Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Firing the Elites

Given what’s happening right now with the EU redux, it’s hard not to write a little something about it, so I won’t even try to resist the temptation. Stock markets are crashing, banks are on the verge of failure, gold is spiking and City of London and Wall Street financial types are running around with their hair on fire. But beyond such financial superficialities, what is really happening is that class warfare is back with a vengeance, so far in the UK with the Brexit referendum, but likely to spread.

In that referendum, the older generations who know which class they belong to voted to fire their malign overlords in Brussels and London, while the younger generations, brainwashed by EU propaganda, did not. Some “experts” claimed that there is some sort of generational divide, but I think that older generations did a smart thing, and that this is adequately explained by the fact that they are smarter. You see, fools tend to die young, and the mere act of surviving is a sign of intelligence. But that’s just a minor side-point.

The main point is that the malign elites very much need to be fired, both in Europe and in the US. There are several problems with them, which I would like to briefly enumerate:

• They tend to be neoliberal, and espouse all of the faulty ideas that come with that failed ideology. The results are plain to see: retirees robbed, young people deprived of meaningful employment; fabulous riches for a tiny elite and austerity for everyone else; more of everything for Germany, less of everything for everyone else. A financial scheme that is fundamentally a Ponzi scheme, is guaranteed to blow up, and may be blowing up as I write this.

• They tend to be under the sway of the neoconservatives in Washington, and together with them they lurch from one disaster to another. The results are again plain to see: an entire list of countries destroyed (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria, the Ukraine), a flood of migrants flooding out of these countries and into Europe in what is the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, and extremely dangerous, and entirely unnecessary provocations against Russia.

• They espouse an ideology that seeks to erase all ethnic and cultural distinctions and that forces a repulsive political correctness on everyone except the Moslems (who are, curiously, considered exempt). Having eliminated most significant human freedoms (including, most significantly, freedom of the press, which in Europe is a captive of corporate interests), the two remaining freedoms that are now championed in Europe are the freedom to rootlessly drift about the continent, and the freedom to engage in any sexual perversion you like, including bestiality and pedophilia.

• But the biggest problem with these transatlantic elites is this: they cannot be fired. The more they fail, the more entrenched they become. Obviously, this has nothing to do with education, or merit, or popularity; it is simply a matter of class. The elites consider themselves to be Übermenschen, elevated far above mere mortals. Democracy is a plaything for them. Most of the time they have been able to manipulate the politics to their advantage. When that fails, the “little people” get to vote over and over again until they “get it right.” But this political fix is now failing, on both sides of the Atlantic, because it would appear that the “little people” have finally had enough.

The automatic recourse is to start insulting the “little people” in an attempt to browbeat them into submission. If they don’t want to see their country overrun by illegal migrants (note that having had you country destroyed by NATO does not qualify you for political asylum) then they are called racist and bigoted. If they fail to grasp some of the finer points of EU’s bureaucratic governance (because, frankly, who would want to waste time on all that nonsense?) then they are called ignorant and misguided. And, most importantly, if there is a financial crash (which was inevitable in any case; see “Ponzi scheme” above) then that is blamed on their bad choices at the polls.

Perhaps most importantly of all, every effort is being made to equate patriotism with nationalism and fascism. Now, this bears explaining, because these concepts are perfectly distinct:

• Patriotism is one’s love of one’s native land and people. It is a natural, organic result of growing up in a certain place among a certain people, who have also grown up there, and who pass along a cultural and linguistic legacy that they all love and cherish. This does not imply that those not of one’s family, neighborhood or region are in any way inferior, but they are not one’s own, and one loves them less.

• Nationalism is a synthetic product generated using public education and is centered around certain hollow symbols: a flag, an anthem, some yellowed pieces of paper, a few creation myths and so on. It is supported by certain rituals (parades, speeches, handing out of medals) that comprise a civic cult. The purpose of nationalism is to support the nation-state. Where nationalism serves the needs of one’s native land and people, nationalism and patriotism become aligned; when it destroys them, nationalism becomes the enemy and patriots form partisan movements, rise up and destroy the nation-state.

• Fascism is the perfect melding of the nation-state and corporations, in the course of which the distinction between public and private interests becomes erased and corporations come to dictate public policy. An almost perfect expression of fascism is the recent transatlantic and transpacific trade agreements negotiated in secret by the Obama administration, which at the moment, to everyone’s great relief, seem to be dead in the water.

It should be obvious that fascism has to be defeated, and if we were to pick just one perfectly good reason to fire the transatlantic elites then it is to thwart this corporate power grab. But it does not stop there, because nationalism and patriotism are also in play. Patriotism is a natural, core human value without which all you have is a rootless population shifting about opportunistically. Nationalism is a relatively recent innovation (nation-states are a 17th century invention) and as such a dangerous one, but in the case of some of the older and more successful nation-states it does provide significant benefits: a cherished cultural tradition anchored to a national language and literature, the ability to keep the peace and to repel outside aggression. And then there is the European Union, with its flag depicting a constellation of stars that are obviously orbiting something—something that could only be a black hole, since it is invisible. The United States is a similarly artificial, synthetic entity of very recent derivation, with its flag obviously depicting a tray of star-shaped cookies which are, most unfortunately, no longer for the “little people” to eat because the elites have decided that they want all the cookies for themselves.

And so they need to be fired. If this is to be done by voting (as opposed to, say, from a cannon) then the object of voting is to elect somebody who is, first and foremost, capable of firing these elites. The British seem to have done this; now it is the Americans’ turn. A somewhat thoughtful question that is sometimes asked (after people are done making spurious claims that Donald Trump is insane, a misogynist, a racist, a fascist, a bad businessman, generally not very nice or whatever else) is whether he is qualified to govern. To my mind, this question reduces to a much simpler question: Is he qualified to fire people? And the answer is, Yes, he most certainly is qualified to fire people. In fact “You’re fired!” is one of his trademark utterances. In fact, he just recently fired his very own campaign manager. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, heads up the entire cohort of people that need to be fired. And that is why I think there is a good chance that the “little people” will finally rise up and vote for somebody who will do just that.

35 comments:

RML said...

"Non-Essential Personnel"

Growing up in Alexandria, Va PWB (pre Washington Beltway), and having had to drive or train into DC for high school, we loved driving in the snow when the Fed Gov declared that non-essential personnel were not required to come to work. The roads were almost empty.

Today, it's as if being a non-essential is an automatic membership in the "club"...the club that allows/promotes a "not-working" ethic. An ethos that rewards non-working with the same salary and benefits as if one was actually working.
And, how does one get notified as a non-essential employee of the government? Is it in the job description?

Then, perhaps now, the Fed Gov was the employer of last resort. If your couldn’t make it in the real world, you could always get a job in the Gov...and, being fired from your position was unheard of.

Anyone (regardless of hairdo) who can pressure-wash the scum that has encrusted Pierre L'Enfant/Benjamin Banneker's marvelous design of the "City-of-Circles" has my unequivocal vote.

NowhereMan said...

I think that Trump, assuming he's elected and that he'll actually attempt to do what he says he'll do, will be shut down in rather short order. Ominous offers will be made, with clear upsides for compliance and even clearer downsides for refusal, and that will be that. Ordinarily, I'd say that he'd just be neutralized politically the old fashioned way, but given his braggadocio and swagger, an example for others will likely be made. Being a business man himself, Trump will likely accept the inevitable immediately and move on. All that said and given the horrible alternative, I'm still willing to take a flyer on Trump and see how it all works out. At this point, what do we have to lose?

Mister Roboto said...

Well, as far as Donald Trump and other demagogues are concerned, I really do think that you have to look at the nature of both the sort of movement and the sort of people behind the individual in order to realize just what sort of tide you would be unleashing on your society by voting for them. That Hillary Clinton and Der Drumpfenfuehrer are our options this November really illustrates what a poisoned well our society and our socio-political discourse has become.

It really makes me fear for my home state that we would be doing well if we can manage to keep this country from plunging head-first into a global thermonuclear war. Sometimes when I get up in the morning and think about how things are right now, I have to ask out loud, "WTF happened to us?"

Alfredo said...

Got my fingers crossed........

Roger said...

I love Dmitry's gibe about the EU flag having an invisible Black Hole in its centre. Original or not, I'm amused. I think that lot of non-mainstream commentators based in the US from conservative to left-leaning, have oversimplified the issues surrounding Britexit, possibly because they yearn for a similar event in the US but are they really prepared to root for Trump or any other demagogic nettle they can grasp? As they say, be careful what you wish for. Nobody doubts that Regime Change is well overdue throughout the Western Hemisphere, especially within the Anglosphere, but the narrative, poor whites v city slickers is way off the mark. Firstly, the constituency from which Britexit (and the UKIP) derived its force is essentially lower middle class and not the poor and disadvantaged who have no voice at all, and who are quietly sidelined in this debate. The demographics tell us that it was the 50+ age group which voted for exit while the under 50s did not. This is exactly the constituency which voted for, and grew up with, Margaret Thatcher and her free-market hokum, which led us to the Neoliberal fork in the road which they took with great glee; in the sure and certain hope that a pot of gold was waiting for them at the end of the rainbow. They supported the Falklands War (a feather in the cap for England) and squirmed at the dénouement in Afghanistan (a black eye for Britain).They are the Disappointed, not the Oppressed Masses. The Remainers on the other hand, are mixed bunch from those that you would indeed count as the urban elite but more significantly, the hollowed-out professional/vocational middle classes who have seen the destruction of their living standards under the Thatcher - Blair – Cameron austerity campaigns and look to Europe as a place where their skills could be transferred in some way. They also understand that the EU is a febrile hedge from the burgeoning Right who have plenty of time for fear and not much for listening and intend to make inroads in what civil liberties remain open. If the Remainers were such an elite group, then why did 48% vote to remain? Another issue is English Nationalism, rather overlooked in the wake of Scottish and Welsh Nationalism. Scotland is furious, and rightly so, and does not want to be dragged away from Europe by a display of English Nationalism that demands continuing hegemony over the British Isles, and will now seek independence of its own and, strangely enough to some, its own membership of the EU. A first-past-the-post plebiscite which effectively disenfranchises 48% of the population is never going to play well, and an attempt to paper over the painfully small margin between the two camps by some sort of vague of appeal to sportsmanship is either naive or disingenuous. Now comes the deluge.

Zoltar said...

My friends are astonished and appalled that I intend to vote for Trump. They simply cannot wrap their minds around the fact that, as atrocious as he is as a person, as unqualified he is to serve as our nation’s chief executive, he is the lesser evil at this dismal juncture.

The inescapable fact is that America’s elites have us headed for certain disaster and that Hillary is their willing tool. Our only hope to escape even some of the consequences of the neoconservatives’ madness is major disruption of the status quo, and Trump is nothing if not disruptive.

I share NowhereMan’s concern that a newly elected President Trump will simply be given a choice between taking orders from those who truly run things and a severely curtailed life expectancy. I am also concerned that our spineless legislative branch may fail to rein in a loose cannon who should rightfully be constrained by the Constitution. But, as serious as these concerns are, they pale compared with the intentions of Hillary and those she serves.

Michael Sosebee said...

Glen Ford of BAR argued in the 2012 election that Obama was not the lesser evil (compared to Mitt Romney) but "the more effective evil". We can all thank boorish Republican intransigence (for no other reason than opposing Obama regardless of policy) for preventing Obama's offer of a "Grand Bargain" that would have gutted Social Security and Medicare.

Deja Vu 2016, charmless Hillary Clinton (the more effective evil) will make a try during her upcoming term (expect a blowout) to make Neo-liberalism the law of the Land (it almost is). I take delight in the Brexit vote to leave the EU. It is one big Fuck You! to the The Ubermensch by the little people.

Unknown said...

The black hole in the middle of the EU flag, about which the stars are orbiting, is the USA.

Unknown said...

So by this thinking, Trump is the chemotherapy to cure the cancer. It might work, it might poison you. I'll buy that.

Ken Barrows said...

Regardless of political machinations, 90% of income gains will go to 1%. That won't change until the culture of infinite growth falls flat on its face.

Tomuru said...

When you think about things globally, just about every engineer, scientist and doctor could be replaced with a much less expensive Indian version. Borders prevent that. Now, the top 1% can live in any part of the world they want and many do that seasonally. The top 10% usually can escape to another country for vacation and live wherever they want within their home country. The next 10% have to be nomadic in order to find enough work. The working class gets gig jobs every now and then near where they live, kind of like detritus feeders. When there is no work they go dormant or die back. Without borders, we all become detritus feeders.

DeVaul said...

Does anyone remember a man named "Ron Paul"?

This man had as much, or even more, support than Trump has, yet at the last possible moment, he bowed out -- taking with him about 4 million in donations, mostly from troops fighting abroad. Considering his age and his reputation as "Dr. No", one would think he would have gone all the way as a matter of principle. But in the end, principles just didn't count, and he faded away.

What principles does Trump have?

Has anyone here been forced by their wife to watch The Apprentice for several years like I have? It's like being whisked away by a Navy Seal rendition team to a CIA black house located "somewhere in southern Poland".

Will he fire everyone all at once? Or will he just sit there while the camera slowly zooms in on him and take his time, furrowing his eyebrows while subjecting us to an unbearable and tortuous wait while he decides which incompetent burocrat out of several hundred thousand to fire that night?

Since Trump is essentially an actor (and part-time swindler), I can only assume that he is playing a part: that of spoiler (like Ron Paul, who dined with the Romneys on weekends to plot strategy). His job is to remove all competition from the one candidate that has been chosen by Wall Street, the Pentagon, and the leaders of the Anglo-Israeli Empire, for which he will be reimbursed generously at a later date (leaving us holding the bag, of course).

I predict he will bow out at the most opportune moment, allowing Princess Hillary to ascend the throne. At my age, I can see no other outcome, unless the Chinese suddenly dump one trillion dollars on the FOREX exchange just for the heck of it.

(That would be China's way of saying to America: "You're fired".)

Cortes said...

I suspect that the great and wonderful ( and obviously THEIR offspring will never be subjects) see themselves as somewhat Olympian, actors (both MF) able to toy with us little people like so many helpless pawns - Jason and the Argonauts/Clash of the Tiitans spring to mind.

Reality always intrudes.

Toutatis said...

You say that "older generations voted to fire their malign overlords in Brussels and London, while the younger generations did not". I think it is a little bit more complicated:
-- 64% of the young did not vote, and only 17% of the old (i.e. above 65).
-- it follows that the young who did not vote for the Brexit represent only about 27% of all the young, but the old who did not vote for the Brexit represent 32% of all the old, more than for the young !!!!

Unknown said...

Brexit is so definitely about democracy... here in Denmark we have had Lykketoft with his 36 years in the Danish Parliament and now some kind of Secretary in UN saying "It is a mistake to let people vote as in Brexit... it is not good for Democracy" ! And Uffe Elleman Jensen former FM DK, that "Referenda are not good for Democracy" (He is voted for DK taking part in the Iraq war.... AND the current leader of the Social Democratic party (2nd largest) came up with this "A referendum and Democracy are 2 different things" (It is hard not to be laughing at this total nonsense and stupidity... they have managed to show themselves in public with not even a shirt on ... so yea the Danes the people that is want to exit the EU too... Merkel and Juncker have been quite uncouth (to be expected... worse than the 6 years olds in the school yard) ... and one of the many presidents of some or other committee in EU by name of Schulz, said "It is not EU's philosophy that the crowd can decide it's fate" .... (((who the hell do they think pay their wages ???))) Well we are going to have some fun firing the lot... and then work a lot more with Putin and his team in Russia and hopefully Trump in the USA...

Ien in the Kootenays said...

My favourite part of this post was Dmitri's description of the difference between patriotism and nationalism. Just one comment. May I propose we call the love of one's place and people Matriotism? After all, it is Mother Russia.

VyseLegendaire said...

The Breferendum results are the first time in this whole 8 year saga of collapse that I have sensed the potential for the body politic, in each nation but being global as it is, to potentially - while fighting this monster of neo-feudalism - not itself become a monster, as the abyss stares, begrudgingly, back into it.

Mark in AUS said...

People are conflating the symptom with the disease, the disease is the failure of all Western institutions to represent broadly the needs of their peoples (Congress, the Fed, the political parties, the IMF, the press, the EU) in favor of the Permanent War billionaire elite Panama Papers crowd. The bigotry and fascism that result from this systemic failure are just symptoms, cure the disease and the symptoms will fade to the background.

Unknown said...

Ha! Like the new artwork! Was worth a couple of good solid LOLs. It has a nice toilet-like vorticity to it too.

VyseLegendaire said...


@ Mark in AUS:

I'm afraid the failure is greater than that. The answer to the current predicament is only anarchy, or an abolition of states - as evidenced by the failure of the most minimalistic, most determined and most capable of states in history - potentially even conceivably - to carry on their assigned task with a sense of responsibility, nobility, and self-sacrifice…. instead becoming staffed by the most noxious, self serving rodents combining the worst characteristics of history's worst despots but doing away entirely with the bald-faced insanity and grandiosity, being as they are begrudgingly congenial and occasionally just a bit comically affrontal.

alex carter said...

De Vaul you make a very good point. Running for president is fun. Actually being president is a lot less fun. Maybe this is just a fun way for Drumpf to make a few million, be a center of attention, etc for a few months and then he'll take the money and bow out?

Considering as a "financial genius" he'd have been better off simply putting that "small loan" into an S&P 500 fund, if he actually becomes president, if he's smart he'll hire Hillary's advisors and continue Obama's policies, and if he's as stupid as he looks, he'll actually try being hands-on, and that's when things will get really bad.

Manna ם ֶחֶלּ ַה said...

We'd all like to think we know what's going on, but no one knows wtf is going on. Maybe something is being birthed. I've been there for the birth of two of my children and birthing is messy. It appears catastrophic. I'd like to believe we are moving toward something better. We'll get what we get and keep going. I thank you all for your brilliant insight and ideas.

laudyms said...

This all makes sense to me too, except the last part.

Trump is not qualified for anything but leading a Barnum and Bailey carnival act where he promises you 72 virgins while he picks your pocket. (His whole history is consistent.) Many also see him as a construct to get Hillary elected as well. Being faced with this choice is ludicrous and damns both major parties to the rubbish heap.

Americans are regularly invited to deplore democracy, especially through the choices we are offered. Both the Libertarian and Green party candidates speak clearly, and offer the only real choice this time around.

Hammurubai said...

You're missing the point. Many people dislike Trump on a personal level immensely. Though he's accidentally blurted out some very prescient observations (sort of like the court-fool), the reason why so many people are supporting him is because he's singlehandedly destroying the Republican party, leaving a massive gaping hole that could be filled by anything.
The US is long-past the point of saving, people who honestly care about the country's future are hoping for accelerationism. Whether he wins *or* loses, there are sure to be riots across the US.

I think a lot depends of how intelligent Trump really is. I've spoken with people of late who've suggested that Trump will purposely detonate his own campaign once he truly realises what he's up against.

A side observation, does anyone else see numerous similarities between Trump and Vladimir Zhirinovsky?

DogMan said...

My sincere hope is that Trump will act as a " plumber" and work to expose and pump out the sewage in our Capitol. The country really can't move forward the way it is. Perhaps having Federal Marshalls show up at a few politician offices and "detain" everyone as peoples of interest will create some New Sheriff in Town attitude. His appointments will say a lot too. DOJ must be gutted of the filth that resides there. I think Trump is just the guy to do it, butt crack and all. Godspeed to him.

Unknown said...

Mr. Orlov your points on Fascism are right on . We are experiencing Fascism around the world . This round has no bad mustaches or ovens, yet, but Fascism none the less . I watch with glee as central bankers around the world have gone negative with interest rates and they are buying up both corporate and government bonds

DeVaul said...

@ Alex Carter

You make a good point too. I did not think of him simply running "for fun", but that would be totally within his character, which extends back some 40 years -- and he gets PAID for it too! Trump is a shrewd man. He has no qualms about leaving anyone and everyone hanging in the lurch while he laughs all the way to the bank.

I find it curious that many people actually believe he will "change" things if elected. To me, this is wishful thinking on a GRAND SCALE. That is, however, just my opinion. I am not a political expert, but again, at my age, I now know that a person's character does not suddenly change at the age of 60.

I also find it curious that many believe he is "after" the same group of people to whom he belongs. What? At most, he is simply feeling the pulse of the down and out and then saying what they want to hear. Ron Paul did the same thing for his special audience. The similarities are eerie.

There is one special difference that I would like to point out: I never saw in Ron Paul the possibility of him becoming a dictator. Trump, on the other hand, is a man so conceited that he could become intoxicated with his own success and then feel as if he had been given a divine right to rule anyway he saw fit.

Hillary, on the other hand, is just a Muppet. She has no plans to cut the strings that hang above her and move her own limbs herself. She is cut and dried, whereas the rich fear Trump will be served up to them raw. That pool of blood on the plate does not scare the poor and disenfranchised since they feel they have nothing more to lose anyway. The hysterics are coming from the rich and their servants.

However, I would pay special note to the recent announcement by Mitch McConnell, who is the REAL leader of the Republican Party, that Trump would not be such a "bad candidate" for their party. This tells me that some kind of agreement has been reached with him in meetings kept secret from us. I have no idea what they are, but my guess is he will bow out at the proper time and receive compensation for it.

As usual, I will not vote. The lesser of two gangsters is no choice at all. A blank ballet is all the empire ever got from me, and it is all it will ever get from me. It is my own form of resistance.

rapier said...

Well so much for stock markets crashing. Actually so much for British EU exit.That isn't going to happen. Nobody in power wants it too so how is it going to be 'negotiated'?

If the US was full of radicals then Trump could win. They voting for him to bring the system down, with Trump going down too rather quickly. There are no radicals in America and a loony publicity hound with a borderline personality isn't going to get enough votes to win. Not if the establishment doesn't want him to and they don't.

I have no crystal ball but a systematic reset could be many many years off. Maybe not but maybe so. It would do everyone well not to get emotionally involved in seeing such around every corner. Where only bad news and bad things make one 'happy', in a way. There are far better ways to live ones life.

Mister Roboto said...

Well, one thing about Trump that I haven't seen anybody here mention yet is that he doesn't have either the funding or the organizational structure in place necessary for waging even a minimally muscular presidential campaign. The same lack of organizational acumen was true of his candidacy during the primaries, and it was only the sheer force of his negative populism with Fox News viewers that overcame this disadvantage. Combine this reality with the Trump's divisive rhetoric in the wake of the Orlando shootings and it becomes no surprise that Hillary's lackluster campaign is enjoying a twelve-point advantage in the polling data right now. My point here is that I am starting to believe the conspiracy-theory that Trump may be a dummy-candidate whose aim is to make sure Ms. "It's-My-Turn" gets into the Oval Office essentially unopposed. And reading a news analysis such as this makes that a very unsettling prospect.

Anonymous said...

People like Claudia say that Trump is not qualified for anything. I would like to point out that our current WH occupant was even less qualified when he was first elected and I would go even further to say that even AFTER 7.5 years in office, Trump is still more qualified than Obozo if elected in Nov.

And for De Vaul, "Hillary is a muppet?" Are you serious? Man, get your head out of your ass and take a look at all she has accomplished ... NOTHING good. She has accumulated titles and run for office. But she has left death and destruction and corruption in her long, wide, wake over the years. That is enough for me to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. Hillary is simply bad news in an evil way.

DeVaul said...

Well, LetsPlay, your name seems to give you away as an internet troll.

Yes, Hillary is a Muppet. I do not believe that she had the power to order anything during her time as Secretary of State without prior approval from those she worked for. And I never said "Muppets are nice, cuddly little puppets", which you clearly implied. Perhaps your head is stuck somewhere equally unpleasant.

The trail of death and destruction she and her predecessors left behind benefited those that paid millions to have them elected. Simple. She is not a rogue cabinet minister, and neither are any of the others. They follow orders given to them from those who benefit (financially) from their atrocities. She will do the same as president. The game plan was set out long ago, and she is expected to follow it.

If Trump was serious about getting elected, he would, as Mister Roboto noted, put together a real campaign with grassroots support and not simply rely on one television network that not everyone watches. He would also stop sabotaging his own campaign by not making asinine remarks when he is so close to the final stretch.

He is a businessman, right? He is a millionaire, right? He knows how to destroy other people in the business world, right? Then why can't he put together a real campaign that looks like something other than another reality TV show?

Like Ron Paul, I can see him already starting to pack up his road show by decreasing his voter base. He will blame others for his failure, which is always in his nature to do. Secretly, he will have used his huge persona to overshadow the other candidates like the Green Party, Libertarian Party, the Communist Party, and the others that we never see or hear of. Mission accomplished.

Macon Richardson said...

Happy Unicorn said, "The black hole in the middle of the EU flag, about which the stars are orbiting, is the USA." Reminds me of Henry Miller's 1935 comment in Tropic of Cancer: "America is the epitome of doom. It will drag the whole world down into the bottomless pit." The Euro stars are not orbiting, they are caught in that vortex and America's NATO is the epitome of doom.

Anonymous said...

Just a side note on history. Yes, the nation-state is a relatively recent invention, but I think (when well managed) it is better than its predecessor, which was absolute monarchy. Before the rise of the nation-state, when someone spoke of England or France, they were as often referring to the monarch as to the land or people the monarch ruled (see Shakespeare's works). Patriotism, after all, shares a root with Patriarchy, with the king as father of the people.

I'll leave the implications of that idea to others.

Anonymous said...

"You see, fools tend to die young, and the mere act of surviving is a sign of intelligence. But that’s just a minor side-point."
Au contraire, the mellow, caring Western civilization nurtures,and cares for the idiots which then survive in great numbers - and vote for Bremain.

Jean-Paul Printemps said...

Dmitry, The nation-state can be for most purposes equated with empire and of course as a social innovation, giving people over vast geographical extent identical privileges or amenities, was introduced much earlier than the 17th century. What I see in the 17th century is the true face of fascism, with rule by combination, and merchant families who need no introduction, such as Du Pont and Rothchild, hold sway. Monarchs after that point were marginilised, deposed, and/or experienced a flight (rather a rollover) of capital most literally.

The European Union it must be remembered did not impose the Euro by force. As it stood Britain never traded in Euros. So much talk about the regulators in Brussels, but it is significant that these regulations protected European traditional foodstuffs, probably the only European tradition remaining, against the genetic centralization championed by Monsanto and its cronies in Washington. So we can look to the ancient merchant families who are behind the globalization of the GMO agro agenda for this latest--possibly fatal--blow to the European Union.