Hopefully - it takes a good deal of determination, courage and initiative to paint anything on a bridge, let alone a complicated set of words. If our 5%-er spelled them correctly as well, then all
Yes agreed. I sent (to your business email) a pic taken a few days ago, so you can check the spelling yourself. BTW it's just South of J17 on the M6 (heading South). Talking of percentages I wonder how many people recognise the phrase. I could do a straw pole at the next services.
Yes, initially he did use the phrase. On his first conference call with Mattias Desmet it was suggested to him that he drop the word psychosis. Which I think was a wise move, as the term psychosis implies mental illness, while Mass Formation is a less loaded and charged phrase. Artfully vague one might say.
Extremely thoughtful. We’ve lost the human touch and are becoming cogs in the machine - those of us lucky enough to find a place. Identity politics stymieing our ability to think for ourselves.
This idea of compulsory morality rings true in the gender debate. Dare to pushback on the oppressiveness of this issue, one is branded ‘phobic’ and a ‘hater’ and risks losing his/her job so we keep the head down. As a woman and a human being, I object to the term ‘birthing person’ - to me this change in our language is (ironically as it’s intended to be inclusive) representative of the loss of our collective humanity. We are defined by what we do rather than who we are. When our young people (and worse their parents) think their (child’s) happiness is tied to whether they are a boy or girl, we’ve broken something. Is this mass psychosis?
This seems the kind of extreme cultural selfishness and dysfunction that marks the top.
Amen to your comment, Kristi and thank you for it. I am quite good at dealing with the economic and policy failures and can engage with them. Where I find myself both horrified and incandescent with anger is the poisonous nature of the gender debate which is causing so much psychological damage to an entire generation of children. It is without doubt the nastiest and most corrosive expression of neo-Marxist revolutionary theory by which bourgeois society needs to be divided against itself in order to weaken and thereby defeat it. That the educational establishment was where they started their “long march through the institutions” has been apparent for decades but this “selfishness and dysfunction” goes beyond anything I could have imagined and frankly disgusts me.
We have much work to do it seems. I'm 31 years old, and I read and learn what I can. I have some close friends on board, but at the same time it's still an isolating place to be because it feels like most have no idea how we got to where we are, or even where we are, and the pressure to keep your eyes down and just go to work is relentless. Waking up to it is hard, and often crumbles a pre-existing worldview, and that's crippling and too daunting for many. It's nice to have a place like this to come to wrestle with thoughts and idea's from those who aren't blind to reality.
Thank you for your comment and your appreciation. I am delighted that you are reading here and hope that you will find occasional encouragement and orientation.
Another very good essay. I had seen the Desmet interview elsewhere but at the time thought the parallels with today were tremendously insightful.
Every needs to watch that video of European border changes over the past 1000 years. Indeed watch it a couple of times, pausing it frequently, and look especially at the changes in central / eastern Europe and the Balkans. So many Americans and non Europeans simply do not understand the dramatic changes across the "Mighty Continent". Is it heading toward even more consolidation if the EU can actually form a true fiscal union or will it splinter again into its cultural historical cliques.... and the war that typically goes with it. I don't not know for certain but I suspect its getting within a few years (perhaps even Quarters) of a tipping point. Too many young people (under 40 as far as I am concerned) do not live in reality that is thrust upon us by our collective history and the old adage that History repeats. Indeed other wise folks say it does repeat but rhymes instead. Personally I see more repetition than rhyming at this juncture.
As to the theme of standing up for what is good and right, I applaud Steven's carefully considered moral action beliefs. I am definitely in the 3. category nowadays. I feel a bit too old to default into that 2. category but I can see all around me the "2s" swelling slowly but surely in number.
My only disagreement with Steven's writing is his statement about ultimately still being an optimist. Unfortunately in the hopefully 20-25 years I have left on this blue planet, I suspect as Lily Tomlin said "Its going to get a lot worse, before it gets worse."
Thank you for your erudite comment. My working hypothesis is that the next saeculum will see the disintegration and atomisation of the Nation State into much smaller entities and that the map of Europe will look a great deal more like that of the 15th than of the 20th Century. Same goes for the US and probably China as well. I believe that the fundamental laws of economics cannot be forever avoided and that the rationale behind the formation of States no longer applies. That that process of collapse will be anything other than messy is not a matter for debate, nor that in some places that process will be messier than others, but the trend towards fragmentation is irresistable and wholly to be desired imho. As to my sunny outlook, I hold with Karl Popper who wrote that “optimism is a moral imperative of leadership”. Thank you for reading and for your supportive comments.
Wise quote from Popper. As both states of mind are about the future, which is unknowable, one may as well choose the one which is better for one's mental and physical health (and others around) and it leads to one looking for solutions. But it it not wise to get stuck in some panglossian view of the world either. A dip into a 'pessimistic' question (asking what could go wrong) is vital for individuals and leaders. In fact I have seen so many great questions asked in meetings shut down by the boss with the 'Don't be negative mantra', that I added a whole section to a leadership training day to help the boss be open to all views.
So agree with the need to ask ‘what could go wrong’ in evaluating any strategy! - and certainly given this energy crisis at every level no one seemed to ask, or if it was asked, no one listened. I read a great comment about a respected financial analyst who was formally a aeronautical engineer - what great perspective for investing - making sure things are place to avoid your investments crashing and burning. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. I would suggest too, doing so helps keep one’s mental health in check.
I would not want to fly with an airline whose maintenance dept had a 'don't worry, it may never happen' poster in their office. :). When over-optimistic gamblers find their way out of Marketing/PR and become CEO's watch out for the next 'can't go wrong' investment or idea, that propels the share price to the stratosphere, only to crash and burn. Luna, Enron, RBS etc etc.
I recall an interview with Douglas Murray who opined something along the lines that the end of empires are associated with the focus on gender.
I also recall another interview with a well known American libertarian (name escapes me) whose passionate two line catch cry was "Government sucks". This is what I try to instil into my children !
I do wonder (hope) whether the energy crisis and possible food crisis is going to force a reset.
I'm definitely in the 3 camp, stray into the 2.camp on occasion and planning to move to a location in due course where there are more like-minded people - I studied the electoral results to see which regions have the highest % of votes for parties who policies I align with my values.
Thank you for your comment. If you are in the US you may find Joel Skousen’s recently re-issued “Strategic Relocation” useful. It is the sort of book only an obsessive lunatic would write but Joel’s obsession is to our advantage and it is a useful primer on what to look for in selecting a post-collapse location wherever you are in the world. Check out his website for both the book and many other resources.
Personally, I do not - for a variety of reasons - believe that we are currently in the “end game” of this current cycle and that it has a number if years to run yet (2026 is the date in my calendar). If I am correct, then this crisis will pass and be resolved somehow - how I don’t know - and that the resulting “relief” will provide the fuel to take us to the real top in a few years. We will see….
I'm in (Australia) but I took a peek. Some good ideas.
I'm not that pessimistic that we'll see a collapse and I think the US will do fine - it's an industrial and energy powerhouse and full of creative and hardworking people who love their country - that's my perception anyhow.
That's the million dollar question, and I guess it's relative :) I live in Australia, so for me, it's probably Queensland, north of Brisbane, or possibly northern NSW.
Regional areas more so, but I like the ocean, so that narrows it down to coastal areas for me. I'm still researching, taking holidays in various places to see the lay of the land.
The fringes have dezombified and are becoming vocal, they understand and are hungry for retribution. Unfortunately we have a uniparty nationally and even if the masses rise and vote the (D)'s out, I don't think the (R)'s are the answer. The reason for that is because the (D)'s are militant and the (R)'s still hope to get along. When pols or candidates start dropping like Romans, then you know we are headed for dark days. One word can sum up DC thus...GREED.
To which I would add the word “Entitlement”. Those two together are a powerful combination and as I quoted Rosenberg they are all “psychologically unable to adapt”. Thank you for your comment and for reading - I appreciate your engagement.
I agree with what you are getting at NF. I am unaffiliated and have an almost unhealthy dislike of most politicians but you really only have 2 choices. To vote or not to vote....if former, who to vote for? US Presidents have got steadily worse over last 20 years. Current one failed to get selected the first couple of attempts because of lying/plagiarism and now can barely ready a teleprompter. Feels almost like the fall of the USSR the way aged candidates are hanging on to power.
There is usually a Libertarian candidate you can elect to give your vote to, is there not? A vote for Ron Paul in the 2012 McCain-Obama election would have been a sound and not entirely wasted vote, don’t you think?
I lack the deep historical and philosophical knowledge of social and organizational behaviors that your other commenters possess. My fields are the sciences, the maths, economics, education, and finance, areas in which I do understand the theoretical and technical foundations. But I am not a scientist, I am an engineer. My talent is in understanding what the theorists are saying, picking out the actionable kernels, and turning them into practical reality, effecting actual change. I have been writing to my extended family and friends about the political dangers facing us for the same reasons you started writing Pitchfork Papers. “My Musings” (edinsel.substack.com) is my vehicle for getting the word out, and I have quoted your reasons for choosing the Pitchfork metaphor amongst my explanations for why I am suddenly writing about this. By writing, I hope to keep my readers out of the 65% and perhaps boost the ranks of the 5% closer to 10%. Ben Hunt at Epsilon Theory has been a vital source of insight for me, particularly his ongoing discussion series with Grant Williams called “The Narrative Game”. It seems to me that it will be much harder to resist change than at any time in the past. You wrote, “dissolution happens initially at the fringes of empire, in those areas able to reject the imposition of levies, taxes, and tributes without fear of reprisal because they know that the power centre can no longer afford to police and enforce its system of extraction.” Technology is making it much easier for the empire to track what’s happening at its periphery. Social networks are easily monitored, movements are easily tracked, and spending patterns are easily observed. My great fear is that the implementation of CBDCs (central bank digital currencies, or eDollars) will give them far more control over the fringes than in any prior revolution. The engineer in me sees the threat and wants to map a path of avoidance. I would appreciate any thoughts you have or references you’ve come across that might help me figure a plan for dealing with this threat. Some people look ahead for the storm clouds in order to steer around them; I am much more inclined to dive right into the middle of the storm and fight my way through. Thank you, Sir Steven.
Thank you for your appreciative comments Ed - I am glad that you found the piece helpful. As to your thoughts about the periphery, I have been thinking about that myself and believe that the physical will be the undoing of the virtual and periphery literally means countryside and places as far away from urban centres were there is intermittant wifi and cellular coverage, the police are from the local community and the man from DHL only comes once a week and can’t find you when he does…. I am looking to buy an old hand operated printing press to store in a shed with a decent supply of paper in order to be able to print and bind seditious material if that becomes necessary, but whatever happens the periphery is where the resistance will foment - it always does.
Excellent as always. I am forwarding on your posts more often now and within my wider network - a succinct summary of where we find ourselves both personally and as a society.
As a sidebar, I follow and contribute occasionally to a charity in Lebanon, www.beitelbaraka.org, as an amateur historian, I have always wanted to visit but have never had the chance. Lebanon is sadly a failed state, but what I have learned is, despite all that has happened to the Lebanese, BeitelBaraka highlights what is possible with the strength of community and civic society, even where an irresponsible and corrupt government has so manifestly failed its citizens.
I am equally confident and optimistic about the future for Europe. We have many strengths and a simpler set of values that we seem to have forgotten. Onto the next saeculum.
Thank you - I will check out the Beitel Baraka site. I have had a few Lebanese friends over the decades and they were always full of love and despair for their home country, but I have never managed to journey there. Perhaps this is a needed prompt to remedy that. Thank you for your engagement and encouragement.
Well, if this is an invitation to nobility then let me be Monty Python's brave, brave Sir Robin. It does take courage to allow oneself to come to these conclusions, it is much easier to think just of today and call for more government intervention to "solve" people's problems, and this is the opinion of almost everyone I know in normal life. It's no fun being the bad man and trying to point out the consequences, but it is very encouraging, even after reading such a piece, that optimism is still an option. Thanks Steven.
Read the article and am aware of my need to course correct in view of Dr. Breggin’s analysis. Makes sense and I hadn’t thought of it in terms of “victim-blaming” or avoidance of deeper malfeasance. The section “ The simple truth is that what Desmet calls mass formation or mass hypnosis is the response of normal human beings to extreme threats and harassments, and the loss of personal freedom. Add to that the isolation that was more widespread and rampant when he was finishing his book in November 2021 and the escalating threat to our constitutional democracies — it would be a miracle if anyone survived unscathed.” makes perfect sense. Thank you for pointing that out to me.
Thank you for your comment and am vaguely aware that there is some controversy around his mass formation theory, but then I suspect that there would be given what we are living through. I will read your linked article with great interest.
Would be interested in your views - I am more in line with this guy in terms of what happened regarding manipulating the general population over the last few years.
"When Push Comes to Nudge
You, me, everyone is now part of large and sustained social and psychological experiments being run without our knowledge or our permission. The purpose of these experiments is to craft the best means for persuading “the public” to go along with something."
Sep 4, 2022·edited Sep 4, 2022Liked by Pitchfork Papers
I think that the authors of the linked article completely misses the point of the Desmet proposition. They try to box Desmet into conforming to their own frameworks of psychological theories about individuals and then scoring him within their worldview. As Desmet is generalising about group behaviours their analysis falls apart.
I suspect that about 30% of the population self-identify as being in the 5%, but that's a discussion for another day.
A lovely essay! I so enjoyed reading it. Thank you. I truly, truly hope that you are correct and we are at or near to the high water mark of this insanity.
Yes Steven. I was a Green Card Holder until 2014. I voted Libertarian in 2016 because I could not stand Trump nor Clinton. The way the US system is set up it is extremely difficult to get a "Libertarian" candidate elected, especially now. The polarization in the US is driving many people who are moderate left of moderate right to the extremes. In order to avoid a candidate getting in you simply cannot stand, you are forced to vote for the other person, even if he/she supports policies that you do not agree with. Nov 2022 is going to see a dirty and possibly violent US election cycle, however given what is going on in Europe and the UK just now and potential getting much worse by winter, I expect to see civil disobedience and probably violence in many places. A groundswell appears to be materializing almost everywhere against what is going on around us.
Recently painted on bridge across a major motorway in England:
MASS FORMATION PSYCHOSIS
A five percenter?
Hopefully - it takes a good deal of determination, courage and initiative to paint anything on a bridge, let alone a complicated set of words. If our 5%-er spelled them correctly as well, then all
is not lost.
Yes agreed. I sent (to your business email) a pic taken a few days ago, so you can check the spelling yourself. BTW it's just South of J17 on the M6 (heading South). Talking of percentages I wonder how many people recognise the phrase. I could do a straw pole at the next services.
Mark the first time I heard that phrase was when it was used by Dr Malone in reference to behaviour in response to Covid. He was later censored.
Yes, initially he did use the phrase. On his first conference call with Mattias Desmet it was suggested to him that he drop the word psychosis. Which I think was a wise move, as the term psychosis implies mental illness, while Mass Formation is a less loaded and charged phrase. Artfully vague one might say.
I missed that - sorry. Will check and revert.
Extremely thoughtful. We’ve lost the human touch and are becoming cogs in the machine - those of us lucky enough to find a place. Identity politics stymieing our ability to think for ourselves.
This idea of compulsory morality rings true in the gender debate. Dare to pushback on the oppressiveness of this issue, one is branded ‘phobic’ and a ‘hater’ and risks losing his/her job so we keep the head down. As a woman and a human being, I object to the term ‘birthing person’ - to me this change in our language is (ironically as it’s intended to be inclusive) representative of the loss of our collective humanity. We are defined by what we do rather than who we are. When our young people (and worse their parents) think their (child’s) happiness is tied to whether they are a boy or girl, we’ve broken something. Is this mass psychosis?
This seems the kind of extreme cultural selfishness and dysfunction that marks the top.
Amen to your comment, Kristi and thank you for it. I am quite good at dealing with the economic and policy failures and can engage with them. Where I find myself both horrified and incandescent with anger is the poisonous nature of the gender debate which is causing so much psychological damage to an entire generation of children. It is without doubt the nastiest and most corrosive expression of neo-Marxist revolutionary theory by which bourgeois society needs to be divided against itself in order to weaken and thereby defeat it. That the educational establishment was where they started their “long march through the institutions” has been apparent for decades but this “selfishness and dysfunction” goes beyond anything I could have imagined and frankly disgusts me.
We have much work to do it seems. I'm 31 years old, and I read and learn what I can. I have some close friends on board, but at the same time it's still an isolating place to be because it feels like most have no idea how we got to where we are, or even where we are, and the pressure to keep your eyes down and just go to work is relentless. Waking up to it is hard, and often crumbles a pre-existing worldview, and that's crippling and too daunting for many. It's nice to have a place like this to come to wrestle with thoughts and idea's from those who aren't blind to reality.
Thank you for your comment and your appreciation. I am delighted that you are reading here and hope that you will find occasional encouragement and orientation.
Another very good essay. I had seen the Desmet interview elsewhere but at the time thought the parallels with today were tremendously insightful.
Every needs to watch that video of European border changes over the past 1000 years. Indeed watch it a couple of times, pausing it frequently, and look especially at the changes in central / eastern Europe and the Balkans. So many Americans and non Europeans simply do not understand the dramatic changes across the "Mighty Continent". Is it heading toward even more consolidation if the EU can actually form a true fiscal union or will it splinter again into its cultural historical cliques.... and the war that typically goes with it. I don't not know for certain but I suspect its getting within a few years (perhaps even Quarters) of a tipping point. Too many young people (under 40 as far as I am concerned) do not live in reality that is thrust upon us by our collective history and the old adage that History repeats. Indeed other wise folks say it does repeat but rhymes instead. Personally I see more repetition than rhyming at this juncture.
As to the theme of standing up for what is good and right, I applaud Steven's carefully considered moral action beliefs. I am definitely in the 3. category nowadays. I feel a bit too old to default into that 2. category but I can see all around me the "2s" swelling slowly but surely in number.
My only disagreement with Steven's writing is his statement about ultimately still being an optimist. Unfortunately in the hopefully 20-25 years I have left on this blue planet, I suspect as Lily Tomlin said "Its going to get a lot worse, before it gets worse."
Thank you for your erudite comment. My working hypothesis is that the next saeculum will see the disintegration and atomisation of the Nation State into much smaller entities and that the map of Europe will look a great deal more like that of the 15th than of the 20th Century. Same goes for the US and probably China as well. I believe that the fundamental laws of economics cannot be forever avoided and that the rationale behind the formation of States no longer applies. That that process of collapse will be anything other than messy is not a matter for debate, nor that in some places that process will be messier than others, but the trend towards fragmentation is irresistable and wholly to be desired imho. As to my sunny outlook, I hold with Karl Popper who wrote that “optimism is a moral imperative of leadership”. Thank you for reading and for your supportive comments.
Wise quote from Popper. As both states of mind are about the future, which is unknowable, one may as well choose the one which is better for one's mental and physical health (and others around) and it leads to one looking for solutions. But it it not wise to get stuck in some panglossian view of the world either. A dip into a 'pessimistic' question (asking what could go wrong) is vital for individuals and leaders. In fact I have seen so many great questions asked in meetings shut down by the boss with the 'Don't be negative mantra', that I added a whole section to a leadership training day to help the boss be open to all views.
Can’t fault that logic. Dr. Pangloss was never a good advisor and radical risk assessment is a key survival skill - whether in sailing or investing.
So agree with the need to ask ‘what could go wrong’ in evaluating any strategy! - and certainly given this energy crisis at every level no one seemed to ask, or if it was asked, no one listened. I read a great comment about a respected financial analyst who was formally a aeronautical engineer - what great perspective for investing - making sure things are place to avoid your investments crashing and burning. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. I would suggest too, doing so helps keep one’s mental health in check.
I would not want to fly with an airline whose maintenance dept had a 'don't worry, it may never happen' poster in their office. :). When over-optimistic gamblers find their way out of Marketing/PR and become CEO's watch out for the next 'can't go wrong' investment or idea, that propels the share price to the stratosphere, only to crash and burn. Luna, Enron, RBS etc etc.
Another great read, I love your optimism.
I recall an interview with Douglas Murray who opined something along the lines that the end of empires are associated with the focus on gender.
I also recall another interview with a well known American libertarian (name escapes me) whose passionate two line catch cry was "Government sucks". This is what I try to instil into my children !
I do wonder (hope) whether the energy crisis and possible food crisis is going to force a reset.
I'm definitely in the 3 camp, stray into the 2.camp on occasion and planning to move to a location in due course where there are more like-minded people - I studied the electoral results to see which regions have the highest % of votes for parties who policies I align with my values.
Thank you for your comment. If you are in the US you may find Joel Skousen’s recently re-issued “Strategic Relocation” useful. It is the sort of book only an obsessive lunatic would write but Joel’s obsession is to our advantage and it is a useful primer on what to look for in selecting a post-collapse location wherever you are in the world. Check out his website for both the book and many other resources.
Personally, I do not - for a variety of reasons - believe that we are currently in the “end game” of this current cycle and that it has a number if years to run yet (2026 is the date in my calendar). If I am correct, then this crisis will pass and be resolved somehow - how I don’t know - and that the resulting “relief” will provide the fuel to take us to the real top in a few years. We will see….
I'm in (Australia) but I took a peek. Some good ideas.
I'm not that pessimistic that we'll see a collapse and I think the US will do fine - it's an industrial and energy powerhouse and full of creative and hardworking people who love their country - that's my perception anyhow.
Where is the region most aligned with your values? I suspect more of us are looking for that place too.
That's the million dollar question, and I guess it's relative :) I live in Australia, so for me, it's probably Queensland, north of Brisbane, or possibly northern NSW.
Regional areas more so, but I like the ocean, so that narrows it down to coastal areas for me. I'm still researching, taking holidays in various places to see the lay of the land.
The fringes have dezombified and are becoming vocal, they understand and are hungry for retribution. Unfortunately we have a uniparty nationally and even if the masses rise and vote the (D)'s out, I don't think the (R)'s are the answer. The reason for that is because the (D)'s are militant and the (R)'s still hope to get along. When pols or candidates start dropping like Romans, then you know we are headed for dark days. One word can sum up DC thus...GREED.
To which I would add the word “Entitlement”. Those two together are a powerful combination and as I quoted Rosenberg they are all “psychologically unable to adapt”. Thank you for your comment and for reading - I appreciate your engagement.
I agree with what you are getting at NF. I am unaffiliated and have an almost unhealthy dislike of most politicians but you really only have 2 choices. To vote or not to vote....if former, who to vote for? US Presidents have got steadily worse over last 20 years. Current one failed to get selected the first couple of attempts because of lying/plagiarism and now can barely ready a teleprompter. Feels almost like the fall of the USSR the way aged candidates are hanging on to power.
There is usually a Libertarian candidate you can elect to give your vote to, is there not? A vote for Ron Paul in the 2012 McCain-Obama election would have been a sound and not entirely wasted vote, don’t you think?
Ross Perot? They get chewed up and spit out just like any outsider in office; just like Trump did. The fall of empires come quickly.
I lack the deep historical and philosophical knowledge of social and organizational behaviors that your other commenters possess. My fields are the sciences, the maths, economics, education, and finance, areas in which I do understand the theoretical and technical foundations. But I am not a scientist, I am an engineer. My talent is in understanding what the theorists are saying, picking out the actionable kernels, and turning them into practical reality, effecting actual change. I have been writing to my extended family and friends about the political dangers facing us for the same reasons you started writing Pitchfork Papers. “My Musings” (edinsel.substack.com) is my vehicle for getting the word out, and I have quoted your reasons for choosing the Pitchfork metaphor amongst my explanations for why I am suddenly writing about this. By writing, I hope to keep my readers out of the 65% and perhaps boost the ranks of the 5% closer to 10%. Ben Hunt at Epsilon Theory has been a vital source of insight for me, particularly his ongoing discussion series with Grant Williams called “The Narrative Game”. It seems to me that it will be much harder to resist change than at any time in the past. You wrote, “dissolution happens initially at the fringes of empire, in those areas able to reject the imposition of levies, taxes, and tributes without fear of reprisal because they know that the power centre can no longer afford to police and enforce its system of extraction.” Technology is making it much easier for the empire to track what’s happening at its periphery. Social networks are easily monitored, movements are easily tracked, and spending patterns are easily observed. My great fear is that the implementation of CBDCs (central bank digital currencies, or eDollars) will give them far more control over the fringes than in any prior revolution. The engineer in me sees the threat and wants to map a path of avoidance. I would appreciate any thoughts you have or references you’ve come across that might help me figure a plan for dealing with this threat. Some people look ahead for the storm clouds in order to steer around them; I am much more inclined to dive right into the middle of the storm and fight my way through. Thank you, Sir Steven.
Thank you for your appreciative comments Ed - I am glad that you found the piece helpful. As to your thoughts about the periphery, I have been thinking about that myself and believe that the physical will be the undoing of the virtual and periphery literally means countryside and places as far away from urban centres were there is intermittant wifi and cellular coverage, the police are from the local community and the man from DHL only comes once a week and can’t find you when he does…. I am looking to buy an old hand operated printing press to store in a shed with a decent supply of paper in order to be able to print and bind seditious material if that becomes necessary, but whatever happens the periphery is where the resistance will foment - it always does.
Excellent as always. I am forwarding on your posts more often now and within my wider network - a succinct summary of where we find ourselves both personally and as a society.
As a sidebar, I follow and contribute occasionally to a charity in Lebanon, www.beitelbaraka.org, as an amateur historian, I have always wanted to visit but have never had the chance. Lebanon is sadly a failed state, but what I have learned is, despite all that has happened to the Lebanese, BeitelBaraka highlights what is possible with the strength of community and civic society, even where an irresponsible and corrupt government has so manifestly failed its citizens.
I am equally confident and optimistic about the future for Europe. We have many strengths and a simpler set of values that we seem to have forgotten. Onto the next saeculum.
Thank you - I will check out the Beitel Baraka site. I have had a few Lebanese friends over the decades and they were always full of love and despair for their home country, but I have never managed to journey there. Perhaps this is a needed prompt to remedy that. Thank you for your engagement and encouragement.
Well, if this is an invitation to nobility then let me be Monty Python's brave, brave Sir Robin. It does take courage to allow oneself to come to these conclusions, it is much easier to think just of today and call for more government intervention to "solve" people's problems, and this is the opinion of almost everyone I know in normal life. It's no fun being the bad man and trying to point out the consequences, but it is very encouraging, even after reading such a piece, that optimism is still an option. Thanks Steven.
Thank you Sir Robin - are we going to make our walk in 2022? We need to put the world to rights before next year starts!
Yes we must, I've had a slightly compressed summer leaving my old contract and starting a new one, but it still needs to be done!
Interesting article. I was taken by your reference to Desmet and can concur with the elements of his work you use in your essay.
I watched his presentation and bought his book and am less than convinced by him. This linked essay is an interesting counter to his analysis.
Mattias Desmet: Mass Hypnosis Expert or Trojan Horse? The Full Story
https://www.americaoutloud.com/mattias-desmet-mass-hypnosis-expert-or-trojan-horse-the-full-story/#
Here is Prof. Desmet’s response to the Breggins published on Robert Malone’s Substack today: https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/is-mattias-desmet-an-expert-in-mass?r=21olc&utm_medium=ios
Perhaps yet another illustration of "the science" not being settled ? :-)
Read the article and am aware of my need to course correct in view of Dr. Breggin’s analysis. Makes sense and I hadn’t thought of it in terms of “victim-blaming” or avoidance of deeper malfeasance. The section “ The simple truth is that what Desmet calls mass formation or mass hypnosis is the response of normal human beings to extreme threats and harassments, and the loss of personal freedom. Add to that the isolation that was more widespread and rampant when he was finishing his book in November 2021 and the escalating threat to our constitutional democracies — it would be a miracle if anyone survived unscathed.” makes perfect sense. Thank you for pointing that out to me.
Thank you for your comment and am vaguely aware that there is some controversy around his mass formation theory, but then I suspect that there would be given what we are living through. I will read your linked article with great interest.
Would be interested in your views - I am more in line with this guy in terms of what happened regarding manipulating the general population over the last few years.
"When Push Comes to Nudge
You, me, everyone is now part of large and sustained social and psychological experiments being run without our knowledge or our permission. The purpose of these experiments is to craft the best means for persuading “the public” to go along with something."
https://peakprosperity.com/when-push-comes-to-nudge/
I think that the authors of the linked article completely misses the point of the Desmet proposition. They try to box Desmet into conforming to their own frameworks of psychological theories about individuals and then scoring him within their worldview. As Desmet is generalising about group behaviours their analysis falls apart.
I suspect that about 30% of the population self-identify as being in the 5%, but that's a discussion for another day.
A lovely essay! I so enjoyed reading it. Thank you. I truly, truly hope that you are correct and we are at or near to the high water mark of this insanity.
Yes Steven. I was a Green Card Holder until 2014. I voted Libertarian in 2016 because I could not stand Trump nor Clinton. The way the US system is set up it is extremely difficult to get a "Libertarian" candidate elected, especially now. The polarization in the US is driving many people who are moderate left of moderate right to the extremes. In order to avoid a candidate getting in you simply cannot stand, you are forced to vote for the other person, even if he/she supports policies that you do not agree with. Nov 2022 is going to see a dirty and possibly violent US election cycle, however given what is going on in Europe and the UK just now and potential getting much worse by winter, I expect to see civil disobedience and probably violence in many places. A groundswell appears to be materializing almost everywhere against what is going on around us.
Great reply re Popper. Without optimistic leaders society is doomed. The optimism just have to an element of reality. Cheers