Discontent is called FREEDOM, and its motive engine is Comparison, Disguised as Human Rights. If "He" has it, it's my right to have it too. This explains the Philistine Zombies that inhabit the West
I am not well known, nor with a wide circle of acquaintances, but in my contacts and within all of my reading, I have never encountered anyone that doesn't parrot Capitalist Excesses are due to GREED? It is all "shrugging-off-responsibility" and a victim mentality. This is the first time I have heard the proposal that capitalism runs on personal envy and coveting. It makes perfect sense. Generally those traits are considered weak and negative, and we do everything to excuse and disguise them in ourselves.
That part of this piece will be denied, that I don't have envy, (but of course those other masses of people - DO). Self-responsibility is a tough pill to swallow. It is only those people who look for their part in the cause, that will take note.
So I say that even if people's eyes are opened, no new action will happen from reading this. It is not designed to change anything in the exterior, but only modify our own urges. In other words, true (long-term) causes, are not going to be reliable (short-term) fixes.
Like if there was limited inequity, society would formulate in another way, or if everyone would have meaningful (to them) employment, there would be less crime and less mental illness. True in the long term, but in the short term criminals need to be constrained. We do need to know long-term causes, because otherwise in the short-term we are just churning the sandbox of contradictions.
"If only everybody would get-together and do this???? First and foremost, "Everybody" is an abstract concept that doesn't exist. It is not a motive power, but only a retrospective statistic. Nobody is going to get-together, and each will do their own thing.
That is the point of a "false-flag" operation against your own people, like Pearl Harbor, 9-11, or the October 7th Hamas attack. Even if these things are done by others, if your government knew about it beforehand, but didn't take extra precautions - it is a false flag operation. It's used to get the population to enter WWII, etc.
This is a very powerful piece about publicity. We all know it is everywhere, raining down on us. What can the effect of that be? I might claim that I have numbed myself to it, and do not look in that direction. But can that be true? I could say that if something is in an advertisement, I will promise to boycott it. Well, I sort of do, because my preference is to buy from local suppliers who don't advertise, and I avoid the corporate sector. The "brand-names" that I do own, I bought used, so at least no money goes to the billionaires. My last 3 phones were given to me, when the owner bought a new one. The one before that was a free promotion for signing up with a telephone provider, come to think of it. So I have never bought a smart-phone.
I believe that without ever articulating the true engine of economic oppression, I instinctively reacted against it. (Besides I am frugal.) So I will have to consider if there is something extra that I could do differently.
I have been thinking of how to post this. You can be soft and beat around the bush, saying maybe this or maybe that. Or, you can just say all hyper-capitalism is your (everyone's) doing because your basic personality is covetous. It is YOU that are making so-called GREED possible.
The point is responsibility. Even if you have only a shred of responsibility, it is a stronger platform for action than all the reams of justified victimhood you can recount. What can one do? I am thinking our only power is to open, or keep closed our wallet, that is a boycott. Even that is impossible with necessities, and/or without truth in labeling. (Although I have found local suppliers for almost everything.)
A personal boycott doesn't change anything. It is only that you are not adding to the problem. Boycotts can gain momentum. For instance China might have more patriotic feeling than America. If they feel that the West is penalizing them, they might move away from Western brand-names. It is probably working that way in America for Russia. But what Russian goods have you ever bought? The country as a whole can move away from Russian energy, oil and minerals, (but to where?).
What consolidated action could make a difference? For example, if this year people would vote-out all members of congress and vote-out one third of the senators, the US would be a different country. Let all freshmen congress people run the government. First job, re-write the committee rules with term limits.
This is what happens when you read your Organizing Principle of capitalism too deeply. You let it take over your life and become only an economic actor, rather than a full human.
I am not well known, nor with a wide circle of acquaintances, but in my contacts and within all of my reading, I have never encountered anyone that doesn't parrot Capitalist Excesses are due to GREED? It is all "shrugging-off-responsibility" and a victim mentality. This is the first time I have heard the proposal that capitalism runs on personal envy and coveting. It makes perfect sense. Generally those traits are considered weak and negative, and we do everything to excuse and disguise them in ourselves.
That part of this piece will be denied, that I don't have envy, (but of course those other masses of people - DO). Self-responsibility is a tough pill to swallow. It is only those people who look for their part in the cause, that will take note.
So I say that even if people's eyes are opened, no new action will happen from reading this. It is not designed to change anything in the exterior, but only modify our own urges. In other words, true (long-term) causes, are not going to be reliable (short-term) fixes.
Like if there was limited inequity, society would formulate in another way, or if everyone would have meaningful (to them) employment, there would be less crime and less mental illness. True in the long term, but in the short term criminals need to be constrained. We do need to know long-term causes, because otherwise in the short-term we are just churning the sandbox of contradictions.
"If only everybody would get-together and do this???? First and foremost, "Everybody" is an abstract concept that doesn't exist. It is not a motive power, but only a retrospective statistic. Nobody is going to get-together, and each will do their own thing.
That is the point of a "false-flag" operation against your own people, like Pearl Harbor, 9-11, or the October 7th Hamas attack. Even if these things are done by others, if your government knew about it beforehand, but didn't take extra precautions - it is a false flag operation. It's used to get the population to enter WWII, etc.
This is a very powerful piece about publicity. We all know it is everywhere, raining down on us. What can the effect of that be? I might claim that I have numbed myself to it, and do not look in that direction. But can that be true? I could say that if something is in an advertisement, I will promise to boycott it. Well, I sort of do, because my preference is to buy from local suppliers who don't advertise, and I avoid the corporate sector. The "brand-names" that I do own, I bought used, so at least no money goes to the billionaires. My last 3 phones were given to me, when the owner bought a new one. The one before that was a free promotion for signing up with a telephone provider, come to think of it. So I have never bought a smart-phone.
I believe that without ever articulating the true engine of economic oppression, I instinctively reacted against it. (Besides I am frugal.) So I will have to consider if there is something extra that I could do differently.
This is really an excellent post.
.
I have been thinking of how to post this. You can be soft and beat around the bush, saying maybe this or maybe that. Or, you can just say all hyper-capitalism is your (everyone's) doing because your basic personality is covetous. It is YOU that are making so-called GREED possible.
The point is responsibility. Even if you have only a shred of responsibility, it is a stronger platform for action than all the reams of justified victimhood you can recount. What can one do? I am thinking our only power is to open, or keep closed our wallet, that is a boycott. Even that is impossible with necessities, and/or without truth in labeling. (Although I have found local suppliers for almost everything.)
A personal boycott doesn't change anything. It is only that you are not adding to the problem. Boycotts can gain momentum. For instance China might have more patriotic feeling than America. If they feel that the West is penalizing them, they might move away from Western brand-names. It is probably working that way in America for Russia. But what Russian goods have you ever bought? The country as a whole can move away from Russian energy, oil and minerals, (but to where?).
What consolidated action could make a difference? For example, if this year people would vote-out all members of congress and vote-out one third of the senators, the US would be a different country. Let all freshmen congress people run the government. First job, re-write the committee rules with term limits.
.
This is what happens when you read your Organizing Principle of capitalism too deeply. You let it take over your life and become only an economic actor, rather than a full human.
https://open.substack.com/pub/argomend/p/shallow-and-deep-reading?r=28g8km&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true