What is an Economy For? People? Planet? Profits? The Machine? Endless (sic) Valuation (sic) Until All Gaskets Burst?
tap dancing into not just a painted-in corner . . . AI and synthetic biology is the paradigm shift....Economics played today puts a dollar on every blink, yawn, step, defecation, urination, swallow..
“Economists study and analyze poverty in their nice offices, have all the statistics, make all the models, and are convinced that they know everything that you can know about poverty. But they don’t understand poverty.”
— Manfred Max-Neef
They just will not stop. They will not step back and say, “This is just not a technology, science, service or system that actually helps the planet, people, our purpose on earth to mutually support the poor, weak, helpless, infirm, old, young, disabled, and damaged and injured.
Now, my greenie friends have pushed for genuine economic growth, right livelihood award, an Earth Charter, but they have pushed the lockdowns, attacked those of us who have not gotten mRNA shit, and they wear the dirty Nazified Blue and Yellow of UkroNaziLandia.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted over two days (June 2023), found 65 percent of respondents want the U.S. to continue arming Ukraine, compared to 48 percent who said the same thing back in May, indicating a sharp rise in support. The survey also found 67 percent and 73 percent of Americans would support a presidential candidate who wants to continue supporting Ukraine with weapons and equipment and one who backs the NATO alliance respectively.
+—+
This woman-girl is a monster: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Thursday with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and prominent European figures who are forming a working group to address ecological damage from the 16-month-old Russian invasion.
Oh, the climate warriors, the Climate Billionaire, John Kerry, itching for more Ukrainian and Russian and environmental killing!
Language and thought and rhetoric and common sense and thinking and diplomacy have all gone moldy, toxic, dirty poisonous, empty, and contradictory.
2019:
So, here we are, Jacobin: EVERYONE? DON’T like PUTIN? Fuck.
“Everyone I know is united in condemning this war, and none of us like Putin,” Branko Marcetic, a staff writer at the Marxist journal Jacobin, told Yahoo News. But, he said, that doesn’t mean the U.S. should arm Ukraine.
“The idea of sending weapons to Ukraine — I think there’s a defensible argument for it,” Marcetic said. “The problem is, there was a similarly defensible argument for arming the mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s when they were fighting a Soviet invasion.”
This is why the world is upside down, and lies dominate the killing fields of washing away history.
[Photo: Above: members of the African People’s Socialist Party on the stage of an event held by Caleb Maupin’s Center for Political Innovation]
All the socialist parties around the world that are intensely involved in the fight against U.S. hegemony have come to back Russia, and their support has gotten more solid as time has gone on. The leaders of the DPRK, the PRC, socialist-led Nicaragia, and as of this year Cuba have felt compelled to make statements affirming their alignment with Russia in the conflict. Within the Global South movements that aren’t influenced by Washington’s soft power network, support for Russia is seen as the default stance; from an American perspective, it may feel incredible that the participants in the recent anti-colonial revolutions of Africa’s Sehal region have been flying Russian flags. But on their side within the system of global exploitation and imperialist violence, it’s simply logical to align oneself with NATO’s biggest sources of opposition.
Whatever “leftist” or “Marxist” forces throughout the Global South that disavow Russia (or oppose Russian partners like China) are ones which are based within petty-bourgeois radicalism; that seek to replicate the opportunistic model of the left within the exploiting countries, where unserious “socialist” groups can find support from a niche of students, intelligentsia members, and now social media circles. It’s these places that are often associated with purity-fetishizing, dogmatic currents of leftism, like Trotskyism and Maoism. And with the trend towards military leaders taking power so they can defy the liberal global order, such academic projects for normalizing American-style leftism across the Global South are failing.
In the exploiting countries, though, the unserious elements that lead socialists towards the anti-Russian stance continue to dominate. Which has created a conflict between them, and the minority of socialists in America and Europe who share the Global South’s predominant view of the new cold war.
But, back to reality — the economy is for WAR, for the killing fields, for economic war, for cultural war, and the dominating masters of psychopathy. And we have Thunberg and Kerry, all those Davos freaks, WEF, the carbon credits continuing criminal enterprise.
What is that economy for then, when put into the green bucket? PROFIT and profits and subjugating people, putting the global south in a Faustian Bargain, and then forcing poor countries to stay poor, desolate, polluted, backward, sick, ailing, injured, cancerous.
This is the Boris Johnson, who actually with USA stopped Ukraine and Russia from reaching a cease fire, end of the special military operation. Is he the new Hitler?
Certainly the little Goliath, err, David Winston Zelensky Churchill will get one of those little Hitler awards, along with millions of his conspirators.
A hell of a history:
Pravda reported that "Johnson brought two simple messages to Kyiv":
"The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. We can sign [an agreement] with you [Ukraine], but not with him. Anyway, he will screw everyone over," is how one of Zelenskyy's close associates summed up the essence of Johnson's visit...
Johnson's position was that the collective West, which back in February had suggested Zelenskyy should surrender and flee, now felt that Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined.
Moreover, there is a chance to "press" him. And the West wants to use it.
In public remarks during his trip, Johnson vowed that the U.K.--in line with the U.S., Germany, and other western powers--would continue ramping up its "military and economic support and convening a global alliance to bring this tragedy to an end, and ensure Ukraine survives and thrives as a free and sovereign nation."
"I made clear today that the United Kingdom stands unwaveringly with them in this ongoing fight," the right-wing British leader said, "and we are in it for the long run."
In the weeks ahead of Johnson's April 9 visit, high-level diplomatic talks held in Belarus and Turkey had failed to yield a diplomatic breakthrough, though reports in mid-March indicated that Russian and Ukrainian delegations "made significant progress" toward a 15-point peace deal that would involve Ukraine renouncing its NATO ambitions in exchange for the withdrawal of Moscow's troops.
This is the face of power, bad power, warped, upended intelligence, no gift of speaking/gab, and pure arrogance. Smiles? While the Ukrainians are in the meatgrinder?
That Nazi problem the USA and EU just sort of laughed at?
You can research Nazis and fascists in Ukraine, way way before USA ousted a democratically elected president in 2014.
In the end, though, talking about the environment like those pathetic ones in the Greta Group is appaling, totally. Sweden, where she is from, backs bombs, bullets, and boots on the ground and NATO. That is where the greenie weenies, the green washers and green porn stars go. Hate Putin, Xi, whom else?
Then, it’s about one economy over another economy?
On Tuesday, Boris Johnson spoke about “laying the foundations for decades of economic growth”. In his speech to President Biden’s climate summit, when he wasn’t talking about “cake, have, eat” (how did the interpreters cope with that?), he was saying tackling climate change would be about jobs and growth.
Jobs, yes. A green economy will lead to more than 1m new jobs in sectors ranging from renewable energy to caring in the next two years alone. But the endless pursuit of economic growth, as the lodestar of government policy, is what is driving the climate crisis.
An economy based on taking more and more from the Earth, making more, then discarding it in the pursuit of GDP growth is pushing the planet beyond its natural limits. Our life supporting system is being destroyed in front of our eyes.
It’s only when governments recognise this, and switch the focus of the economy to the wellbeing of people and the health of the planet rather than endless growth, that we will get off the road to disaster we are currently on.
You can listen to Graber:
But Beware the AI:
On this episode, Daniel Schmachtenberger returns to discuss a surprisingly overlooked risk to our global systems and planetary stability: artificial intelligence. Through a systems perspective, Daniel and Nate piece together the biophysical history that has led humans to this point, heading towards (and beyond) numerous planetary boundaries and facing geopolitical risks all with existential consequences. How does artificial intelligence, not only add to these risks, but accelerate the entire dynamic of the metacrisis? What is the role of intelligence vs wisdom on our current global pathway, and can we change course? Does artificial intelligence have a role to play in creating a more stable system or will it be the tipping point that drives our current one out of control?
An introduction to the Metacrisis by Daniel Schmachtenberger, founding member of The Consilience Project. Moderated by Niklas Adalberth, founder of Norrsken Foundation. Recorded live during Stockholm Impact/Week 2023. Stockholm Impact Week is an annual Summit hosted by Norrsken and the City of Stockholm, dedicated to defining the critical issues of our time and enabling solutions to them.
Polycrisis or metacrisis. Some reading, whew, below!
Energy and Human Ambitions textbook; especially Epilogue; Appendix D.5 and D.6
Sapiens, by Yuval Noah HarariHuman Exceptionalism (Do the Math post)
Daniel Schmachtenberger on The Great Simplification
Daniel Quinn’s books: Ishmael; The Story of B; My Ishmael; Beyond Civilization
Post-Ishmael Do the Math posts (Sticks; Love; Cults and a Story)
An Inconvenient Apocalypse, by Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen
We Are the Middle of Forever by Dahr Jamail and Stan Rushworth
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Myth of Human Supremacy by Derrick Jensen
Bitter Harvest by Lisi Krall
Hospicing Modernity by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira
We have to understand the topics of catastrophic and existential risk, civilization and institutional decay and collapse as well as progress, collective action problems, social organization theories, and the relevant domains in philosophy and science.
It takes some heavy lifting as you yawn out of the miasma of war and disaster and predatory and parasetic capitalism’s grand tour of propaganda in media, news, education, all arenas.
But it is not impossible. Don’t get bogged down in the post-graduate liberal arts language and articulation.
Fully, really, AI and sythetic biology are the rackets now, and war is now AI-MR-VR-AR, so the racket is the same as that old boy’s racket:
WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.
War can be replaced by=medicine=big pharam=FIRE (finance-insurance-real estate)=AI=science.
The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes even twelve per cent. But wartime profits—ah! that is another matter—twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent—the sky is the limit. All that the traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Letʼs get it.
This edition contains a couple of other shorter pieces – a call for neutrality or isolationism (rather than the post-WWI expansionist policies pursued by the US); a mooted amendment to the Constitution which would limit military powers to defensive rather than offensive; and a collection of uncensored images from battlefields, providing corpse-heavy proof of the reality of military life. Though it’s the titular essay which demands most of the reader’s attention, these additional pieces help show how Butler’s thinking could be implemented at a governmental level.
The only way to smash this racket is to conscript capital and industry and labor before the nationʼs manhood can be conscripted. One month before the Government can conscript the young men of the nation—it must conscript capital and industry and labor. Let the officers and the directors and the high-powered executives of our armament factories and our steel companies and our munitions makers and our shipbuilders and our airplane builders and the manufacturers of all the other things that provide profit in war time as well as the bankers and the speculators, be conscripted—to get $30 a month, the same wage as the lads in the trenches get.
Listen to Daniel. Understand Graeber. Work with Wolff.
But be barefoot with Manfred Max-Neef:
Manfred Max-Neef / CEPAUR/ AWARDED 1983
Place of Birth: Valparaíso, Chile/ Date of Birth: October 26, 1932 /Deceased: August 8, 2019
Manfred Max-Neef Foundation/ Headquarters: Valdivia, Chile/ Founded in: 2020
Facebook: fundacionmanfredmaxneef
For revitalising small and medium-sized communities through 'Barefoot Economics'.
Manfred Max-Neef (1932-2019) was a Chilean economist who gained an international reputation for his work and writing on development alternatives. A committed environmentalist, passionate musician, and inspiring professor, Max-Neef was also a leader seeking to change from the bottom up.
If the first part of his career saw him working within the internationally accepted framework of economics, his decisive step into the mud gave him a different perspective on the world and the economist’s role. At the heart of his development alternatives lies the principle of practising economics as if people matter, working for the reorientation of development to stimulate local self-reliance and satisfy fundamental human needs.
In 1993, he was the first-ever ecologist to run for president in Chile. He became known as “the candidate of the absent issues”, promoting local economies and participatory democracy.
A morning with Daniel, and David, and Richard, and Manfred.
I don’t know if it’s familiarity, or what, but I have an easier time comprehending Dave and Dick. Maybe when I get to know the other two fellas, I’ll grasp their Comprehensive message better.
But, sure enough, there were multiple turds in the punch bowl, in the guise of Thunberg and associates.
Way to fuck up an enjoyable morning, Paulo. Fortunately, I saved the shit sandwich for last.
Kind of a moldy, rotten cherry on top of my sundae.
Funny how Gretel, and Hansel, and the rest of them tools, didn’t mention the contribution to environmental degradation made by “the snakes” and nato, in the conflict in ukraine. That ain’t ignorance, it’s complicity/duplicity.
If I’m to “believe” Daniel’s prognosis, “We’re Fucked”!
More importantly, “I’m Fucked”. (charity begins at home, gawd damn it)
Yesterday, I had the good fortune of listening to a collection of enlightened christians, 12 steppers, and one americanized, capitalized, African immigrant, just bash the fuck out of those lazy, useless, disrespectful of tradition, parasitic kids/youts/children.
If it ain’t the war between the sexes, and the race wars, and the all too real sports teams wars, and the war on the impoverished (not on poverty), the war against wildlife, the war on drug-gies, the war on crime (rule breakers don’tcha no), let’s not forget the war on disinformation (holy fuck), the war on fascism (hair trump says there’s good people on both sides).
I’m certain that I’ve missed a few dozen/score/hundred, but you get the point.
I’m conscripted into so many different armies, that I couldn’t possibly wear all of the stupid costumes in a month’s time.
But, back to the “lazy” kids.
What a unthinking, counterproductive, pejorative, that word lazy.
How about a new definition for the 21st century?
Maybe, “I see how your way of doing things has fucked up the biosphere that sustains me, mostly because you don’t think before you act. So I’m gonna just take my time and contemplate awhile, so I don’t do something totally stupid, and fucking harmful.”
“Besides, I’m plenty busy. I’m being recruited, constantly, to fight all of these battles, Like the war between the generations for example, that I barely have time to think about what might be the smartest thing to do.”
“As much time as you spend workin’/hustlin’/chasin’ a merican dream, you can’t have any time to think, so somebody’s got to do it.”
I appreciated David reminiscing about brainstorming/theorizing/analyzing for days on end, during occupy.
It was certainly more pleasurable than continuing just running towards the cliff’s edge.
I had a book called The Good Book, inside. There was one particular chapter that argued that happiness was the highest good, and why. Can’t remember the author. Not a biggie. At least I never heard of him. At least I think it was a him. But, I remember feeling the personal truth of the argument.
Which has led me here: I am kindness impaired. I have been kindness unimpaired, so I know.
There’s just too many wars going on. Perpetual war, for perpetual perception poisoning.
Make happiness so elusive, and ill-defined, that it ceases to exist.
Deep shit, but the fellas I been hanging with/listnin’ to, are pretty deep dudes.
Gretel and friends? Shallow as the puddle with the dog turd in it, at the end of the driveway.
But, the manner in which I interacted with these intelligent/ thoughtful men is also the problem. On a gawd damn screen.
I can interface with all the Christians, and saved people, and Muslim haters, and youth haters, and black haters, and patriots, and border freaks, and superior folks, and jaded and cynical folks, and drunk people, and democrats, and Covid “survivors”, but not the scared people-they move away from every one, and everything, quickly. Except if their face is firmly planted in the lit up, rectangular black hole, sucking soul.
Go, go, go. Faster, faster, faster.
Maybe that theory is correct, but the implementation is off.
If I’m not mistaken, Daniel said that, he/we ain’t gonna be dyin’ of old age.
If his philosophy is correct, then shouldn’t I/we be pursuing that happiness with both hands, so to speak?
That’s gonna require a happiness rethink.
Like Manfred, I derive great pleasure from making music. I’m just unable to pursue this happiness with “both” hands. It’s especially unfortunate, because it is one of the best ways that I have found, to not only avoid all of the wars/conflicts, but to sometimes mitigate the harm, and cause a pause, for reflection.
I remember when we had occupy encampments being torn down. It seems like the bulldozing, and destruction hasn’t stopped. It’s just targeting desperation encampments, in these here parts anyway.
What can I say?
I live on colonized soil, at the site of an ongoing genocide, of the red nations. Anyone with a brain knows this. Anyone with a conscience can’t ignore it.
And, then there are the assaults, launched from this colonized dirt, upon the rest of the planet.
How can happiness even dwell in this place?
Maybe by trying to make peace? Somehow?
It ain’t gonna happen by “screen”.