"Society" as an object of study and the idea that rulers' policies and historic circumstances affect a social entity - whose current character also affects its individual members - is a concept that grew from the experience of the French Revolution, its aftermath and the coeval Industrial Revolution. Approaches to study of social forces were then developed in the later 19th century by Emil Durkheim, followed by Marcel Mauss, and related analysis by Karl Marx, as well as their contemporaries.
So is Trump (like Reagan, Thatcher) intending to return us to the world prior to the revolutions that formed this nation-state of the US of A? Of course that's impossible... or forge a new world of gilded lilies and goon squads? Seems like. Or might he set off another revolution ...but to forge what kind of society?
I'd vote for one in which individuals own no more than a nice home and a productive garden; in which the highest honors go to those who manage an effective, cooperative enterprise that produces social good(s). That is not pie in the sky - examples are all around us. Those afflicted with the cancerous growth of overweening ambition can go to Mars.
I agree, Ann. My reaction when Bezos and Branson and Musk first launched their little rockets was "I'm fine with launching them all into space. It's bringing them back I'm not thrilled about."
A lot of people have said the Reagan/Thatcher etc. program wants to take us back to the 19th century era of robber barons, but that doesn't work anymore because that's already happened. The closest I've gotten to articulating it lately is "privatized, fractionated carnival of despair whose cotton candy induces mass psychosis"—but that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
By the way, I like the phrase "Gilded Lilies and Goon Squads." Maybe it'll be the name of my next band.
I wonder if that isn't a repeating pattern in history, Rosalba. So many tyrants began by claiming to be "men of the people" (they've all been men so far. anyway). I don't want a "man of the people"; I want PEOPLE of the people...
I think tRump is so deranged that he just ignores what he is doing to this country. And we all know that he doesn’t give a fuck!! I say get him the fuck outta the White House!!
It's a great quote, Jamenta, and Kropotkin is a lodestar for me. I'm not sure he said this exact line, either. But it summarizes a point he made often, especially in The State-Its Historic Role, when he talks about "imperialists vs. federalists" etc. Thanks for the reminder!
Hi Richard, thanks for your comment. It's remarkable how much its been hammered into the American psyche these last number of decades how evil "government" is, and any public services are painted as people getting a "free ride", and anyone receiving public assistance is either a "welfare queen", or an illegal immigrant.
You have to hand it to the ruling class, they've done their job really well convincing a lot of Americans "privatization" and "endless greed" are the magic ticket to a great America. And anyone, who dares speak the word socialist or communist is considered intellectually weak, or a loser. You become a marginalized fringe personality ...
And it turns out also, from a scientific perspective, cooperation is also a powerful survival tool for many animal/plant species. Ecosystems are a type of collaborative effort among living organic life. There is competition, but it isn't all competition.
I wonder now how far the fascism will go in the US, with the latest travesty of governance: The Big Beautiful Bill Trumpster signed today. You gotta believe the original Founders of this 200 year experiment in US hybrid Democracy/Republic are turning in their graves - and surely the experiment is now well over. Can it be revived? Can miracles happen?
Are we late 3rd-C Rome? Sheer emesis could propel a volte-face, accelerated by quant, syntels, neuro-informatics, metamaterials & CRISPR, not to mention Colonia Martialis [w/o Elon]. That's how it seems to this nonagenarian.
If you have the emetic, Don, I'll do my best to hold the patient down. What you're describing is the new idolatry of informatics, which worships the simulacra of living organisms while at the same time killing the real organisms (and the planet they live on). I'm not sure this empire will split into three parts, but it's hard to imagine it will survive much longer in its present form.
"Society" as an object of study and the idea that rulers' policies and historic circumstances affect a social entity - whose current character also affects its individual members - is a concept that grew from the experience of the French Revolution, its aftermath and the coeval Industrial Revolution. Approaches to study of social forces were then developed in the later 19th century by Emil Durkheim, followed by Marcel Mauss, and related analysis by Karl Marx, as well as their contemporaries.
So is Trump (like Reagan, Thatcher) intending to return us to the world prior to the revolutions that formed this nation-state of the US of A? Of course that's impossible... or forge a new world of gilded lilies and goon squads? Seems like. Or might he set off another revolution ...but to forge what kind of society?
I'd vote for one in which individuals own no more than a nice home and a productive garden; in which the highest honors go to those who manage an effective, cooperative enterprise that produces social good(s). That is not pie in the sky - examples are all around us. Those afflicted with the cancerous growth of overweening ambition can go to Mars.
I agree, Ann. My reaction when Bezos and Branson and Musk first launched their little rockets was "I'm fine with launching them all into space. It's bringing them back I'm not thrilled about."
A lot of people have said the Reagan/Thatcher etc. program wants to take us back to the 19th century era of robber barons, but that doesn't work anymore because that's already happened. The closest I've gotten to articulating it lately is "privatized, fractionated carnival of despair whose cotton candy induces mass psychosis"—but that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
By the way, I like the phrase "Gilded Lilies and Goon Squads." Maybe it'll be the name of my next band.
As it turns out the "tyrannical government" people turned out for the tyrannical government.
I wonder if that isn't a repeating pattern in history, Rosalba. So many tyrants began by claiming to be "men of the people" (they've all been men so far. anyway). I don't want a "man of the people"; I want PEOPLE of the people...
I think tRump is so deranged that he just ignores what he is doing to this country. And we all know that he doesn’t give a fuck!! I say get him the fuck outta the White House!!
"Competition is the law of the jungle, but cooperation is the law of civilization." (Attributed to Kropotkin)
It's a great quote, Jamenta, and Kropotkin is a lodestar for me. I'm not sure he said this exact line, either. But it summarizes a point he made often, especially in The State-Its Historic Role, when he talks about "imperialists vs. federalists" etc. Thanks for the reminder!
Hi Richard, thanks for your comment. It's remarkable how much its been hammered into the American psyche these last number of decades how evil "government" is, and any public services are painted as people getting a "free ride", and anyone receiving public assistance is either a "welfare queen", or an illegal immigrant.
You have to hand it to the ruling class, they've done their job really well convincing a lot of Americans "privatization" and "endless greed" are the magic ticket to a great America. And anyone, who dares speak the word socialist or communist is considered intellectually weak, or a loser. You become a marginalized fringe personality ...
And it turns out also, from a scientific perspective, cooperation is also a powerful survival tool for many animal/plant species. Ecosystems are a type of collaborative effort among living organic life. There is competition, but it isn't all competition.
I wonder now how far the fascism will go in the US, with the latest travesty of governance: The Big Beautiful Bill Trumpster signed today. You gotta believe the original Founders of this 200 year experiment in US hybrid Democracy/Republic are turning in their graves - and surely the experiment is now well over. Can it be revived? Can miracles happen?
Well - Happy 4th to you and family!
Are we late 3rd-C Rome? Sheer emesis could propel a volte-face, accelerated by quant, syntels, neuro-informatics, metamaterials & CRISPR, not to mention Colonia Martialis [w/o Elon]. That's how it seems to this nonagenarian.
If you have the emetic, Don, I'll do my best to hold the patient down. What you're describing is the new idolatry of informatics, which worships the simulacra of living organisms while at the same time killing the real organisms (and the planet they live on). I'm not sure this empire will split into three parts, but it's hard to imagine it will survive much longer in its present form.