” to NATO. Yet… Yet yesterday US combat vehicles conducted a military parade and show of military force in Estonia just 300 yards – yards! – from the Russian border.”
Evidence for severe narcissism disorder. Project upon others the motivations that one actually has oneself. This is classic stuff. The sooner we can realize the pathology of the people in charge, the sooner the house of cards falls.
Ilargi – great piece! Well done. Diogenes – great lists. So true, the differences between what we see and what our governments see. DEG – severe narcissism disorder is bang on. Now throw in psychopathy by some (not all), and we are in big trouble.
“Experts also have a tendency to cartelize themselves by creating ‘institutional barricades’ – for example proclaiming themselves gatekeepers, as well as self-selecting themselves.”
Always remember Richard Feynman (Nobel Prize for physics) sending back the invitation that Mensa sent him, in light of his award, with the words, “My IQ is not high enough.” It wasn’t high enough, and he delighted in throwing that fact back at them. Perhaps he used his creativity.
Creativity is a deviant act. It says I see things my way. You can’t be creative if you’re worried about being a cog.
polistra, Illich never gave up on schools altogether, but he very much did on existing ones. if they just leave kids alone to learn on their own accord what life requires, and only add to that what they have to offer on a voluntary basis, there’s nothing wrong with a school. the problem is the education system seeks a monopoly, schools become mandatory, and the curriculum is enforced from somewhere high up there. and basic skills are nowhere to be found.
“Why the Rise of Fascism is Again the Issue:
“Since 1945, more than a third of the membership of the United Nations – 69 countries – have suffered some or all of the following at the hands of America’s modern fascism. They have been invaded, their governments overthrown, their popular movements suppressed, their elections subverted, their people bombed and their economies stripped of all protection, their societies subjected to a crippling siege known as “sanctions”. The British historian Mark Curtis estimates the death toll in the millions. In every case, a big lie was deployed.
The intensity of the smear campaign against Russia and the portrayal of its president as a pantomime villain is unlike anything I have known as a reporter.
The responsibility of the rest of us is clear. It is to identify and expose the reckless lies of warmongers and never to collude with them. It is to re-awaken the great popular movements that brought a fragile civilisation to modern imperial states. Most important, it is to prevent the conquest of ourselves: our minds, our humanity, our self respect. If we remain silent, victory over us is assured, and a holocaust beckons.”
As a teacher in a system outside the US what Illich offers here resonates with me. In my system there is a significant amount of “doublespeak” where talk of school autonomy is overlaid with centralist policies and curriculum which defeats the purpose of autonomy in the first place. While parts of me struggle to accept it the fact is that students are being “dumbed down” by curriculum centred around standardised testing. This means that truly creative and divergent thinkers can’t be catered for within the curriculum and we are now more about creating “factors of production” (labour units) than about creating whole people who can think in a number of different frames.
To be fair though, school systems in the West are buckling under the pressure of globalisation to create an efficient workforce so that living standards can be maintained in the face of economic growth in developing countries. To go to a more non standardised model of education would definitely be a high risk, high return scenario for governments in Western countries..Hi Ilargi,
Have you stopped to consider that the financiers of the supranational organizations actually run them? You do know that governments don’t produce money in the West, right? Private banks control the issuance of money via their ability to make loans… to the private sector, to the corporate sector, and to the government sector.
Lookee, here, the financiers created the supranational organizations, the financiers finance the supranational organizations…How could the Debt Money Monopoly NOT control these supranational institutions regardless of the result of any penny-ante election in some debt money subjugated Vichy government system?
Ilargi (and other recent posters):
Great words! Here’s my addition — none of these changes, that are absolutely necessary, can have a ghost of a chance for success — UNTIL The Big One happens. IOW, The Powers That Be are so thoroughly entrenched nothing can pry them loose from their positions of power — except for one dynamic: The entire present worldwide financial, administrative, military, educative traps we find ourselves in — can only be broken by the widespread, deeply profound destruction of the present power structure. This includes predominantly the USA, Canada, all of Europe, BRICS, South America, the mid-East, and China.How bad and deep must this catastrophe extend? Well, just as rule of thumb, bad enough to make The Great Depression, WW2, all the ensuing wars and intrigue — seem like the proverbial “walk in the park.”
How can we engineer this catastrophe? Not to worry — THERE’S NO WAY TO AVOID IT.
Thanks Ilargi for this very good article. There is a very few persons able to think like you and make these great points that are explaining the world we live in much better. I think most people are not capable of zooming out and seeing their (cult)ure as what it is even if having only good intentions.
In my view it seems that institutions and isms get started with good goals and intentions by more or less normal humans. Soon enough when they get power, these institutions start drawing power hungry persons, that are charming, high self esteem, driven and knows how to get people doing what they want.
It really does not matter if the institution is religious, political or business, everywhere hierarchy draws these specific individuals. Too bad that the rest of the personality traits are lack of remorse or guilt, pathological lying, they view others as nothing but objects to be used as means to an end.
if you want more info in this subject, check political ponerology on google. I have personally seen this happen in career working for a big multinational. And it is very hard to picture these kind of people when you have not been burned emotionally and personally by them, it is practically not human, without empathy for anyone including themselves. And they are still few percent of the population, just very hard to spot and usually not where you expect “sick people” to be, at the center of attention looking confident.
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