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The Great Chess Game
Authored by Luke Eastwood,
The Great Chess Game
Everyone is aware of a multitude of problems that besets our world, however the nature of these problems and why they exist is distorted by the media and by governments all over the world. Our leaders, corporate heads, military top-brass etc. all have a fairly good idea of what is really happening, they just don’t want us – the ignorant masses known as the general public to know what they know.
The multiple crises on this planet are caused by our insane mode of living – one that seems to be dominated by economics. Our way of life (unfortunately now for most of the world) depends on an ever-expanding economic system, for if it is not expanding it is contracting.
This system was all well and good while there was plenty of capacity for continued expansion, but unfortunately for all of us the limits of expansion are not far off. The ‘people in the know’ are well aware of this, although they are not going to admit to anyone outside of their ‘club’ that this is the case, at least not in any direct or honest manner.
Capitalism requires growth and markets to exploit – in the past there were always new markets and new people to exploit, which fueled growth and the resources needed to run the engine of commerce seemed inexhaustible.
At this point in time the number of new markets is shrinking, the number of people who can be easily exploited is shrinking and the availability of resources is shrinking. So that really doesn’t leave modern ‘civilised’ countries or coalitions of countries with a lot of options with regard to the continued expansion of their economies.
It strikes me that there are only really three options available:
- Expand the planet and the resources available on it by 50% or more.
- Reduce the demand on resources and reduce the number of people expecting a fair deal (i.e. not being exploited).
- Give up on a redundant system that is destined to crash and find a new economic paradigm.
Hopefully you will realize that option 1. is my little joke and that option 2. is in the realms of megalomaniac fantasy.
Unfortunately for us, many of the people in powerful positions in the world are hopeful of achieving something equivalent to option 1. (e.g. colonizing Mars) and are quite confident of achieving option 2.; hence are still not even close to considering option 3. It seems that option 2. is the historical precedent for solving economic woes, generally implemented through war and the by-products of this – famine, sickness, relocation and disempowerment etc.
If we look at the current global situation it is clear that there is a struggle for power and resources, which is only partially viewable to the ordinary ‘man in the street’. The intrigues and complexities of this struggle or game are concealed from the average consumer of mainstream media. This has been the case for a long time, which is clearly evidenced by the periodic release of state secrets relating to events of previous decades – in some cases clandestine activities/ambitions of up to a century ago. Despite the clear evidence that we have been continuously lied to in the past by mainstream media and our governments, it seems that many people do not seem to correlate that information with current lying and propaganda.
The truth is that this struggle for dominance and control is like a giant chess game, with USA and its allies/friends on one side of the board and Russia/China and their allies/friends on the other. They represent the kings and queens of this game and ultimately decide the strategy and the actions of their ‘pieces’. Countries like Britain, France, Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, India etc. represent the middle ranking pieces – they are important players in the game, they are not instantly expendable but they are coerced or seduced into following the game plan.
The pawns of the game are all the other minor and relatively powerless countries that make up the world. These are all seen as expendable, but at times they may be given an inflated sense of their own worth by either or both sides in order to achieve a goal. Of course, like a real pawn, once their purpose has been fulfilled or they are no-longer useful they are thrown to the wolves or just ignored.
Two perfect examples of a pawn are Afghanistan and Iraq – neither were particularly unique strategically, in terms of resources or influential politically or militarily. For a time Iraq seemed important but it was just a piece being played as a part in a much larger game. Afghanistan seemed important for a while both to the Americans and the Soviets but (in terms of the game) again it is just a fairly resource-rich non-entity that needed to be exploited as part of a far greater plan.
What many people in the world do not understand is that this great chess game is about control of resources and their flow around this planet. He who controls the oil, gas, rare-earth metals, uranium, water, and food has control of everybody else. The instability in the Middle East may appear to be related to terrorism, the struggle for democracy or religious preferences but this is all just a smoke screen. If we look below the surface we can easily see that this is about transit routes of resources – in particular for oil and gas. The big boys (USA, China and Russia) are jostling for position, their allies want in on the action (as a kickback for helping out) and the fate of the remainder rests on the success of the competing strategies for dominance of the board.
Unfortunately for us, this obsessive game over resources seems to completely ignore the basic premise that we must continue to live in a world of finite resources. Instead of deciding to give up the game and concentrate on finding a way to remodel society in a way that can sustain our future; the game seems to have intensified in recent decades. I would liken this to two men on the Titanic fighting over the silver cutlery while the ship continues to sink! I wonder at what point governments will actually wake up to the fact that these ‘traditional’ solutions can no-longer work in a world where there is nowhere new left to colonize, nowhere new to discover, and precious few new resources to find.
Of course, people pay lip-service to the ideas of a new paradigm at the UN, at environmental summits etc. but this is really just candy-floss. The big boys and their minions are still focusing most of their energy, political, intellectual and creative resources on fighting to maintain their economies instead of seeking solutions to a glaringly obvious problem.
It’s high time that the ‘superpowers’ and their allies took a serious look at option 3. (a new economic paradigm). Once the penny drops that our system is fatally flawed, the necessity for economic, psychological and physical warfare becomes redundant. Once we truly accept that we cannot have infinite growth, that our planet and human society is in danger of collapse then it should shift our focus away from conflict towards co-operation.
Humans are selfish creatures, we all want the best for ourselves, our family, our town, our tribe, our country – that is just part of human evolution that has enabled us to succeed. However that competitive streak has outlived its purpose and is in fact destroying us. The ultimate in selfishness is really the desire to survive – don’t we all want to survive (and hopefully prosper)? If we are going to fulfill that ultimately selfish wish then it’s actually necessary for us to evolve beyond competing and abandon clearly failed and destructive actions.
Co-operation is the only real hope for humanity. It’s time for the game players to tear up the chess board and throw it away forever. And if our governments do not want to change or listen then it is up to all of us to make sure that they do – for our own selfish desire to live and to have a country and a planet to live on.
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Hang all banksters, NOW!
Lead the way tough guy.
I just chopped down a 18in thick dead Bois d'arc that was hangin over my shed. The chainsaw was throwin sparks before it dulled it, so i dit it with an axe. Im not a badass or anything, but I dont freakin quit. Im on a testosterone and adrenaline rush at the moment so forgive the following rant. Im sick and f-in tired of all the whiney ass candy ass quiters in this country. Quit bitchin cause you dont have somthin and get up off ur fat ass and make it happen. Ya bunch of GD losers. Winners NEVER quit and Quiters NEVER win. Please forgive the preceeding rant...now that the adrenalin is wearing off I think im bleeding.
Get her done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjYLRxHWKiQ&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fsearch_query%3Dcentral%2Bflorida%2Bhog%2Bhunting%26oq%3Dcentral%2Bflorida%2Bhog%2Bhunting%26gs_l%3Dyoutube.12...2359.10290.0.12308.27.22.0.5.5.0.133.1797.20j2.22.0...0.0...1ac.1.s3y_5JtbdJo
My son hunts hogs with dogs. Never got into it myself. Last thanksgiving I got a 9 point buck and a doe with one shot. They were at my brother in laws feeder. Luckiest shot ever. :) still got deer in the freeezer
Shit article.
You, like so many others, fail to understand this article... All so quickly throwing shots at your capitalist or socialist opponent.
What this article is suggesting, BUT IS TOO PUSSY TO COME OUT AND DECLARE, is an end to the MONETARY system, as we know it. The paradigm shift begins with the conflict, and ultimate end game, between technology and labor.
Labor and technology are not only in conflict now, but technology is being suppressed on behalf of human labor necessary to "support" the consumption end of the system.
The ONLY reason ANY of us has a job, is because it hasn't been automated YET. And what then? Technology will be the integral part of the "economic" equation of the future. Human labor will be the "remember when."
In any "for profit" system, scarcity is the game. And the more scarce, the better. And if its not scarce, it will be manufactured as so. That's why free and abundant energy can never exist, there's no money in a cure, and waste is a constant. Because its profitable.
Capitalism, socialism, all the rest of your bullshitisms, will be failed experiments of the past.
Thanks for your post. It came just about the time I'd figured that no one here gets it.
If ANYTHING is based on perpetual growth it WILL fail! No one has been able to explain how any human (virtual) "system" can on one hand disperse finite resources AND grow!
I'm beginning to think that the REAL division lies with those who believe that the world is filled with an infinite amount of chewy caramel and those that believe that it's limited. All the other "capitalist vs. socialist" stuff if pure distraction. If one cannot get the premise right then it's pretty silly to think that you can expect a "desired" outcome to come to fruition.
BIG = FAIL!
Exactly.
When room to grow is reached, people start killing each other.
The more useless crap you consume, the more you hasten the next war.
A consumerism based economy that ships productive jobs overseas then prints money, debauches it's currency, allows graft and corruption to keep the ball rolling, and punishes the prudent and the savers is rushing pell mell toward disaster.
wish/think/ but ignore that humans will NEVER GET ALONG beyond the need to organize as a group(like wolf packs).
once the packs get to big they splinter off. once there are not enough deer they turn on each other and/or starve. now how the fuck hard is that to understand
eventually kill or fucking be killed.
oh, but you wish/think soccer mom fucking retarded idiots wish/think we can all just hold hands, share our hard work for the cause, hug, and all get along a one happy family. ya fucking right...
and for the record - you suck because you are my adversay in the game of life/survival. humans suck! they fuck each other over in this overt game of false hope and trust. we are all trying to game each other via the pen as we set the swod down for a more civalized way to fuck each other over. i do wish it was different, but in the end it just isn't. very very few groups of peope have real enduring trust that isn't a life of lies/deception and even that trust could be half fucking white fucking lies. did i say humans suck!
everybody is a liar. you lie to me, therefore i don't trust you. also, don't think for one second i think you are really out to genuinely help me cause i know better.
all under he guize of "civilized" until it isn't civilized...
and don't even mention the word god, another false fucking hope -the ULTIMATE opiate of human stupidity...
It's just Boris Spassky.....what ciould possibly go wrong?
If he acts up...we'll sick Bobby Fisher on his ass.
Exactly. i was thinking Kumbayah the entire second half of the post. That and Cicero probably dealt with some bozo espousing same. Get yer Mayan calendars here, 50% off! Unless mos of us are killed off by another bout of BIG GOV(Could big gov be an evolutionary force??) , we will adapt and go forward. Painful? yes, The end? i doubt it.
What fucking hubris to think we know it all.
peice author appears to be a kinder gentler NWO shill.....
1 minus 2= negative 1.
Peak Economy
Human Labor will always be needed, additionally automation is dependant on cheap energy i.e. gas prices.
Uhhhh.... no. Price is simply the most efficient way to allocate capital. Also every system will reduce work as much as possible.
No, the reason their will never be free energy is because it is physically impossible.
Capitalism is what will be reborn when socialism finally fails on a global scale.
Before capitalism comes around for round two, (with gold and silver being back in action world wide), the old system must first be destroyed. The ultimate financial warhead that will do the job is the 600+ trillion dollar derivatives market. Once that blows, and it is inevitable that it will, the entire globalized financial world will be vaporized and the great reset will begin.
The tribute that must be payed will be horrific. Unbelievable unemployment rates will shell shock whole societies, as "just in time" provisional systems collapse. Millions, if not billions of people, will probably starve to death. Mass migrations will be unavoidable as the desperate try too flee from countries savaged by death, poverty, and disease. Democracy will not survive in many nations and military dictatorships, with draconian laws, become the norm. How long this second dark age lasts until the great reset is over may well take generations. It will probably be determined by the amount of damage left behind from World War III.
One thing is for sure, fiat won't be making a comeback for a very long time, and I'm not talking about "fix it again Tonys'".
The history of the human race has many constants: battles and wars for control of resources. The division of people into classes. The development of new technologies that replace labor (always resulting in better training and better paying jobs- a middle class) and slavery in all its' many forms- political, social and religious.
However, the change in population and resource destruction had its' beginnings in the industrial revolution, which had at its' base, the central banking system that creates wealth from fractional reserve banking and then uses that influence to takeover and manage government and the law for its' own benefit.
While fueling growth, through bank induced capital spending binges, while expanding upon all resources for the purposes of acquiring new wealth, larger and larger populations were created to serve as the new slaves for a corporate tyranny. As wealth expanded and concentrated, rewarding a specific class; the natural restrictions on population were destroyed.
We bought into consumerism because there was no reason not to. Fed by ever increasing levels of new debt and credit, if you were part of the more progressive societies, you could indulge your desires in ways most humans had never experienced. If not, you could "seek" the dream. Your governments encouraged you, your leaders raliied you, your neighbors drove you and your weakness and stupidity were forgotten in orgasmic gluttony. That is, until someone had the bad taste to present a bill.
Blaming economic systems, blaming political systems, blaming in general is futile if we don't recognize the real culprit: Central banking and the manipulation of the state for the general benefit of a small class of elites. We have a responsibility as well, we all can live lives that are efficient, generate wealth through the savings from labor, we can refuse to be mindless consumers and concentrate on the best use of resources. As a people, we can demand the liberation of the state from those that hold it captive.
This is best done by taking away the power they have to influence. This power derives from central banking. As long as they control the currency, they care not whom makes the laws. We have the power to trade in the currency of our choice. To conclude contracts in new souces of value. To determine prices through our habits. To refuse to follow laws that work to subjugate us all.
It all begins with a single person that says no. Just say no to central banking. Eliminate legal tender laws. Create new markets traded in new value instruments. Revile all governments that seek to enslave you and confiscate your liberty.
Well said. I dont believe in this blaming and whining either, unless I get the head of the person to blame under my feet. Till then I live my life and try to do the right things.
If you want to understand the so called elites, just observe the sheeple that holds them in awe and affection and are willing live their lives by their rules. (Yes there is a whole shit load of people who actually worship the rich and powerful and would justify their actions, ofcourse until they feel something big and hard againt their backs)
Only dogs are lead by a dog, the best (or worst) of the dogs among them and the best of the Lions leads the pack of the Lions.
Dogs wont take a Lion for a leader, nor would Lions be lead by a dog, Simples.
This time its different?
Yes, this time it would be you.
Its in the vein of Chris Martenson's exponential limits to growth stuff, but not as good.
Well said, tickhound, well articulated.
Of course, in 2012 it has to be RIP predatory capitalism, although I don't think real, non-totalitarianism socialism has ever been tried, but with the dismantling of the economy over the past 35 years, there is NO consumer-based economy (with the top 20% of the populace responsible for the vast majority of that 70% consumption figure, and a significant chunk of that 70% derives from goods and services as peddled by the top 5 banksters, whoc make up the bulk of America's GDP) --- and until more "educated" AmerDouchtards realize that, the landing will not be soft......
Hey Tickhound, wait a minute. You can't be against isms. This is ZH. Er, wait...
Every time I post against the need of isms in at least some cases or against the absurdity of sticking to one's ism mantra like Linus to his blanket, I get blank stares or lots of red, downward sentiment.
Well you get one up from me--and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG4PfxY5JKE
Most folks miss that it's a song against extremism.
Debt Money Tyranny is the oligarch bankster Trojan Horse:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/4768883/debtmoneytyranny-6-1-pdf-60k?tr=77
The subjugated must spread the word.
Where has this alternative economic model ever been tried without catastrophic results?
Jump em like a frog,
Whoop em like a dog,
Stick like a hog,
And hit em with a log
Jump em like a frog,
Whoop em like a dog,
Stick em like a hog,
And hit em with a log!
1
Sorry, log left a splinter.
And my time is a piece of wax falling on a termite. Who is choking on the splinters
I did not need to have that song stuck in my head.
But I could think of worse songs, so you can be forgiven.
Heartbeat, it's a Lovebeat (by the DeFranco Family)... Now you're as good as fucked all day long...
And then there's this: http://www.infowars.com/third-anarchist-jailed-for-refusing-to-testify-b...
I know my language may have been a bit harsh; but I think its understandable given the circumstances. But ona blog of people who are trying to understand our societies problems and make a difference for the better; Im curious which sensitive candy ass gave me a down arrow. I'll wait around to see if you answer and I'll be more than happy to discuss your personal whiney ass issues.
I am Spartacus. Bitch.
I didn't down arrow you there, but I did here. Why? Because you come here in a tantrum, name calling and whining in your own infantile way, shitting all over the top of the thread and fail to offer any meaningful solutions of your own. Ranting is one thing, calling every poster here a bunch of candy ass losers is quite another.
Fair enough. I admitted it was a rant when I started. But my "meaningful solution" was to go out and actually do something to solve a problem; which I did. (and I fealt pretty good afterwards) I didnt call you or anyone else specificly a candy ass; but do you disagree that the majority of our society are a bunch of do nothing whiners? Hundreds others read my post and werent offended, mayhap for you it just hit a little too close to home. Mayhap that was my point. To rattle some of us out of our comfort zone and into action.
we shall see
Got it. Mayhap you should just observe comments for a couple of days before being so insulting. Mayhap not.
I'll take that under advisement, thank you.
BTW. much more coherant than your first replyicus.
But I'm reminded of an old quote which said something like "the sting in any retort comes from the truth".
Which begs the question why some are so much more easily offended than others. Your thoughts?
Just cool it and try to blend in ......... hard for me to do at times. I backspace more than I type.
"I backspace more than I type".....
CLASSIC, visually and otherwise. Says a lot about us mis-fits eh, Taint? Backpedalling, backspacing in the face of blank stares or worse.
ori
As you take it under advisement, you might also consider looking into proper use of "begging the question." it is not synonymous with a question being raised.
you are on a forum frequented by a lot of whiney, overeducated, underappreciated statists. That is why the down arrows to a comment expressing the audacious idea of individual acheivement. Come on , dude, don't you read what people post on this site?
I'm the guy that calls people like you out into the street at high noon to settle an old score. That is the only reason I bothered with any response whatsoever. Chopping down trees isn't fixing any of the societal issues at hand.
Im intrigued. What old score have you to settle with me. Secondly is it wise to announce that you are the one who will be calling me out at noon?(If I believed you I should then shoot you at midnight) Thirdly the determination and willingness to chop down a tree by hand may well exemplify exactly what is needed to fix this failed society. (the willingness to get ones hands dirty and god forbid get a blister to see a project through)
But thank you for your compelling counterpoint.
I think the common sense not to ruin a chainsaw blade, overrides a willingness to chop it down by hand. work smarter, not harder.
"work smarter, not harder."
Yup!
And when you boil it all down it really translates to: "conservation of energy."
I save the axe shit for splitting and severing roots (when removing stumps). But... good to know how to use an axe, as one day gasoline will be MUCH harder to come by: and, SHIT!, just when I'm getting older (nice to have 7 cords set up [should last me a couple of heating seasons]).
Has anyone successfully rigged up a chainsaw to run on wood gas? That would be something, a machine that gets its energy from the waste material of its products (saw dust).
I have two chainsaws, and at least 30 handsaws.
Choose wisely.
The right tool for the job, a good tool for the job, an acceptable tool for the job under certain circumstances, or ANYTHING ELSE
Just one chainsaw here but four sharpened chains on standby.
A slogan we can all agree on ;
"Stop Global Whining".
Yeah, your post made me want to rush right out and chop down a tree in protest of candy asses.
I just down arrowed you because you consider anyone who would disagree with you a candy ass. Self-absorbed much?
Yes, especially if they cant come up with a compelling arguement why. Your point?
fwi.. I dont down arrow.
Compelling argument against what? What point did you make?
Seems like I missed the party. Hows takin casualties and whos bitch slappin?
Fuck the kumbaya... we will settle it the old fashioned way, when the time is right.
People who claim Gold has 5000 years of history, forget so have swords and knives and they go hand in hand.
When rand disagrees with you, you're doin OK. All you need now is ananonymous to reply with some citizenism shit and you're gold!
Do you vote?
Not recently, but I do on occasion. Why do you ask?
Or did you mean on here? Yes I will up arrow a post if I agree with it.
As for articles, yes I rate them sometimes, but not often.
Just curious.
I tend to give more weight to the opinions of those who don't vote and have a good understanding of the mess we're in.
Precisely why I hate AA, bunch of quitters.
They tell me smokin is bad for me, but my momma never raised no quitters.
I see my admittedly crude attemp to make a point has offended some of the members of this community whose opinions I do generally appreciate. I do hereby offer my heatfealt apology and duly retract said offensive and hurtful remark.
I truly regret having caused said disruption to your valuable blogging time and shall now go to my room and contemplate my fate.
sweet meltdown
Relax, man. Downvotes and gripes from people here mean you have said something that strikes. This site may seem like a popularity contest at times, but independent thinking is far more valuable than popularity anytime.
I was liking you, PP, but I think its time for you to shut down the computer and head back outside. No mas mea culpa, dude. You were right with your first post. This thread is like a parable on politics. You were right, now stand by it, don't let the fools sway you into backing off your statements. Hold the Line! PP
You are a beacon of change my friend...it is the ego that will lead to the destruction of the world. What about infinite growth vs finite resources do you not understand? People got off their fucking asses a long time ago to go get the bull shit crap you have been told to consume and look where we are now son. Look at the state of affairs around you - fiat paper money especially $ is on the verge of collapse which will impoverish 98% of America in fact the $ when bankrupt in 1930's created the FED and now you are considered a private corporation which pays taxes to your slave masters. You must be an advocate for change and make a start by changing yourself but I can undersrtand that the system can be a wonderful place and that there are those that will fight to keep it is place but as this article reads keeping the system in place will ultimately (100%) lead to the complete destruction of the only planet in trillions of miles that humans can populate easily.
If you aren't ready to revolt, you are brain dead.
Comes down to not accepting the status quo. I don't think that it requires a "fight." However, it WILL be a struggle, that's what life is about. Apples and oranges now...
Here is the main point of the article.
"Humans are selfish creatures, we all want the best for ourselves, our family, our town, our tribe, our country – that is just part of human evolution that has enabled us to succeed. However that competitive streak has outlived its purpose and is in fact destroying us. The ultimate in selfishness is really the desire to survive – don’t we all want to survive (and hopefully prosper)? If we are going to fulfill that ultimately selfish wish then it’s actually necessary for us to evolve beyond competing and abandon clearly failed and destructive actions."
Read it again and weep.
The combined Individual "wants of a better life" create the growth of societies.
None of us living can change our wants.
Hopefully the surviving generations will be able to find a compromise that will allow them to survive.
I don't know that the word "succeed" is the right one, but... Really, it's just about survival. Humans are OF nature, and nature is highly deceptive. Survival... And given what we've done with our "nest" it's not looking like survival in the numbers that we've accumulated will continue.
Quite interesting the entire "competition vs. cooperation" thing. When you look around and see that there are some 7+ billion of us you'd have to say that cooperation had to have played a significant part of this. Yet, much is built upon the notion of competition.
I suppose that it all goes to say that it takes many elements to make things to work. Eventually we'll have to utilize some currently undesirable "elements" though...
Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell. Ed abbey
Where's Hayduke when we need him?
Time to monkey wrench the banksters.
You left out a fourth option, but its not so obvious. Start the large scale colonization of other worlds. While its expensive, we have the technology now. And the more serious we get about it, the cheaper it will get. Ultimately, the only way the human race thrives is to get off the planet. It will do wonders for freedom and liberty too.
Reads like a commie.
I agree. If anything, true "capitalism" (how does one define that?) preserves and utilizes resources much better than 'unselfish cooperation'. Socialism is a fallacy--it sounds great but doesn't work.
I love it when people say that. What exactly about socialism or communism sounds good to you?
Back to basics. stop feeding the monster. Live within your means.
Our shit owns us.
Buy more iCrap and Ikea. Your life is incomplete without it, you know that.
Exactly!
My friends would look down on me if I wont.
Yeah, that will solve it. They won't go to war and devalue the currency or otherwise make sure your "means" are further out of reach to increase their ability to live so far beyond their own means that you can only imagine.
yeah exactly. The "superpowers" are just fine with things. They will just keep at it until the crowd finally turns.
Get your money out of the paper market. Buy something physical that retains its value, increases with inflation and you can trade with it.
Whatever you prefer, the choices are many.
+ 1 Indeed Oracle, good seeing you around.
Time may be running short though. Start working on "Plan B" everyone.
I would like to buy some *ussy....anyone know where some cheap but good quality stuff can be found......i think it meets all of your criteria....especially if the Chinese invade.
Anyone else finding their tweets don't show up in their followers' feeds? I follow both @zerohdege and @wikileaks so I guess I have it coming to me.
And searches for phrases in my tweets draw a blank, even searching "All"
I support contraction.
I support people minding their own business and doing things exclusively on a voluntary basis. People actually think they are participating in a 'free' society when they go to the polls and anonymously vote in pols who, in Chicago style, are more than happy to confiscate wealth at gunpoint to provide 'security' via welfare and warfare.
Liberty is the blessing of capitalism. It could also be called voluntarysim. A lot of people think of capitalism as this wretched thing of taking advantage of others when really, it is about freedom and people voluntarily doing things. Unfortunately, what with greed and lust and materialism and power hungry sociopaths, they rig the game and people foolishly go along and vote for these programs. They want to impose their will on others with force instead of voluntaryism and persuasion.
Sure, it was no coincidence that things took off in Britain and here when laissez faire was given a shot and free trade flourished and standards of living rose at an unseen rate. But it is dangerous to go by a materialistic metric. I just value liberty. It is unquantifiable. But now, sadly, they've got people in this consumers in a corporatist environment and disguise it as capitalism, and then blame it when things go wrong when really it is a nightmare economic system of socialism and fascism as most on ZH are aware.
I think a lot of people don't get that capitalism is about totally voluntary actions. NOTHING at gunpoint or using force. Trade is always beneficial by definition. The false paradigm of NAFTA and globalist anti-sovereign organizations is about zero-sum trade imposed on others with protectionism and statism.
I used to be an anarchist/voluntaryist until I realized that that would mean making the Reds and the Blues give up the government they love. Not very voluntary, which is why I support panarchism.
Slightly less than half of the people want everyone to live in an ant colony singing kumbaya, slightly less than half want us to live in a penal colony singing kumbaya.
I just want those people to leave me alone.
Nonsense...We still have the Ukraine.
I do business in the Ukraine. Interesting and confusing country. I might even love the country from a distance, but it still confuses me. It takes a while to learn how business works there. Business contracts there are very risk adverse. Recomend you design business deals with near term success points from their perspective to make things work.
I'm guessing everyone in the Ukraine has great eyesight; that's the only possible reason I can think of for you using three point type.
One thing that might help, they don't like being called the Ukraine. Just Ukraine.
If it will help the environment I'll stop bathing and walk around in my underware.
More than happy to do my part, no matter how fat, ugly, smelly and disgusting I get.
"Everyone is aware of a multitude of problems that besets our world..."
~~~
Are you FKMe???... Most peeps are clueless as shit... Carry on...
As we advance from human production to technological production...the need to control each other will abate. We only needed to control each other like cattle when we needed each other's production.
It is not money we want...it is the production money controls that people desire, and as we advance life from a board game to a video game, the need for money and control will decrease substantially.
eMail vs. the post office... HFT vs. Human Traders....Netflix vs. Blockbuster....khanacademy.org vs. brick and mortar school
It is simply milking off a new system as we advance from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge Age
http://www.udderworld.com
That fantasy fairytale you just dropped is entirely based on a false premise, which is that as 7-9 billion people on the earth "move" from a "production" based system to a "knowledge" based system, that billions of uneducated and brainwashed people, with guns, will embrace this "knowledge" society of yours as the future and the path forward!! Not to mention, without the "production" of food, shelter, water, and other basic needs for these 9 billion people, your fucking video game society will be exclusively for those in "second life" and cyberspace!
This guy has been spamming Mish's site for years now as user "Alstry Nomics," peddling his stuff (and his website links) about the impending technological singularity making humans obsolete. He hijacks every thread with his declarations about the "Udderworld." The original post by Mish could be about economics, or government corruption, or public union graft, or fluffy white kittens, and "Alstry" will turn it into another rambling diatribe about the "Udderworld."
Now he's here on the Hedge. He's been a registered user for over three years, and this is his FIRST COMMENT EVER.
Now Mish is blogging about singularity....and so it be as there is ZERO HEDGE for an Udder World of abundance, freedom, and singularity.
They used to think public education was impossible...the poor kids couldn't learn. Or that we couldn't free the slaves, they couldn't live on their own.....sit back and relax, you can't stop progress or people's desire to be free.
Virtual books....Virtual Music......Virtual Shopping.....eMail.....and now robotically operated farms:
http://www.zeitnews.org/biotechnology/automation-domination-robotic-hydroponic-lettuce-farm-in-belgium.html
Wake me when they produce nutritious, non-GMO virtual food.
Case proven.
I loathe the Socialist system to its core. However, have a proposition to test the two minions who glorify regime Intel stability.
Here is the plan:
If they choose to accept this mission, they must not be armed while traveling through the city and wave their hand profusely by declaring 'central banking democracy planning has prevailed'. The destination is the Libyan UN Embassy where Chris Stevens was tortured and killed.
[Inserts Music] Mission Impossible: Opening Montage
It won’t look very pretty. When taxpayer’s discover monies have been used under the same umbrella of US AID by funding the same Libyan rebels to complete the second chapter in a multi-nationalist missive. Showtime begins shortly. Please enjoy our advertiser’s commercials before the show.
Good one.
If our Libyan embassy was supposedly safe, while increasingly surrounded by hard-core imported Al-Qaeda, with only unarmed gay Libyan guards (same sex 'domestic partners' of US Libyan attache's were given hiring preference -- no shit, serious!) then Hillary and Obama ought to be made to do just what you say.
Will everybody stop refering to an embassy or consulate in Libya.
This was a not so "safe house' for the CIA.
What exactly was the ambassador doing in it ?
The only logical inference is that he was a CIA asset, and was up to something covert.
You are absolutely correct! Although, it’s very important to highlight the falsehood spun. Propagandists squirm when you repeat their story on a new dimension. I believe we can achieve one more scenario of spin before they cave in by confession. Liars always get caught during an engagement of physiological mind fuck.
:)
EDIT:
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland claims, ‘the taxpayers hired me to be dumb’. Watch video.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/state-dept-spox-says-shes-paid-to-be-dumb-when-talking-about-benghazi-attack/article/2510609?custom_click=rss#.UHiECpWuXww
Too easy. Have them drive the Volt with the top down though Detroit proclaiming that and see how far they get.
Atomizer...
They're psychotic, not stupid.
"The destination is the Libyan UN Embassy where Chris Stevens was tortured and killed."
Amazing how entrenched the propaganda is...
Stevens was in a fucking GATED COMMUNITY, it wasn't an "Embassy." The fucking "brightest" thought that they'd pulled off the coup without pissing people off- WRONG! The movement against the UN/US is MUCH bigger than is let on, not to mention that they're trying to make this another fucking "it's al Qaeda" story (WRONG AGAIN!).
The entire point of this exercise is to provide a cover story for why the US needs to get in there and take total control.
Stevens was no more than a hit man who finally got whacked. Fuckers, all of them!
Now we'll all follow along the stupid-assed story of whether we should or shouldn't yank more money from US citizens in order to fund these takeovers. The question of what the fuck we're doing there in the first place is never allowed to enter the discussion.
Sorry to rant, but this stuff really starts to piss me off. Even those who tend to seek out information get sucked into these fucked up story lines... the "story makers" have a LOT of tools...
+1
Please try to post more often.
If the utopian author wants all these good things come to pass he should line up behind the Bernankes and the Goldman Sachs of the world, they have a vision, and I'm sure they will make it happen.
"We forsake you
Gonna rape you
Let's forget you better still."
The Who "We're Not Gonna Take It.."
There's a snake coming out of the darkness
Parade from paradise
End the need for Eden
Chase the dreams of merchandise.
There's tic toc in atomic
Leaders make a deal
the cosmic is largely comic
a con they couldn't conceal.
Thre is no safe seat at the feast...
~Rush/Anagram
A mini me real goods battle ?
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/france/balance-of-trade (go to Y2000)
Real Resourses are simply crossing the Pyrennes.
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/spain/balance-of-trade (go to 2000 again)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llívia
This article is long on unicorns, and short on substance.
That was my first thought, too.
Glancing through, I first thought it was written by Clint Eastwood till the Kumbaya moment.
This is true. Add the superstition of religion and a touch of nationalism and there ya go
Last 100 years of physics actually overlaps perfectly with religious texts (take pick). Singularities, quantum enanglement, space-time illusion, much more, it's all there.
Evolution is fine, but is still Newtonian which has been totally demolished, so is not mutually exlusive as the dogma suggests. Atheism now looks to be a 19th century superstition because it was recently calculated we are here by only 1 chance in 10^500th by L. Susskind, the Holographic theory guy, who bested Hawkings on black holes.
Google 'Zeitoun apparition 1968 videos' or check:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQEqnwTgdJk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXvNzDj5tAA&feature=related
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../eben-alexander-harvard-neurosurgeon-...
There are millions like Dr. Eben Alexander's from all over the globe, over centuries. In Zeitoun Egypt, the apparitions appeared 2-3 times/week over the Coptic Church for 3 years, sometimes for hours at a time; seen, filmed and photographed by millions in an Islamic country, so hardly a Christian mass delusion. Scientific explanations unknown. Beats me, too.
ooOO-WEEE--OOoo!
Miracles happen regularly in the Orthodox church, and i was the last of the great skeptics, until i could not deny first hand evidence.
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this guy doesn't get one thing; obviously, the most important. What drives powerhungry mofos? The desire to be "admired"(one form or another).
Let's take a look at a "rich" dude, since it's this simpleton is easy. With a modicum of common sense, anyone can live well with something which is probably below the average wage. Live well doesn't mean changing car every 3 years and phone every year; that's stupidity. But that'd go against the rich dude, because, than, he'd be nothing special. So... he'll keep on trying to convince you that it's very very important that, when you have x millions, you need the x+1 one and that this is a subject of great importance . Or that you need x or y useless crap; if you realize that you don't need it, than you won't envy him, which kills all his joy.
Lucky for the rich dude, and unfortunate for the author's prediction, the majority is formed of simpletons. So, they'll keep wanting... "growth". Whatever that might mean; usually, the invetion of a new thing(which can and will be, most of the time, a perfectly useless thing) giving them the opportunity to get it before their neighbor, so he can envy you(actually wanting or needing said thing being, obviously, irelevant).
Capitalism requires growth? Wrong!
Fiat banking requires expansion, which has nothing to do with capitalism. It is fraud - a Ponzi that inhibits proper capital distribution and reallocation. That thing is indeed growth depended.
Capitalism works fine in positive, zero, or negative growth environments, provided the monetary unit is sound. It produces inflation when the resources are scarce and declining against a fixed monetary supply. It produces deflation when manufacturing efficiency results in abundance of product against the relatively static amount of money.
All this growth obsession is a fiat phenomenon. It is not a flaw of capitalism and not even a byproduct of its implementation.
The idea behind capitalism is that if you produce something and do not consume the product fully, you're able to either reserve it for later use or find someone else who may put it to better use today, so you both could enjoy greater prosperity tomorrow. Capitalism is a method of tweaking production and consumption based on anticipation. It's not even an ideology, but a natural way of life. It's what your own organs do when trying to optimize chances of survival. They gather, manage and exchange energy so that the entire body could function as a whole.
Capitalism is great! It would be even greater, if socialists and fascists weren't preying on public ignorance, re-branding their poison as something it is clearly not.
Correct, and this is why the fascist monetary ponzi is dying. Bring it, those who know that their labor is of real value welcome it. Stupid fucking sheep.
+ 1 to Julia and Laws. Quite correct. Add value with your labor, or do not expect to eat at our expense.
There are a lot of people out there who want to reap the value of your labor because they do not labor at all and have no intentions of doing so. We're getting dangerously close to a systemic belief that your value, and that of everyone else who labors, is somehow the natural entitlement of everyone else.
I read your posts and want to grab a pitchfork and some matches.
/salute
Welfare is another Ponzi that requires constant growth and which is an anathema to capitalism and liberty. The conversion to global socialism via the welfare state is the devil behind all of this.
Welfare state and deficits are both symptoms of fiat. Easy to be generous at someone else's expense.
+ 1 again, JuliaS.
Agreed, except that fiat is merely a tool. In the currrent case, it is being used to support the welfare state. Do not underestimate the social/political end game behind all of this by focusing on fiat as the cause.
The alchemy movement in the 17th century serves as a perfect illustration of our desire to corrupt the physical medium. Its failure highlights the importantce choosing a proper monetary unit prone to tampering.
What alchemists were trying to do is print gold. Ironically, had they succeeded, they would've devalued the metal, defeating the purpose of the act.
The bankers of today are modern day alchemists who got around the limitation. Instead of printing gold like paper, they convinced people that paper was as good as gold. With their guidance, people kept fooling themselves. The miracle of the 20th century is a shackleless slave - a self-herding sheep, bread to perfection by the central bank.
Fiat and gold are both tools. The first brings out the worst in us. The second keeps us in check and aware of political and economic inconsistencies.
thanks Julia
It is one of the many devils behind this.
This was a weird post eh Sloane? Everything about it...many of the comments too. Like u said I don't understand many of people's points on here.
Weird describes it beautifully. I don't want to co-operate with people who think they're entitled to the results of my labor. I would, however, co-operate with people who have something of equal value and want to exchange goods and services with each other in a free and open market.
wow well said!
You are 100% correct! I posted a similar rant later in the thread. These malthusians need the sense bitchslapped into them! Idiots!
What a load of fucking rubbish. You think co-operation is not to ones advantage? Some shit on ZH today.
I don't know that these articles have the Tyler(s) full endorsement. I think sometimes they get hammered and throw these things out there to kill time.
There are enough SNAP cards for everyone if we all just learn to share?
Humanity has long since past the event horizon, one more doubling should do it and fucking yeast will be shown to be smarter... ...again. Stupid fucking sheep.
Speaking of games, in a Civilization series videogame I always felt getting past modern age in one piece was the most difficult part.
The description might be ELO 2200, but the solution would not work.
I would consider it more like a game of Chinese checkers then a game of chess
Kerrching!
This is a pathetic article. Undoubtedly, the author had a few beers with some equally concerned friends and thought his ideas had merit based on their enthusiastic response.
A man opens a restaurant and serves well-cooked food to customers who are pleased to voluntarily pay his price for meals. This is capitalism and it is as ancient as it is beneficial to all who participate. You cannot condemn capitalism without condemning this man and his customers. What alternative would the author suggest?
We are simply moving from Industrial Capitalism to Technological Capitalism......
People's production will change...to what who knows when technology is rapidly replacing most industrial functions......
Why do we need truck drivers in a world of self-driving vehicles......
http://www.forbes.com/sites/singularity/2012/09/06/self-driving-cars-from-google-on-the-road-toward-approval-in-california/?ss=innovation-science
Getting people to buy cars they can't drive will be as successful as getting them to buy a Chevy Volt. Doesn't anyone understand the concept of, "just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should?"