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The Only Road Out Of Davos
Submitted by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,
After 6+ (BIG +) years of deepening poverty and rising stock markets, of creative accounting, of QE and ultralow interest rates, of extend and pretend and outright propaganda and of what have you, all of which have led us to where we are today, facing yet more rounds of stumbling from crisis into multiple crises, it would seem clear that the model, if not the mold, is broken. In order to fix it, let alone replace it altogether, we need to understand to what extent it is broken. And to do that, we first need to know what exactly the model is.
Now, it would be tempting, even seem logical, to consult with the people who designed and built the model. Who, after all, not only claim to be the only ones capable of fixing the broken mold, but who also have occupied all positions of power that have any say in the process. But that’s less obvious than it may seem. Because, mind you, the model is broken. They built a flawed model. Or rather, they built one that works for them, for some, but not for the rest of us.
There are gatherings and festivities ongoing in Davos. Only some are invited: the rich, the powerful and their court jesters. Those who profited most from the broken model. They’re least likely to fix it, they won’t even admit to it being broken. It works just fine for them. The people in Davos believe in one model only, the one of ever increasing centralization and globalization, because that’s the model that got them where they are.
That means that what’s in their interest is 180º removed from what’s in your interest. And it means that whatever these people propose you do, you should probably do the exact opposite.
The more our economic activities become part of the global economy, the more the rich can skim off. That ‘principle’ got them where they are. They all, to name one thing, keep talking about the need for more reforms, in order to make economies more competitive. Even sounds reasonable at first glance; but only because we haven’t thought it over. It’s mere propaganda.
When it comes to basic necessities, to food, water and shelter, we shouldn’t strive to compete with other economies. That is not good for us, or for our peers in those other economies; it’s good only for those who skim off the top. The larger and more globalized the top, the more there is to skim off. All the ‘reform’ is geared towards making our economies ever more dependent on the global economy. And that is not in our best interest.
It’s not all just even about money, it’s about our security, and independence. Everybody likes the idea of being independent, but at the same time few realize that globalization is the exact opposite of independence. Global trade is fine, as long as it’s limited to things we don’t need to survive, but it’s not fine if and when it takes away the ability of a community or a society to provide for itself.
Protectionism has acquired a really bad reputation, as if it’s inherently evil to try and protect your community from being gutted by economic ideas and systems it has no defense against, or to make sure it can generate and provide for its own basics at all times. But that’s just propaganda too.
If our societies are not designed and constructed to provide for themselves, they’ll end up with no choice but to go to war with each other. Along the same lines, if our societies don’t have strict laws in place that guarantee we can’t and won’t destroy the natural resources of the land we live on comes with, we’ll also end up going to war with each other.
We’re not going to solve the Gordian knot of the entire global economy and all the hubris and propaganda the present leading politicians, businessmen and ‘reporters’ bring to the table. And we probably shouldn’t want to. Our brains did not develop to do things on a global scale. The clowns will blow themselves up sooner or later. We should focus on what we can do, meanwhile, in our immediate surroundings.
And it’s pretty easy from there, really. The economic problems we have are mostly artificial. They have been induced by the broken economic model the Davos crowd, the central bankers and you know who else would have us believe is the one and only, and that they are busy fixing for our sake and greater glory. But they care only about their own glory.
The IMF lowered its global GDP forecast yet again. But who cares? Who has any faith in the IMF? Those numbers are released for consumption by the masses, and duly reported by the media six ways to Sunday. China says its economy grew 7.4% in 2014. But there is no more reason to believe China than there is the IMF. If China’s economy had really grown 7.4% in 2014, oil would not be below $50.
Trying, and desiring, to be part of this global economy idea the clowns propagate, or even a new world order, which can only lead to misery and mayhem for billions of people just because of the way it was set up, is the worst thing we can do now. We owe it to our people, and our children, to leave them with something better than that.
It’s fine to compete with others when it comes to technology and fashion and gadgets and whatever luxury items you can or cannot yet imagine. But it’s not fine to compete with them for the food and water your own children will need to survive. But still, that is the path we’re on. The path the Davos crowd has set us on. Because they get richer as we compete for food and water. Divide and rule stems from Roman times, if not before. And ‘we’ – or they, if you like that better – have perfected it. To the extent that we are now so divided amongst ourselves that a small minority can see its wealth grow at ever increasing speed at our cost.
The Davos crowd are not the important people, it’s just propaganda that makes you see them in that light. There’s no glory in wealth. The important people are your neighbors, your families, and most of all your children. And the answer to their insidious schemes is really simple; its that very simplicity which may well be the reason you never saw it.
You see, a dollar spent on locally made products goes much further than one spent on products that are shipped in. About 4 times further. Because if you buy local products, you support local jobs, which in turn support the community you live in through taxes that pay for strengthening the community, and so forth. Ergo: if something produced locally costs twice as much as what’s available from 1000 miles away, you’d still be better off. Even if it’s three times more expensive, you’ll still end up richer.
The only setback is, you’ll have to work to make it work. You’ll have to get people around you to understand why buying what their neighbors make at double or triple the price of what they pay for what comes from China will make them richer and better people. Sounds stupid and naive and easy to dismiss and unrealistic at first bite, I know. But I don’t mind, because I’m none of those things.
And, moreover, this is the only road out of Davos. All you need to do is wean yourself off the clowns. And I know you can’t do it alone, but then, why should you want to?
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On a gulfstream
http://hedgeaccordingly.com/2015/01/1700-private-jets-descend-on-davos-f...
The only road out of Davos leads straight to hell. Burn bitches, burn.
Death
before
Dishonor.
Choose.
NO! No! Seal it off! Hold them hostage!
"Using legitimate means" of course. Some "Army types". Putin could probably score big here.
By "Using legitimate means" you include the use of a Tactical Nuclear Weapon to solve the ' Davos Problem '
Straight to hell indeed ;-)
Cruise missiles are pretty common these days. Every nuclear power has them.
One way for a country like North Korea, Iran or ISIS to shut down western markets and the economy.
The nuking of Davos would set Western cultural and economic life back decades. I'm down.
This is why we have a military. These are the 'enemy.' Use the Neutron Bomb on them... now...
The only road out of Davos leads straight to hell. Burn bitches, burn.
You fail to see that this crowd WILLINGLY sold their souls to the Devil for wealth and power - some quite literally it would seem....
You are correct, well at least burn (the) bitches (read political/royal class), and yes that would indeed lead to all hell breaking loose!
Is there really a fix to this dysfunctional system we all live under, WHERE THEFT IS GOOD?
Don't you love a farce; my fault I fear
I thought that you'd want what I want - sorry my dear
But where are the clowns - send in the clowns
Don't bother they're here
Al Gore is talking about a 59 trillion investment to change all major cities into no private car zones all based on public transport for hi-density residential living.
And... US congress has officially BOUGHT into global warming climate change.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/congress-just-admitted-climate-change-isnt...
So either ZH is way out on a limb or way behind the curve.
I guess you climate change skeptic deniers feel you are the only sane ones as you question the "conspiracy" and believe in Mother nature pissing on man's vain efforts.
Ok. But it ain't empiricism its just bull headedness.
CRAZY TALK!
Yes, Al Gore's actually quite smart. But I wonder if anyone will follow him...poor guy, picked the wrong country it seems. Kassandra won't be listened to:-(
"The approved amendment was one of two that were introduced that called for a vote on whether climate change was real or not. One of them (the one that passed) said simply that climate change was real. The other (which didn't pass) said climate change was real and caused by humans."
Kinda like saying the sun is going to rise tomorrow but it still might rain isn't it? ;-)
Nobody is denying climate change. The climate changes on a daily basis where I live and, if I can believe what I hear and read, it changes on a continual basis practically everywhere in the world.
Now, what some people question is:
* Are the trends in global climate change due to something we've done, or are they due to natural processes that happen on a much larger scale than humanity has influence over?
* Are these trends bad? Maybe we'd be better off a few degrees warmer.
When was the last time Congress voted on whether a scientific hypothesis was real or not? This ain't scinece anymore, it's politics.
The words climate and change are synonymous.
When you are an elite hammer everything looks like a peon nail.
It should be marked by a giant pink pig blimp
Is there an attendance list?
everyone who is your daddy
Mean, IDK who my daddy is!
Very much agree. Local action gives the best bang for the buck and there is no glory in simple monetary accumulation. Most endeavours include many opportunities to take small steps towards sustainable quality of life. Since quality of life can't be hoarded. its growth becomes a common benefit.
"Davos?" Close enough to "division," their real purpose.
Divide the spoils of their crimes, and plot more division among those they rob the spoils from.
The banksters need to repay us.
I guess ISIS couldn't find Davos on a map !!!
Does anyone really think that ISIS is not controlled by the Zionists still?
They have never been more exposed, the system of lies is burning, their tricks are running out, people are waking up, they're not the only ones who have a few secrets.. Tick tock bitchez, tick tock.
There's a reason Davos and Braavos sound alike.
The maniacal shit parade has to end someday soon.
GDP is largely a measure of inefficiency, waste, welfare, and warfare.
But that parade is life itself. Why would you want it to end unless you have a longing to be free of life?
Yes, the parade is full of all sorts of maniacal and extravagent creatures and species, odd beliefs, crazy religions, colors, passions, and endless varieties: it's a phantasmagoria, a feast for the senses, full of challenges, perils and marvels. But isn't that the fun and value of life? To jump in and dawn your own colors, do something maniacal yourself, to take your mental circuits through an emotional rollercoaster, to look back from the other end at all the wild experiences you've enumerated or all the irrational imprints you've left on your environment -- isn't that the value of being alive?
What fun would it be if life were a silent, rational march, devoid of color of flare or interest... perfectly boring, perfectly safe, perfectly efficient, perfect, unemotional, stern, non-feeling, non-thinking, dry and dull, monotonous (lacking in opposites, contrasts, or variety), and machine-like....
I do not understand why you would long for such a thing. You seem to be sick; perhaps you suffer from a mental illness. You seem to long for death and to lack an appreciation for life. Worse, you seem to hold a grudge against all of the rest of us who do not share your sickness. All that you need is a bullet between the eyes to escape from the parade. Why not try your luck at being reincarnated into a more jovial and less depressive character? Don't bother wasting your time sticking around and trying to end the fun for the rest of us....
One billion people each living on $1.25/day while the top one percent divy up half of the world's wealth adds to diversity how? Centralization is the opposite of a phantasmagoria... Extreme poverty does not provide 'color, flare, or interest'; it is homogeneous in its despair.
Diversity is a synonym for inequality. If everyone were equal, you'd have zero diversity. Having extreme rich and extreme poor is, by definition, more diverse than having equal wage distribution.
Extreme poverty adds a lot of flare and color to the world. The cultures evolved in Africa, India, and China, for example, are fascinating. We could convert the entire world into one common American culture, but what would be the value in that? Diversity of power is to thank for things like pyramids existing in Egypt. We could have flat ground instead and the comfortable feeling of knowing that a few thousand slaves were happier four milleniums ago, but what would be the value in that?
"Homogenous in its despair" = utter non-sense. First of all, it's a fallacy to link "poverty" or "quality of living" with level of happiness or despair. The latter depends mostly on one's attitude towards life. It's only when people are convinced to believe that they need money to survive that they are suddenly unhappy living in poverty. Humans happily made $0/hour for thousands of years and many still do. Secondly, what's so bad about despair? Without it, we could hardly know or appreciate happiness. That some portion of the world lives in despair and another in a state of manic joy actually serves to enrichen the world.
To hate life, the real world as it has been and is, to hate suffering, to hate something like "poverty" or "inequality", which is the scapegoat you blame your misery on, to delusionally imagine that you can rid the world life of such things, and to believe that only then will your misery suddenly subside: those are symptoms of a sickness or at least a stupidity that's prevalent in humanity these days.
It is convenient that all of your examples are historical. To say that people happily made $0/hr is disingenuous and you know it; the world's food and water are increasingly commoditized. Unlike ancient times, Even ancient Egyptians FED the slaves.
What is stupid is to think that the 21,000 peaple who die each hour are somehow enriching the planet and its various cultures. The difference between poverty and starving to death is big, and to believe that this suffering can be solved with positive thinking is beyond stupid, it is childish.
Lastly, your off the wall arguement about my misery is based on fallacious assumptions. This isn't about my misery or lack-of, or about income disparity or equality; its about withholding financial support to an economy that is fraudulent at the top-end and purposely allows starvation on the other. Will I end suffering by doing so? Of course not, suffering is a part of life and I am ok with that. Will I end wage or wealth disparity? No, and that isn't my goal. Can I avoid a fraudulent banking system, and at the same time try and allieviate a tiny bit of suffering? Maybe. Can I help my local community? Absolutely.
Focus on people and place. Local production and purchases. And convert their fraudulent financial assets to gold. All of them, but gradually, a little each day.
> That means that what’s in their interest is 180º removed from what’s in your interest.
I think by "your" you really meant to say "my"; after all, you're the one enraged enough about it to write these rants online while most of "us", who you're trying to appeal to, either don't care at all or think you're a bit too simple-minded. Let's not oversimplify things: it's more complex than a simple "their" vs. "your". I have at least 2 enemies here: 1) the rich, and 2) the stupid. You seem to be trying to mobilize the stupid against the rich. The problem I have with that is that you sound a little bit too sympathetic towards the stupid -- you sound like you've thrown in your lot with them and want me to do the same. That's unacceptable to me. I may not get along well with the powers that be, but at least I can respect them. The stupid are worthy of no respect or sympathy: they are meant to be controlled. I'd rather live silently on the outskirts biding my time than throw my lot in with them. I will not join you in waging war against war itself: a laughably stupid interest.
BEST comment, ie intelligent, rational, articulate, that I have seen on ZH in a VERY long time. I'd buy you a beer if we were near.
“Staying silent is like a slow growing cancer to the soul and a trait of a true coward. There is nothing intelligent about not standing up for yourself. You may not win every battle. However, everyone will at least know what you stood for—YOU.” - Shannon Adler
Thanks for sharing the self-help book-sourced wisdom. Made me laugh.
Nuke Davos? Just kidding. I, for one, welcome our new Reptilian Overlords.
Seems like a good place the North Koreans or Iranians could hit with one of those advanced Chinese cruise missiles at the right time.
These countries have the warheads.
A couple of fission bombs from North Korea at Davos would cause a lot of problems.
Russia has huge stockpiles of nukes and cruise missiles and all these people at Davos are messing with the Russians.
Our problems in this country stem from about 3000 people running the other 350 million of us over a cliff. For starters, the 3000 can be found in every Congressman/Senator/Supreme Court Justice/The President/Heads of all Federal agencies, etc. Then you float down to other individuals like Gruber and Dimon, and that bunch. And so on.
Regardless, if you really want to know who a lot of them are, have a look at the entire list of who is showing up at this conference. This particular list will include the world's '3000' however. But you can figure out who comes from what country easily.
These are your enemies folks. These are the people you should be watching out for. These are the people whose only aim in life is money and power while keeping you down as much as possible.
I wish the 3,000 would be met by "The 100" and the clans of the maneating zombies. Watch the show on Netflix.
Their flow of money marks the deception; owners' corporations, to K St., to fawningticians, all for favorable legislations to continue the plunders with no accountability.
Show us the bar receipts again.. just to compare to last year's bash. If the bar tabs are higher, then we have inflation.
That 80,000 receipt from last year is still on my desktop. I show it to friends and family who are complaining about the high cost of living.
For most of the good people out here on the fringes of the inter-tubes, you (we) are about as relevant and important to the future (current) political-economic discourse as a bunch of Taliban squatting in some cave in bum-fuck tribal wasteland enjoying our man-love Thursday.
For this billionaire oligarch wine and cheese crowd and their 2,000 odd minions that flip the levers of daily power on and off around the globe (or pretend to) we are about as vital to their survival as mold in a Petri dish.
The entire avalanche of technology being built-up around us by the likes of Google, Facebook, twitter and administered by the NSA, GCHQ, DHS, ad nauseam are nothing more than virtual prison bars. Predictive programming in this hive mind knows what you are thinking before you do. The 0.01% real political troublemakers out there will be liquidated before they themselves even know they are a threat. I just read today about research on synthetic biology that can only live if they are fed a "special food" on a routine basis by their genetic masters. That might be your grand-kids in some far-way future.
We're consumers - dogs in a pen - to these creeps.
My only question is why would dogs in a pen, that have been so long mistreated by their masters, give a flying fuck about the daily proclamation this or international spasm that. It's "their" world. We only pretend to live in it.
You're only choice is to keep inhaling deeper and deeper.
Or aim between the eyes.
Wake me up when some unheard of director's brains of some TBTJ bank are smeared over Wall Street's pavement.
As the QE batten passes around the world UK, US, Japan and Euro-zone it is time to ask “What happened to the wealth creators who were responsible for all economic success until 2008?”
This weekend’s Sunday Sport has the answers.
Their intrepid reporters have information that the wealth creators have formed a colony on Mars.
They are busy exploiting the Martians who don't have any labour laws.
In an interview with one of the wealth creators he said "We have exploited planet Earth, it was time to move on"
This is why the Martian economy is doing so well and the Earth's so badly.
Obvious really.
(If you didn't realise the Martian economy was doing well, you haven't been reading the Sunday Sport.)
Lot of slave mentality going on in these posts. I choose to make the most of the opportunities in front of me and to do the best with what I have such as in the parable of the talents.
I am a firm believer in Peter Drucker's managment lessons, and this article appears to distract from that.
The best part of this article is about who is important in our lives: friends, and family. Not sure if that is just put in their to capture sympathy.
We all have our lot in life, there is no short cut to hard work.