Your essay reminds me of topology. In topology, we have sets that have properties. Those properties intersect, in other words, they share properties. Once you start seeing the things in our world as possessing groups of properties, you can begin to see the connectedness of all things, and where things are unique. This allows one to approach things, as the sage of Barsoom is doing, in an analogical way, looking for patterns of form.
In the case of the systems that he describes, both are focused on expressions of power, their origins, and basic properties of expression. Rather than thinking of them as diametric, think of them as complementary.
He has noticed that there is no reason why both these things can’t be true at the same time. In other words, he has abandoned the addiction to dialectic for the freedom of analogy. In other words it’s not either or, it is both and.
Once we can make the leap to looking for the connections between things before we look at the things that distinguish them, we can avoid the cognitive dissonance and anxiety that results from the endless wash of propaganda which intolerably fills the world around us.
Great piece! Totally agree and this has been the same binary perspectives of the brain and its development; top-down or bottom-up? environment or genetics? The truth it's both top-down and bottom-up, it's both environment and genetics, it's both from within and from without that we see the forces shaping the developing brain.
So to with society (the brain is always such a good analogy for society!), as you say, systemic forces AND those individual forces are all at play. And of course it's the right hemisphere that can appreciate the two playing together in a non-linear complexity that's difficult to clearly define.
One thing that I would add, which is not spoken of in academic circles, is the supernatural element - a layer above (or below, depending on your allegiances) the systemic and individual forces at play. What the Bible calls "principalities and powers", I believe, have a significant influence, but not either the "Great Man" nor the "Social Forces" but catalytic to both (for it is still men and society who have the agency to perpetrate both good and evil).
"Reality is a jealous goddess, and in her vanity she gets cross if you ignore one part of her by fetishizing another. She gets pissed if you compliment her dress and fail to notice that she did her hair. She demands holistic worship." Love this!
Oh, the mighty power of "both". The system is there, amorphous and sprawling, everywhere and yet seemingly without leaders.
But there are individuals who are making choices that impact the system. Whether Gates and Soros and their ilk are calling the shots or merely another layer of facade on the system is the question. I would again go with "both".
Faction politics are fascinating. I would expect there are multiple factions struggling for the ultimate power over the West. Many people may belong to multiple factions and many also don't know they belong to one. They just go along and do their independent action in support of the faction of which they are a peon member.
Think of your average school administrator pushing Woke. Is some secret individual telling them to do it? No. They are just part of the system, which is ultimately controlled and pushed by a few oligarchs way up high, behind layers of obfuscation.
It is a hydra. The fight back probably requires doing a DeSantis and pushing back hard.
John, thank you. You got me to apply some of the Austrian School economics theory to something other than business cycles.
One of the principal tenets of the economic school is that it is impossible to plan an economy, it is far too complicated. Central planners cannot rationally calculate how to combine resources to render efficient production, and cannot have enough data on the economy to plan effectively; this is both the calculation problem and the knowledge problem.
In the Soviet Union, eventually the central planners had to try to simplify the economy out of self defense to try to make it manageable, and failed even at that. Because of the inevitable mismanagement of a central economy, the Soviet Union faced unending shortages and rationing while possessing the greatest resource base in the world.
The Progressives, the Fascists and the various forms of socialists all claimed to have the ultimate goal of efficiency, end of waste, and to create equality. Each time it has failed another group has popped up, with the idea that they knew what was done wrong last time, when what was wrong was the actual goal of subverting societies to force people to not act like people.
However, a culture is far more complex than a market economy because of the additional dimensions that have nothing to do with money, sales or production. Simplification to allow efficient management of a culture, like in an economy, will damage it so badly that the culture itself will stop working, and I suspect the social equivalent of an black market economy will be created.
It is possible that various shadowy cabals are working to control the world, in a way that all prior attempts bloodily failed at, but all they have been able to do so far is mismanage and steal wealth for themselves. The original goal of efficiency is hardly pretended at any more, and I think all that can be accomplished is to try to break the parts of society that might prevent centralization, simplification and control.
Most exquisite analysis, yet again. I’m not trying to butter you up, just expressing genuine appreciation that someone so intellectual and prolific can put words to something that so many of us have known for years.
I was raised poor and working class, but I was very intellectual from an early age, and spent about equal amounts of time in academia and in the private sector running small businesses. So, just practically speaking, I can see that both things are obviously true. This is why I don’t go to Eugy.
Also, I can only conclude that you’re on a shit load of caffeine, piracetam, and possibly also microdosing LSD.
Jul 13, 2022·edited Jul 13, 2022Liked by John Carter
"As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk,
The law runneth forward and back,
For the strength of the pack is the wolf,
And the strength of the wolf is the pack."
Sorry, I had to do it. To modify Billy Joel, I'm in a neo-colonialist, patriarchal, paleo-conservative state of mind. In other words, I'm aware of the bicameral reality of human interactions, and the feedback loops that blur the distinction between individual agents and group dynamics until wolves and their packs are comprehensible by the same standards:
Will I be bitten, how can I avoid the bite, and how can I teach others to avoid bites in general?
Are you familiar with the work of literary historian Marsha Keith Schuchard? Her 2018 book Masonic Rivalries and Literary Politics: from Johnathan Swift to Henry Fielding emphasizes the importance of the controlling secret society of the 17th and 18th centuries. It changed my view and I now believe that the secret society is more central and dominating than I previously was aware. By the time we get to the 19th century, it is hard to find a single example of a famous literary mind who was not involved in Masonic politics. From this perspective it appears that the controlling secret society has always maintained a vice grip on the arts and letters of the world, as well as the money. A further consideration is that all these well monied people are part of a church that despises and exploits humanity at large. These are priests of a dark religion.
The ancient Athenian system of appointing representatives by lot from the whole citizen body makes sense from both points of view. It means government policy is for the benefit of the populace. And it takes power away from any conspiracy, or at least makes it much harder for a conspiracy to run things.
Please excuse my likely lack of coherence as I am about to hop my third now flight twenty some hours in to attend a wedding in Sweden. Residency to S'pore to Dubai to Stockholm deal. Here's the deal on my end with your comment about "the Jews." 1. You will find Jewish Americans on every side of every issue: political, social, etc. In my experience, it does not make sense to think of them as a monolithic group. 2. You could look at income and other achievement stats for Indian (subcontinent) Americans, Vietnamese Americans, etc. You would find results well above the norm. Culture matters greatly.
So if we have someone who is raised in a household which values and education and achievement, and who has role models in the family -- father, mother, or uncles and aunts -- who are engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, college professors, etc -- that is the standard. That sets the expectations. "Normal" is always local. Success -- through both family culture and some family wealth -- can be perpetuated across generations if the family/ethnic culture has some degree of discipline and regulation with in it. Shaming, etc.
Here's a useful real-world exercise. If you are near a major STEM university, see who is in the graduate program. Do an informal demographical analysis of the students. You can reasonably expect many of these young men and women to make up the technocratic class -- and yes, to bring their values with them. And later, when hiring, to prefer people who are "culture fit" in corporate speak. It does as you rightfully suggest go beyond the corporate culture. And yes, this can present a problem now -- as similar behavior has done in the past.
Let me wander back to my main point. Nothing in my experience allows me to think of or treat Jewish Americans (including Jewish Canadians) as monolithic in their political and cultural views, values, and commitments. For example, the Grayzone is doing amazing reportage on Ukraine and the USA intelligence state. Many smart, articulate, engaged people against the Covid lockdowns and mandates are also Jewish American. Etc. From my point of view, these people -- based on their work and their commitments, not an intersubjectively derived ethnic or religious identity -- are allies. Your language might unintentionally seem to discount or deny that possibility: the possibility that you also could share common ground and common concerns. Hence my comment here. All best
Don't know how you have the time to do it, as this is like a chapter of a book. My only suggestion would be if you could somehow condense things a bit. Perhaps I have said this before? It doesn't bother me, but I'm afraid you are losing some who would read your pieces but don't because of their length, and it is to their loss. I guess what I am saying is that I would like to see maybe the "Reader's Digest " version, LOL!!!!!
Most people always knew this was the accurate description of what happened but power really does have incredible muscle. It owns the pen that is mightier than the sword.
Hierarchies impose conformity. Billionaires play chess with society. Conspiracists conspire. All true.
But the secrecy thing is oft overestimated. It's hard to impose one's will without leaving a visible footprint. A great many of the secret conspiracies are secrets of the Purloined Letter variety.
Take the Evil Koch Brothers. They were the conservative sinister conspirators du jour in lefty circles. But there were two problems with these conspiracy theories:
1. The Kochs weren't acting in secret. David Koch was the Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee in 1980. He spent millions of dollars of his own money publicizing said campaign. That's hardly skulking in dark corners!
2. The Koch brothers weren't conservative; they were libertarian. They were pushing legal drugs, gay marriage, open border, and demilitarization back in the 1970s, well before most Democrats were ready to go that far.
The Kochs threw a lot of money at assorted libertarian organizations back in the day, but they didn't exercise much control of them. The term "Kochtopus" was coined by Murray Rothbard, who had been a recipient of gobs of Koch money.
Controlling activists is hard. The easy way to do it if you are an aspiring Bond Villain is to just toss money to those who are already trying to do what you are trying to accomplish more or less. I strongly suspect that's what George Soros is doing.
----
With that being said, there IS a super hierarchical society that is pulling the strings in this country. This society has arcane rituals which include robes and words in dead languages, along with a soul-crushing decade long initiation process. It has chapters in every state in the country, as well as international chapters.
But it's not secret. And it's no secret that this society is pushing Marxism and Wokeness as hard as it can.
In an upcoming Rule I will reveal the choke point, how to break apart this monstrosity. But not yet.
Jul 21, 2022·edited Jul 21, 2022Liked by John Carter
Loving this!
I need to write an article on how much you've already contributed to my "maps" since Harrison Koehli led me to you this last week. The comment section here is world-class inspiring for a truth-welcoming person like me. Celebrated it today: https://heroesvsvillains.substack.com/p/be-among-awake-people
Your essay reminds me of topology. In topology, we have sets that have properties. Those properties intersect, in other words, they share properties. Once you start seeing the things in our world as possessing groups of properties, you can begin to see the connectedness of all things, and where things are unique. This allows one to approach things, as the sage of Barsoom is doing, in an analogical way, looking for patterns of form.
In the case of the systems that he describes, both are focused on expressions of power, their origins, and basic properties of expression. Rather than thinking of them as diametric, think of them as complementary.
He has noticed that there is no reason why both these things can’t be true at the same time. In other words, he has abandoned the addiction to dialectic for the freedom of analogy. In other words it’s not either or, it is both and.
Once we can make the leap to looking for the connections between things before we look at the things that distinguish them, we can avoid the cognitive dissonance and anxiety that results from the endless wash of propaganda which intolerably fills the world around us.
Great piece! Totally agree and this has been the same binary perspectives of the brain and its development; top-down or bottom-up? environment or genetics? The truth it's both top-down and bottom-up, it's both environment and genetics, it's both from within and from without that we see the forces shaping the developing brain.
So to with society (the brain is always such a good analogy for society!), as you say, systemic forces AND those individual forces are all at play. And of course it's the right hemisphere that can appreciate the two playing together in a non-linear complexity that's difficult to clearly define.
One thing that I would add, which is not spoken of in academic circles, is the supernatural element - a layer above (or below, depending on your allegiances) the systemic and individual forces at play. What the Bible calls "principalities and powers", I believe, have a significant influence, but not either the "Great Man" nor the "Social Forces" but catalytic to both (for it is still men and society who have the agency to perpetrate both good and evil).
"Reality is a jealous goddess, and in her vanity she gets cross if you ignore one part of her by fetishizing another. She gets pissed if you compliment her dress and fail to notice that she did her hair. She demands holistic worship." Love this!
Really glad I read this, twice!
"YOU MUST TAKE A SIDE! YOU MUST!"
How else can we "divide and conquer" you.
Oh, the mighty power of "both". The system is there, amorphous and sprawling, everywhere and yet seemingly without leaders.
But there are individuals who are making choices that impact the system. Whether Gates and Soros and their ilk are calling the shots or merely another layer of facade on the system is the question. I would again go with "both".
Faction politics are fascinating. I would expect there are multiple factions struggling for the ultimate power over the West. Many people may belong to multiple factions and many also don't know they belong to one. They just go along and do their independent action in support of the faction of which they are a peon member.
Think of your average school administrator pushing Woke. Is some secret individual telling them to do it? No. They are just part of the system, which is ultimately controlled and pushed by a few oligarchs way up high, behind layers of obfuscation.
It is a hydra. The fight back probably requires doing a DeSantis and pushing back hard.
John, thank you. You got me to apply some of the Austrian School economics theory to something other than business cycles.
One of the principal tenets of the economic school is that it is impossible to plan an economy, it is far too complicated. Central planners cannot rationally calculate how to combine resources to render efficient production, and cannot have enough data on the economy to plan effectively; this is both the calculation problem and the knowledge problem.
In the Soviet Union, eventually the central planners had to try to simplify the economy out of self defense to try to make it manageable, and failed even at that. Because of the inevitable mismanagement of a central economy, the Soviet Union faced unending shortages and rationing while possessing the greatest resource base in the world.
The Progressives, the Fascists and the various forms of socialists all claimed to have the ultimate goal of efficiency, end of waste, and to create equality. Each time it has failed another group has popped up, with the idea that they knew what was done wrong last time, when what was wrong was the actual goal of subverting societies to force people to not act like people.
However, a culture is far more complex than a market economy because of the additional dimensions that have nothing to do with money, sales or production. Simplification to allow efficient management of a culture, like in an economy, will damage it so badly that the culture itself will stop working, and I suspect the social equivalent of an black market economy will be created.
It is possible that various shadowy cabals are working to control the world, in a way that all prior attempts bloodily failed at, but all they have been able to do so far is mismanage and steal wealth for themselves. The original goal of efficiency is hardly pretended at any more, and I think all that can be accomplished is to try to break the parts of society that might prevent centralization, simplification and control.
Most exquisite analysis, yet again. I’m not trying to butter you up, just expressing genuine appreciation that someone so intellectual and prolific can put words to something that so many of us have known for years.
I was raised poor and working class, but I was very intellectual from an early age, and spent about equal amounts of time in academia and in the private sector running small businesses. So, just practically speaking, I can see that both things are obviously true. This is why I don’t go to Eugy.
Also, I can only conclude that you’re on a shit load of caffeine, piracetam, and possibly also microdosing LSD.
😂

"As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk,
The law runneth forward and back,
For the strength of the pack is the wolf,
And the strength of the wolf is the pack."
Sorry, I had to do it. To modify Billy Joel, I'm in a neo-colonialist, patriarchal, paleo-conservative state of mind. In other words, I'm aware of the bicameral reality of human interactions, and the feedback loops that blur the distinction between individual agents and group dynamics until wolves and their packs are comprehensible by the same standards:
Will I be bitten, how can I avoid the bite, and how can I teach others to avoid bites in general?
Are you familiar with the work of literary historian Marsha Keith Schuchard? Her 2018 book Masonic Rivalries and Literary Politics: from Johnathan Swift to Henry Fielding emphasizes the importance of the controlling secret society of the 17th and 18th centuries. It changed my view and I now believe that the secret society is more central and dominating than I previously was aware. By the time we get to the 19th century, it is hard to find a single example of a famous literary mind who was not involved in Masonic politics. From this perspective it appears that the controlling secret society has always maintained a vice grip on the arts and letters of the world, as well as the money. A further consideration is that all these well monied people are part of a church that despises and exploits humanity at large. These are priests of a dark religion.
The ancient Athenian system of appointing representatives by lot from the whole citizen body makes sense from both points of view. It means government policy is for the benefit of the populace. And it takes power away from any conspiracy, or at least makes it much harder for a conspiracy to run things.
Please excuse my likely lack of coherence as I am about to hop my third now flight twenty some hours in to attend a wedding in Sweden. Residency to S'pore to Dubai to Stockholm deal. Here's the deal on my end with your comment about "the Jews." 1. You will find Jewish Americans on every side of every issue: political, social, etc. In my experience, it does not make sense to think of them as a monolithic group. 2. You could look at income and other achievement stats for Indian (subcontinent) Americans, Vietnamese Americans, etc. You would find results well above the norm. Culture matters greatly.
So if we have someone who is raised in a household which values and education and achievement, and who has role models in the family -- father, mother, or uncles and aunts -- who are engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, college professors, etc -- that is the standard. That sets the expectations. "Normal" is always local. Success -- through both family culture and some family wealth -- can be perpetuated across generations if the family/ethnic culture has some degree of discipline and regulation with in it. Shaming, etc.
Here's a useful real-world exercise. If you are near a major STEM university, see who is in the graduate program. Do an informal demographical analysis of the students. You can reasonably expect many of these young men and women to make up the technocratic class -- and yes, to bring their values with them. And later, when hiring, to prefer people who are "culture fit" in corporate speak. It does as you rightfully suggest go beyond the corporate culture. And yes, this can present a problem now -- as similar behavior has done in the past.
Let me wander back to my main point. Nothing in my experience allows me to think of or treat Jewish Americans (including Jewish Canadians) as monolithic in their political and cultural views, values, and commitments. For example, the Grayzone is doing amazing reportage on Ukraine and the USA intelligence state. Many smart, articulate, engaged people against the Covid lockdowns and mandates are also Jewish American. Etc. From my point of view, these people -- based on their work and their commitments, not an intersubjectively derived ethnic or religious identity -- are allies. Your language might unintentionally seem to discount or deny that possibility: the possibility that you also could share common ground and common concerns. Hence my comment here. All best
Usually like most of reads, John, this one included.
Will be linking tomorrow! @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/
Don't know how you have the time to do it, as this is like a chapter of a book. My only suggestion would be if you could somehow condense things a bit. Perhaps I have said this before? It doesn't bother me, but I'm afraid you are losing some who would read your pieces but don't because of their length, and it is to their loss. I guess what I am saying is that I would like to see maybe the "Reader's Digest " version, LOL!!!!!
I started reading your footnotes as I go rather than glancing them at the end like I normally do. Continually vindicated by this decision.
The biggest punch on the nose for the systemicists is the global conspiracy to suppress the fact that COVID was a lab leak. See https://therenwhere.substack.com/p/covid-was-a-lab-leak-the-evidence
Most people always knew this was the accurate description of what happened but power really does have incredible muscle. It owns the pen that is mightier than the sword.
Hierarchies impose conformity. Billionaires play chess with society. Conspiracists conspire. All true.
But the secrecy thing is oft overestimated. It's hard to impose one's will without leaving a visible footprint. A great many of the secret conspiracies are secrets of the Purloined Letter variety.
Take the Evil Koch Brothers. They were the conservative sinister conspirators du jour in lefty circles. But there were two problems with these conspiracy theories:
1. The Kochs weren't acting in secret. David Koch was the Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee in 1980. He spent millions of dollars of his own money publicizing said campaign. That's hardly skulking in dark corners!
2. The Koch brothers weren't conservative; they were libertarian. They were pushing legal drugs, gay marriage, open border, and demilitarization back in the 1970s, well before most Democrats were ready to go that far.
The Kochs threw a lot of money at assorted libertarian organizations back in the day, but they didn't exercise much control of them. The term "Kochtopus" was coined by Murray Rothbard, who had been a recipient of gobs of Koch money.
Controlling activists is hard. The easy way to do it if you are an aspiring Bond Villain is to just toss money to those who are already trying to do what you are trying to accomplish more or less. I strongly suspect that's what George Soros is doing.
----
With that being said, there IS a super hierarchical society that is pulling the strings in this country. This society has arcane rituals which include robes and words in dead languages, along with a soul-crushing decade long initiation process. It has chapters in every state in the country, as well as international chapters.
But it's not secret. And it's no secret that this society is pushing Marxism and Wokeness as hard as it can.
In an upcoming Rule I will reveal the choke point, how to break apart this monstrosity. But not yet.
That would be telling.
Loving this!
I need to write an article on how much you've already contributed to my "maps" since Harrison Koehli led me to you this last week. The comment section here is world-class inspiring for a truth-welcoming person like me. Celebrated it today: https://heroesvsvillains.substack.com/p/be-among-awake-people