Bcc: contributors
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From: Paul Isaacs <•••@••.•••>
To: "Richard K. Moore" <•••@••.•••>
Date: Sat, 01 Jun 2002 00:11:35 -0500
Subject: Re: rkm ruminations...
rkm > I need some inputs about what we should be doing on
this list... Let's do something more creative. Suggestions
welcome.
Richard,
We all know that a teeter-totter is most unstable when it is
near its balance point. Rapid changes are possible when the
two opposing forces are nearly equal.
At the moment the economics of consumerist capitalism has
the teeter-totter off balance in its favour. However, we all
know that both capitalism and consumerism are unsustainable.
The former progressively concentrates "wealth" in the hands
of fewer and fewer people. The latter depletes the planet's
resources. Unless capitalism can grow continually, it
undermines the society that gives it life. Capitalist growth
implies, in turn, ever accelerating resource depletion.
We are seeing more and more signs that the "developed"
countries and their economic system are losing their
monopoly of the teeter-totter.
If the analogy holds, when change comes it will come rapidly
and it will be massive. At that point the ideas that now
seem to be "losing" will have a chance to come to the fore.
Arguing backwards one can say that the current regime will
continue to maintain control of the teeter-totter until the
conditions that sustain it are no longer available.
---<snip>---
===============
Dear Paul,
You and I have debated these issues many times in the past.
Once again, like Marx, you are predicting the imminent
demise of the capitalist regime. Once again you
teeter on the edge 'getting it', and once again you totter down
on the ground of unsound conclusions. The problem, I
suggest, is that you fail to make some critical distinctions
among various aspects of 'capitalism'.
Your are quite correct that consumerist growth cannot
continue as it has for the past few centuries. In fact,
that growth curve began its irreversible down-turn sometime
in the 1970s, in absolute terms. You are quite correct
that finite resources are being depleted, and that
controlling the political teeter-totter creates problems for
the regime. But you reveal a pollyanic blindness when you
presume that the regime has no way to deal with those
problems. Question: "Why did the regime instigate 911?"
Answer: "To deal with the problems of the teeter-totter."
The distinction that needs to be made is between capitalism,
as we have known it, and the elite regime. Capitalism is
something that elites invented in the late 1700s in order to
harmonize their rule with the new conditions of the
Industrial Revolution. They have been facile at redefining
what capitalism is, and how it operates, in order to deal
with whatever economic or social conditions prevail at a
given time.
In fact, capitalism evolves as a sequence of distinct growth
phases. No one phase is ever sustainable - each always
leads to a crisis. But a new phase can always be invented
when the previous one dies down. One laissez-faire growth
phase ended around 1929, and was followed by a New Deal
adjustment phase. Then came the World War II phase, with
its own intense capitalist dynamics. Then came the postwar
boom-growth phase accompanied by massive wealth sharing with
the Western middle classes. When that phase reached its
"Crisis of Democracy", the neoliberalism phase was invented.
Under neoliberalism wealth has shifted from the middle
classes, and social institutions, to corporations - enabling
TNCs to continue growth in a cannibalistic way.
Globalization is simply neoliberalism played out on a global
stage, a continuation of the same phase.
The anti-globalization movement showed that people were
beginning to wake up to the nature of neoliberalism /
globalization. The crisis, for our elites, then became more
a political issue than a growth issue. The War On
Terrorism, enabled by the standard arranged outrage
incident, launched a new phase. This new phase continues
neoliberal economics, but it abandons the Enlightenment era
coexistence with liberal democracy and civil liberties. In
that sense, it is a writ-large version of Nazism, and many
identify the current regime as the Fourth Reich.
The following message identifies in detail the measures the
regime has in place to deal with the kind of collapses you
anticipate.
The teeter-totter can only be shifted by conscious and
collective action on our part, not by any change in economic
circumstances.
regards,
rkm
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 22:34:46 -0700
To: •••@••.••• [and many other lists]
From: Carol Brouillet <•••@••.•••>
Subject: State of Emergency in effect
From: roxanne dunbar-ortiz <•••@••.•••>
Subject: State of Emergency in effect
Some emergency executive orders (not subject to
congressional review) in effect. The USA has been in such an
emergency since 9-11-01:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-4.html
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10990 allows the government to take over all
modes of transportation and control of highways and
seaports.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 allows the government to seize and
control the communication media.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10997 allows the government to take over all
electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 allows the government to take over all
food resources and farms.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11000 allows the government to mobilize
civilians into work brigades under government supervision.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11001 allows the government to take over all
health, education and welfare functions.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11002 designates the Postmaster General to
operate a national registration of all persons.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11003 allows the government to take over all
airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 allows the Housing and Finance
Authority to relocate communities, build new housing with
public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and establish
new locations for populations.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11005 allows the government to take over
railroads, inland waterways and public storage facilities.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11051 specifies the responsibility of the
Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put
all Executive Orders in to effect in times of increased
international tensions and economic or financial crisis.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11310 grants authority to the Department of
Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to
institute industrial support, to establish judicial and
legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal
and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the
President.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11049 assigns emergency preparedness
function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating
21 operative Executive Orders issued over a fifteen year
period.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11921 allows the Federal Emergency
Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control
over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of
energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of
money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined
national emergency. It also provides that when a state of
emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot
review the action for six months.
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To: •••@••.•••
Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 07:34:16 -0400
Subject: Re: rkm ruminations...
From: T K Wilson <•••@••.•••>
Good Morning Richard,
Not to worry ; I'm sure something will blow up and we'll
have more than enough to talk about. That's the point
actually. Blow something up, get everybody wringing their
hands and shaking in their boots; go on with tightening the
grip of the world capitalist hegemony. Strait out of "1984".
Do people still hang out flags? That was a joke, right?
Remember back in the sixties when kids got hassled for
wearing the flag on their jackets? These idiots use the damn
things as seat covers now, and fly them to rags and tatters
on the tops of their cars in the wind and the rain right
next to the flag of their favorite sports team. To some
number of Americans the two are entirely equivalent.
I never hated my flag or my country, both of which really
only exist in peoples minds. I have always held a deep and
inescapable devotion to (obsession with) the ideals of
liberty, justice and freedom; of true heartfelt respect for
the soul and core of every living being and its right to
exist (that goes a little further than most, I know. I'm not
a vegan either and that's another story).
In fact, I'd like to fly the real flag (not the $2.99 car
top variety) in peoples minds, because, in the country my
flag represents, none of the pimping whoring lying cheating
Caligulian(*) bullshit that is going on now could exist.
(*) my spell checker wanted to change this to
"Californians". Sometimes even a machine can get it right.
Hilarious
It would have been publicly executed at its inception;
everywhere and in every mind in which it raised its lying
head.
Until Liberty is preemptively and unqualifiedly the
principle founding condition of the state, the state will
continue to be a pimp and a murderer.
What to talk about? Lets talk about anything we're not
"supposed" to talk about. Let's talk about why racism and
nationalism and isolationism exist and what's OK about them
(see, you already started to twitch! How deep the
conditioning runs.) Lets talk about how and why we're
conditioned that way by the state.
What's normal and human about these kinds of irrational
visceral responses?
What positive purpose are they serving?
Politics (aside of being the ultimate expression of
cynicism) is only really ever about people and their
responses to things and how to wangle and channel those
responses in any productive way. Of course "productive for
whom" is always the question.
How is it these things end up being political "hay"?
Is it now possible to establish a global Roman empire?
Speaking of Rome; why is the Roman church being eviscerated
now? Priests buggering babies is the stuff of legend, why
the uproar at this particular juncture? What is our
attention being diverted from? How will the Holy Roman
Empire reinvent itself in secular guise after shedding its
Christian skin?
Sorry about the stream of (sub) consciousness writing here.
Too much coffee. Me and Balzack baby (he died of caffeine
poisoning).
You want to come to the states? Sure. Come on. Are you
really on anybodies shit list? Are you an American citizen?
Some people have been prohibited from flying within the
states but if you can get here on the ground and they have
no legal reason to stop your entry, once you're in, you're
good to go. Just ask ten thousand jihadists.
Maybe you should apply for a student visa thru Yemen to
attend a flight school in the states. Your entry will be
guaranteed.
Love and Rockets, TK
=================
Dear TK,
You raise many provocative points worthy of discussion. Let's
wait and see if readers jump to the challenge.
rkm
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From: "Brian" <•••@••.•••>
To: <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: rkm ruminations...
Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 07:01:37 -0700
solutions abound and are growing, but they need to be
proliferated.
=============
Dear Brian,
I'd prefer to say that more people need to be brought
into the conversation.
Why don't you give us a bit of a report on what you're
up to these days? How's the Hill St. hot tub scene?
on the road?
rkm
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Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 10:54:38 -0700
To: •••@••.•••
From: CyberBrook <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: rkm ruminations...
A couple of thoughts off the cuff: One thing we need to do
is more face to face organizing...talking to friends and
acquaintances, shop clerks and telemarketers, neighbors and
others. Another is incorporating other media or modes of
expression: cartoons, comics, songs, graffiti, culture
jamming, videos, video games, etc. These will obviously get
the message across with much less depth and sophistication,
but will hopefully make up for that deficit with easy access
and entre for currently unreached/under-reached populations.
It's not just what we say, but how we say it and who is
listening or able to listen.
==============
Dan,
Again, I'd suggest more an emphasis on dialog, as you begin,
and less on propagandistic technique & getting 'messages
across'.
rkm
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From: derek skinner <•••@••.•••>
Subject: ruminations and what to talk about.
To: "richard k. moore" <•••@••.•••>
Are you talking to the Americans or trying to educate
Canadians. To the Americans I suggest it is only possible to
open the cracks in the administration veneer by showing how
the "conspiracy nuts" like yourself have been right all
along - by documenting facts and hammering the media into
some sense of shame. Not the owners but the working stiffs
who write the stories. To Canadians I think it works to show
how the business agenda is pushed by the Mulroney, Harris,
Klein and now Chretien and Campbell puppet Quislings and is
eating the heart out of Canada.
Within a few years we will be reduced to the equivalent of
Puerto Rico, a handy resource but no say in U.S.
representative government.
In a nutshell, awaken the U.S. public or fight for Canadian
independence. Both are necessary.
I would like to know which way you decide to go.
Derek Skinner
===================
Both and, Derek, both and.
Fighting the beast in the belly is different than on the claws,
or in the jaws.
viva des Quebecois,
rkm
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Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 11:33:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joe Ferguson <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: rkm ruminations...
To: •••@••.•••
Hi Richard,
rkm > I need some inputs about what we should be doing on
this list.
I think the "task at hand" is to educate as many people as
possible. Somehow the information about what's going on
needs to get beyond the internet and into the neighborhoods.
I don't feel like anybody knows what the next step will be,
but if we figure out how to build alternative informational
networks that reach a majority of people (US Citizens are
most in need of this education) and DO that and REACH this
majority, the next step will become clear once this first
step has been achieved.
- Joe
==========
Joe,
Nice as usual to hear from you. You echo a theme from the
preceding messages. And again, I must say that
participation is the key more than education. The important
truths are all obvious when it comes down to it,
discoverable by any who take the time to ask real questions.
As Dylan put it, "You don't need a weatherman to know which
way the wind blows", or as Guthrie put it, "I read the want
ads everyday, but the headlines in the paper always say...".
My next posting will be material from Rosa Zubizarreta,
where we can get into the centrality of dialog with a bit
more focus.
Nonetheless, I agree with your fundamental point, that expanding
the circle is where it's at.
rkm
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Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 12:51:27 -0700
From: Janet McFarland <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: rkm ruminations...
To: •••@••.•••
Hi,
You ask what is worth talking about at this time. I always
enjoy your "conversations" like the one on this posting,
but, as you say, once you've got it, you've got it. Those
who refuse to get it are very invested in their comforting
perspective. I consider Quinn's analysis: the needed change
is going to come from changed minds, not new programs. I'm
impressed with your persistence in spelling out your
reasoning again and again. But I think I "got it".
So what is worth talking about? How we can change people's
minds? Is that really our only leverage point that makes
sense? Maybe hearing from people on their efforts and
success in changing people's minds. Also, how do we keep
from going crazy? We can't all move to Ireland! (and would
that really be enough?)
In response to your query as to how things are in the
states: In the SF Bay Area there are lots of flag stickers
on cars, not many displayed otherwise. The memorial day
fireworks at the coliseum baseball game was pretty
suffocatingly "patriotic" but I guess that's not surprising.
I hear Bono wears a leather jacket lined with the flag.
Sounds against the law to me (desecration of the flag or
something). People I talk to are pretty universally
disgusted with our government and feel very manipulated, and
then they'll tell me "we have to do stuff to protect
ourselves against terrorism here". It's amazing how
personal fear turns off thinking.
There's a lot of peace movement type stuff going on, seems
to me to be pretty confused. I marched in SF April 20.
People like me were mostly simply walking for peaceful
solutions to world problems. There were sloganizers and
people trying to promote the kind of anger and hostility
familiar from Vietnam war protests, but not any general
participation in the chanting. There clearly were quite a
few people out walking for Palestinian solidarity, The most
energetic chanting came on slogans supporting Palestinian
self-determination. There was no news coverage from major
news sources. Even when we reached the civic center there
was only one anemic looking tv camera van (someone pointed
out there had been 5 tv stations there the day before when a
man was threatening to kill himself on the steps). I left
shortly after arriving at the civic center. I didn't hear
any of the speakers either in Dolores Park or at Civic
Center. (That might have given me a different perspective).
My friends were shocked when I reported having participated
in the march. Apparently what got reported was some people
burning Israeli flags or something similar and promoting
some ugly confrontation and the peaceful intent of most of
the participants was totally lost (except for small article
on the inside of the Oakland Tribune).
Cynicism over the recent intelligence revelations of
forewarnings is pretty high, but outrage seems to be totally
nonexistent. Total distrust of the Bushies is the new
status quo. I guess we're used to it already. More
intelligent organizing and resistance training is going on
through Tikkun and SF Jewish community. I think the
continuing assault of bad news is taking it's toll on most
people in the form of stress. That's all the sense I can
make of us.
Somehow I think we can count on another attack, the more
heinous the better, right before the next general election,
no?
Thanks.
Janet
========
Dear Janet,
Many thanks for the report, and hope I can meet you when next
in SF. I wouldn't fall for this business about elections however.
There's really no difference between Bush & Clinton, just different
actors hired for different roles. Both puppets. Elections are a
shell game, and whichever shell we choose it will never be the one
with the payoff we seek.
cheers,
rkm
--
============================================================================
Featured articles:
"Escaping the Matrix":
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/rkm/WE/jun00Matrix.shtml
"Returning to our roots":
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/rkm/MC/mar01Roots.shtml
"A Guidebook" for transformation:
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/guide/
Jerry Fresia: "Toward an American Revolution":
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/authors/fresia/
"Consensus does not mean agreement. It means we create a
forum where all voices can be heard and we can think
creatively rather than dualistically about how to reconcile
our different needs and visions."
- Starhawk, "Lessons from Seattle and Washington D.C.",
in "Democratizing the Global Economy", Kevin Danaher, ed.,
Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine, 2001.
"If the overall pie can grow, so be it, but when it
can't then elites start taking a bigger piece of
whatever pie there is. The capitalist imperative
is: 'Ruling elites must prosper'. Societies are
managed so as to satisfy this imperative."
- rkm
Permission for non-commercial republishing hereby granted - BUT
include and observe all restrictions, copyrights, credits,
and notices - including this one.
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