We find ourselves at a moment where the financial and political systems that have dominated for decades are failing in a spectacular and irredeemable fashion. Those who pull the levers are (as usual) attempting to take advantage of the situation by rapaciously snatching and consolidating more wealth and power, while leaving the general public to rot. When faced with such a historic moment, one should assume a certain degree of responsibility to make sure the next paradigm ends up better than the one we’re leaving. If we fail to think deeply about an improved vision and framework for the future, someone else will do it for us.
From my perspective, humanity remains stuck within antiquated paradigms that generally function via predatory and authoritarian structures. We’ve been taught — and have largely accepted — that the really important decisions must be handled in a centralized manner by small groups of technocrats and oligarchs. As a result, we basically live within feudal constructs cleverly surrounded by entrenched myths of democracy and self-government. We’d prefer to be lazy rather than take any responsibility for the state of the world.
Empires are not democratic.
The U.S. is an empire.
The idea the U.S. is a democracy is a myth. https://t.co/LlCvzbgzbL— Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) April 20, 2020
We’re now at a point where simply recognizing current structures as predatory and authoritarian isn’t good enough. We require a distinct and superior political philosophy that can appeal to others likewise extremely dissatisfied with the status quo. My belief is humanity’s next paradigm should swing heavily in the direction of decentralization and localism.
Decentralization and localism aren’t exactly the same, but can play well together and offer a new path forward. The simplest way to describe decentralization to Americans is to look at the political framework laid out in the U.S. Constitution.
As discussed in the 2018 piece, The Road to 2025 (Part 4) – A Very Bright Future If We Demand It:
At the federal level, a separation of powers between the three branches of government: the legislative, the executive and the judicial was a key component of the Constitution. The specific purpose here was to prevent an accumulation of excessive centralized power within a specific area of government…
Beyond a separation of powers at the federal level, the founding founders made sure that the various states had tremendous independent governance authority in their own right in order to further their objective of decentralized political power.
Localism takes these Constitutional ideas of political decentralization and pushes them further, by viewing the municipality or county as the most ethical and logical seat of self-governance. The basic idea, which I tend to agree with, is that genuine self-government does not scale well. A one-size fits all approach to governance not only ends up making everyone unhappy, it also entrenches a self-serving political and oligarchical class at the top of a superstate which makes big decisions for tens, if not hundreds of millions, with little accountability or oversight. This is pretty much how the world functions today.
While localism implies relative political decentralization, decentralization is not always localism. One of the best examples of this can be found in bitcoin. Unlike traditional monetary policy, which is handled in a topdown manner by a tiny group of unelected technocrats working on behalf of Wall Street, there’s no bitcoin politburo. There’s no CEO, there’s no individual or organization to call or pressure to dramatically change things out of desire or political expediency. The protocol is specifically designed to prevent that. It’s designed to operate in a way that makes all sorts of people uncomfortable because they’re used to someone “being in control.” We’ve been taught that centralization works well, but the reality is political and economic centralization concentrates power, makes the public lazy and ultimately winds up in a state of authoritarian feudalism.
Bitcoin also demonstrates how decentralization and localism, though not quite the same, can complement one another well in an interconnected planet. Imagine a world where governance is largely occurring at a local level, but global trade remains desirable. You’d want a politically neutral, decentralized and permissionless money to conduct such transactions. Similarly, a free and decentralized internet allows the same sort of thing in the realm of communications. Regions that can’t grow coffee will still want coffee, and people in New York will still want to chat with people in Barcelona. Decentralized systems allow for the best of both worlds — localism combined with continued global interconnectedness.
The big question all of us should be asking ourselves right now is: When should small groups of people be making extremely important decisions for the masses? My answer would be almost never, yet that’s the world most of us live in irrespective of which nation-state we call home.
The pendulum has swung so far in the direction of centralization, oligarchy and authoritarianism that the whole thing is breaking down down under its own weight. Those in charge are doing everything possible to keep it going in that same direction, but we can’t let that happen. What we need is a new era defined by decentralization and localism.
For more, see my 5-part series on localism.
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We need to start a discussion on two topics that are related. We need Debt Cancellation which was practiced by the kings of ancient Sumer and Babylon starting 4,400 years ago. Depressions are periods in time when Unpayable Debts are cancelled en masse which contracts the money supply. The Great Depression was severe because 31% of the money supply went away when debts were discharged in bankruptcy court and in foreclosures. 3 million Americans starved to death in the 1930s.
David Rothkopf was a former CEO of Kissinger Associates.In 2008 he wrote the book Superclass in which he says the West is run by Thirty Families and their 6,000 Minions.
The Bilderberg Society is one facet of the \Thirty Families’ control m. mechanisms. I wrote this:
Debt Cancellation Is The Best Way To Take Down Bilderberg
https://vidrebel.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/debt-cancellation-is-the-best-way-to-take-down-bilderberg/
The 30 families take their marching orders from 4 families.
As do all of the so-called “leaders” that we continue to elect.
We will never be free if we don’t have a non-interest bearing currency like President Lincoln’s Greenbacks. In 1933 8 University of Chicago economists and Dr Irving Fisher proposed 100% Money. That is an interest free currency like President Lincoln’s Greenbacks and the end of fractional reserve banking. No longer would Bankers be allowed to loan out $100 for every $10 on deposit. Henceforth, only the Treasury could have created checking account money and printed paper money. The Treasury could have restored the 31% contraction in the money supply and spent all that paper money and checking account money into circulation. Considering the time, I would have built numerous modern highways across country east-west and north south at no cost to the taxpayer. Would have ended the Depression in a year or so. We could have saved most of the 3 million Americans who starved to death. The Chicago Plan was ignored by Wall Street who relied on World War II to stop the starvation on the homefront. I wrote this:
IMF Economists: ‘We Were Wrong.’ Will Someone Please Tell The Press And The Politicians.
https://vidrebel.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/imf-economists-we-were-wrong-will-someone-please-tell-the-press-and-the-politicians/
I’ve been reflecting on a similar theme lately, and my insight is this:
In the same way that a driving fundamental of capitalism (compound interest) makes wealth stratification intrinsic to the system, human cognitive bias (the fact that risk aversion is always greater than perception of opportunity value) will always lead society in the direction of increasing authoritarianism.
Just as the solution to the problem of wealth stratification, as recognised my many older societies was a debt jubilee, we need a similar regular equivalent around authoritarian restrictions.
I’d argue that perhaps the greatest advantage of moving to a more decentralised system for a period is simply to ditch the present restrictions for long enough that we can return to a centralised system and negotiate the boundaries again from scratch. Given the same perception bias, the probability of any society choosing to ditch many of the restrictions that it’s come to believe are “protections” (think airport security theatre as a simply concrete example), are negligibly small. Therefore we need just to something different for long enough for people to drop their expectations of what’s “normal” long enough to have a rational discussion about it.
Maybe the founders were phony, declaring a state based upon no
Constitution but mere signatures on a scrap of paper; the Constitution
was playing at authenticity. It was not a true revolution because no money
or property changed hands; they just wanted to land grab and King George
who had final judicial authority, stood in their way. Read Albert Jay Nocks
book ‘Our Enemy, The State,’ and ‘the Myth of a Guilty Nation.’ The phony
revolution, make-believe Constitution, and land grabbing has never really
ended. The Amerinds were pushed beyond the Mississippi but then soon
‘Manifest Destiny’ was concocted to take everything shore to bloody shore;
a bit later, the Monroe Doctrine implying hegemonic empire of interests
and a permanent installment, militarist imperialism leading economic rape
of the resources of other peoples and geography. The entire history of the
United States might be viewed as one continuous phony revolution by
succeeding generations of inauthentic leaders playing at the game of Nation State, which naturally morphed into The Market State. The result
has been an intermittent but never interrupted slaughter of people for
two and one half centuries. Constitution, Rule of Law were never more than
a tool in the hands of private interests; three branches of government is
paradoxical as they cannot be co-equal, which is a contradiction, and we
all live with the banal and inane charade of Justice.
While decentralisation is an important step, it is only a partial solution to the problem of understanding the right way to apply power. One organisation that has built its success on the way it manages power also takes a hard line with problem egos and has a respectful culture.
https://toughnickel.com/business/The-application-of-power-in-organisations
I agree with the sentiment of the article. More local control, rather than “localism” as a cliche. The problem of corrupt centralised control freak bankster Rockefeller funded things like the W.H.O., is there for all to see now.
I totally agree with the need as Horse commented, for a debt jubilee, and a money system, where money is created by credit (not fractional reserve debt). Any interest on loans made from the money to go back to the state, to pay for infrastructure etc. No interest to the banksters.
See: Old DIck Eastman’s work on this.
Like Milgram and Zimbardo did with the “how” of illegitimate authority and abuse of power, Rudy Rummel has elucidated a comprehensive analysis of the conflict dynamics in his book The Conflict Helix. In short, any action which does not reduce the current conflict increases the likelihood of future conflict.
https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE9.HTM
https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE11.HTM
Great insight, intresting responses, & articles. For my two cents worth applying all the information above I see a few solutions.
– First , everything is on the table ..no sacred cows ..including the constitution , simply because the super rich understand that in order to litigate, one must have the means to do so ( so in & of itself ,its bias ) .
– A person anywhere on earth can only earn ( x amount of money ) …every penny thereafter goes directly to the third world , not in the country it was earned in . That max amount of earnings decided by referendum.
– Dismantlement of all power structures & removal of wealth from all super rich , such as the Bilderberg group etc..
– No person shall be allowed to be in politics for more than a decade , afterwards shall be barred ( by law ) from having any contact with public servants .
– A complete rewrite of a new constitution, we cannot keep holding something so close to our hearts that has outlived its usefulness. Keep most of it but we need to add these points in .
– People currently holding immense power must be shuttered, into internment camps in order to diffuse their hold onto power.
-Military needs to be brought back to the people it is there to serve .
-Generals ( and others who bought & paid for by military contractors removed from office )
-Military personnel who conspire with congressman with money to advance procurement projects stopped , until a new military is formed – Dismantling of the many different branches of government set up to simply spy on people .
– Conviction of corrupt politicians , in order to build trust in societies confidence in government.
– Lawyers paid an average yearly salary. No more than $250,000 for example .
– A new constitution that delineates every , job and what it will pay .. for everything!! A bible of work salaries you may say . And updated every few years . That way every person in a particular field makes the same . That way we abolish the corruption of UNIONS !!
– Abolish unions .
-No more such a thing as “minimum wage “ , going forward it must be a livable wage . To be decided but I would say $25 dollars an hour.
-Bring Back the .” FAIRNESS DOCTRINE “ in order to make journalism………journalism again .
I’m sure I could elaborate even more but as you can see the tasks are mighty and we need to get started , but where ? How ? It seems to me that without outright war we are not yet subjugated enough as a group to get the job started , & most probably won’t until we’re pushed even more into a corner .
My outlook for the human race is certainly not a “Sunshine & Lollipop “ scenario .
Somebody need to step up & put forth this ..very rough platform , and see if they could carry the day with the public . If they could survive the election process !!
OK, try this: get politicians to agree to term limits. When that’s done, we’ll talk.
I couldn’t agree more that the future MUST be more local and decentralized. Our digital world evolved from centralized mainframes with their dumb terminals, single-point of failure and inability to scale, to distributed systems with no single point of failure and infinite ability to scale. Computer are a proxy for human behavior so why is our government acting like a mainframe? For some actual architecture and solutions of what sustainable efficient, decentralized government looks like, check out my book: Locally Grown; The Art of Sustainable Government.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z6S16GS
I don’t really believe in trying to inspire “The People” to make major decisions for themselves. People, like herrings, by nature like to FOLLOW. True leadership therefore is by necessity a reluctant role played “inadvertently” or simply by being found at the head of some followers. – That is the way it should be, and in that sense we can say that the people (the followers) determine the direction.
In that context anyone canvassing or campaigning for followers is by definition a charlatan attempting to take advantage of the phenomenon for personal benefit.
In other words, anyone that WANTS to be a leader is patently unsuitable.
Bill Gates is continuing the work of Monsanto
Fuck Bill Gates! How do you like them apples.
Your “PROBLEM” here is in my opinion ” BITCOIN”. Bitcoin is only useful with the world wide web … aka internet… That is and will be always controlled and why I have zero absolutely no faith in it. While they control the internet and have ways of locking it down… you will have no security using a digital form of currency to deal with others and the theft or lockdown by the rulers will be enevitable.
Well, localization may be wonderful, but the world is not, nor will it ever be, homogeneous. The form of government best suited to defend its people against attack from other forms of government will prevail. So you localize in little groups; how does that fare against an army of the masses under a centralized government? Answer: it doesn’t. There’s no Utopia – only a least bad but successful society. Success in terms of great good for a great number. The poor will always be with us. And cream will rise to the top. It’s intrinsic to life and competition.