Apparently JRS spoke too soon. Neoliberalism and the insane quest for perpetual exponential growth are still here. This malignant creed still holds sway in congresses and parliaments from Washington to London, Ottawa to Canberra.
Fifteen years is a pretty wide miss but, for all that, I'm not sure that Ralston Saul was necessarily wrong. Perhaps he just failed to understand that the nature of the next interregnum would be like none other before it. It would look like this:
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Australia, today |
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| Fort McMurray |
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| Paradise, California |
This is Ralston Saul's interregnum. This is the end of neoliberalism because it's either neoliberalism or us. At some point either we choose to change on our own terms or we will be changed regardless. Time is definitely not on our side.
What's your idea for the next great thing? Or would you prefer to just keep electing the same political hacks who have quite knowingly delivered us into this global hell?
Here's a YouTube pundit who calls himself Ozzy Man to introduce you to their leader, Scott Morrison. This is definitely NSFW. There's plenty of coarse language. It's not for delicate ears.
8 comments:
15 years is a rounding error.
Malthus was off by centuries. ;-)
NPoV, was the point of this post obscure? It's about how and why neoliberalism ends and whether we'll survive it. It's about how this climate crisis that has fallen on us like a ton of bricks has rendered our blind pursuit of perpetual exponential growth a lethal obsession.
Robert Frost predicted that it would be a choice between Fire or Ice, Mound. Seems like there's only one choice.
Some choice, Owen.
not obscure. just adding some desperately needed gallows humour
"always look on the bright side of death
even when you take your terminal breath"
If we are indeed transferring to another politic and mercantile it will, at present rate, be a theocracy.
Be it the guy with the AR15 in one hand and a bible in the other or the guy with the Koran in one hand and a AK47 in the other , it matters not.
These people use religion to empower themselves.
I see a future of more consolidation of power and wealth driven by AI and regional wars of convenience.
TB
Things to come; above my payscale!
The weapon of the future to be used by those that can afford it.
This will not be your local MLA or Councillor.
https://www.cigionline.org/articles/how-quantum-tech-could-upend-global-power-structures
TB
Yuval Harari in "Homo Deus" sees a more sinister future, TB. He contends we will enter a world of plebs and genetically-enhanced super humans as the richest seek a form of manipulated evolution thus creating a new aristocracy for them and a relative state of feudalism for the rest. He foresees a world of algorithms in which emerges a new religion - datism that will displace Abrahamic and other mainstream religions.
A quantum-tech revolution would seem consistent with this bearing in mind that it would be something the advantaged would want subject to some form of exclusivity. What is the benefit if it's universal?
Some months ago I read an account of a futurist from some New York university who was asked to appear at a luncheon function for some well-to-do Wall Streeters. The appearance fee was enough that he jumped at it and busied himself writing a speech.
When he arrived he found just three hedge fund guys at a table waiting for him. They weren't interested in a speech. They wanted to ask him questions about what was coming. In particular they wanted to know how to control their personal security if money suddenly became irrelevant. How would they keep their muscle guys from turning on them?
You see these 'higher purpose persons' are cognizant of the challenges the future poses to their privilege and are focused on how to safeguard their edge.
Harari suggests they'll go into some pretty hardcore genetic engineering to create a class of super humans. Wouldn't the fuhrer have loved that?
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