MORPHEAL'S COMMENTARY - January 14, 2009 (Society, Economy and Gaza)
Morpheal
There is a prevalent misunderstanding as to how society functions.
Upward mobility cannot ever be achieved solely on the basis of one's
own talents, efforts, and abilities. It is always dependent on
someone, already connected and above, opening the door and letting
someone from below, in. This is true in regard to every social
stratification, and it is true as to many types of opportunities where
the illusion of self promotion consumes time and energies, while
reality requires vouching for. Belief in a purely self made upward
mobility is as true and effective as pulling your self up by means of
tugging on your own bootstraps. In fact it cannot be done, but
incredibly the phrase is often believed and naively used in what are
meant as genuine directions given to those struggling to make it.
Similar to Yale’s infamous “skull and bones” society, someone has to
tap you on the shoulder and ask if you accept. Accepting means opting
in to the prevailing social rules, which differ significantly to those
rules that you were accustomed to. Nevertheless, someone has to let
you in. There is always a door keeper, in every advancement, whether
professional, or social. No one is truly self made, and self
sufficient. That is purely an illusion.
GLOBALIZATION AS A “CARGO CULT” ?
Globalization has proven to be more like a consumerism cargo cult of
false beliefs about progress and the future. We are not in an economic
downturn. That belief results in patching up a hopelessly broken
system to resume its failures. Radical restructuring of values and the
economic system, so that what truly needs to be done can get done,
bringing values of lasting quality and craftsmanship, of worthwhile
invention and artisanship, as well as meeting other real human needs,
to the forefront, of actual practice necessitates much more radical
change than what we see being contemplated in the world’s economic
capitals. The effect of what is being contemplated will be a short
lived rise in some fortunes, and an even more precipitous decline,
when the new injection of fiscal fuel runs out and the tanks proves
dry again.
CARBON FOOTPRINT IS MISLEADING
In light of what we said about globalization and the cargo cult
mentality, we might reiterate what we said about automobiles. It is
not the owning and diving of vehicles which has the largest impact on
the environment. It is in fact the impact of obsolescence that is the
real problem. Vehicles have long been meant to be paid for in five or
fewer years, and traded, based on warranty considerations and the high
cost of after market parts and labor. In fact longer amortization of
reasonable costs, eg ten years rather than five, would reduce the
burden of ownership and reduce monthly living costs, increasing
affordability to a greater number of persons, while freeing some
income for other economic purposes in a further segment of the
population. To do that the industry has to build better vehicles.
Vehicles that last fifteeen to twenty years, rather than five to ten
years. The reduction in plastic and metal scrap, reduction in energy
consumption for recycling and production of new models, would have
immense impacts on the environment. It is steel and plastics
(petrochemical) manufacture that is the big energy hog in the
equation, and a very significant source of effluent. Not to mention
the lack of environmental safeguards in some nations where many
automotive parts are now being made, even if that issue can be
addressed separately and effectively by means of upgrading those
facilities with state of the art technologies.
GOVERNMENT LOANS SUPPORTING A FAILING SYSTEM ?
Loaning money to existing businesses proven of little real social
value, no real ingenuity or craftsmanship, providing for little
invention, only adding to the mass of near to worthless things, of no
real cultural merit, leads to an eternal recurrence of the same
nihilistic economics. Material culture continues to increase the size
of the garbage heap, few real needs are met, certainly not better met
than before, and an increasingly bland and unstimulating, uninspiring,
refuse heap disguised as culture gains increasing prominence. It is a
path to destruction. Governments ought to consider supporting what is
of lasting worth, real innovative value, true inventiveness, genuine
creativity, genuine craftsmanship, as the alternative to a throw away
society which is tending to treat people in the same ways that it
treats things: something to be used, consumed, and thrown away. How
money is lent, and where, when it is government that is involved, can
have an immense impact on rebuilding society and its culture, in more
positive ways. We cannot afford to do the same old, and turn our world
into one immense landfill site garbage heap, of everything seen as
here today, gone tomorrow, and nothing of any lasting merit.
GAZA ESCALATION EXTENDS FAR BEYOND GAZA’S BORDERS
The Gaza conflict is escalating and will continue to escalate in
consequence of predictable increase in anger and violence that has
demonstrated itself in the course of events. The escalation is one
that is happening far beyond the actual battlefield in Gaza, and will
likely and very soon become irreversible.
The conflict has deep roots demanding military intervention at an
early stage to protect civilians from the effects of the assault.
Enforcing peace, and delivering international justice is now the only
method left that can help to prevent long term escalation into a
larger arena and a probable world war in the immanent future. At the
very least the situation will spark a new and very dangerous arms
race, including a very increased desire and resolve, by many lesser
players in the world arena to invest themselves in acquiring,
developing and possessing weapons of mass destruction. That too is a
direct consequence of the failure as to effective intervention on
behalf of the civilians of Gaza. In many ways it is being seen as a
test case, testing the world community as to its loyalties, ethics,
morality, and actions. At least half the world will increasingly
declare that community a failure and will seek to build their own
separate community, with its own means for furthering its aims,
handling disputes and responding to attacks from any others. Clearly
some arms dealers will profit greatly from the Gaza situation.
Clearly many, who were neutral, or undecided, will now be compelled to
choose sides in the conflict. No one can serve two masters, who have
conflicting goals. That polarization and militarization of the world
community, cannot, in the long term, lead to peace. It can only lead
to rising tide of terrorism, and eventually to world war.
Robert Morpheal