tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post6016089921772607067..comments2024-03-22T05:20:44.167-07:00Comments on The Disaffected Lib: 2017 - The Year of The Great Unraveling?The Mound of Soundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-33900150292487321022016-12-28T04:27:33.444-08:002016-12-28T04:27:33.444-08:00.. if you make a great leap of imagination.. and M..... if you make a great leap of imagination.. and McLuhanism..<br />we could say the Donald is the Medium of the USA<br />The content is irrelevant.. the message is frightening..<br />He's no better & no worse.. than Putin, The Soviet's Medium & Message<br />No better or worse that a freak named Netanyahu in Israel<br />but make no mistake - they are The News.. the noise, the nasty, the creepy<br />and mainstream media refuses to turn off the tap that keeps on giving<br /><br />They say Power Corrupts.. but these 3 dirtbag amigos are way down that road..<br />OK, Donald et al are building ramps to come n go from the great American Trough<br />but don't say Donald aint experienced.. he's been looting n screwing for decades<br /><br />I do believe Trump will crash & burn..<br />probably taking out any remaining faith in The Dems & GOP & US election system<br />Americans were handed 2 evils to choose from.. and picked him.<br />On the face of it, its mind blowing how those two 'political' power structures<br />managed to bamboozle & dazzle the population<br />and come up with a crooked dirtbag as Commander in Chief..<br />I mean the crew of Air Force One will salute this turd !<br /><br />Anyway.. another great essay you wrote - will review again in detail !<br />Always stimulating, always informative, often frightening..<br />the salamanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853337802990122289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-59334675999437274672016-12-27T19:36:34.194-08:002016-12-27T19:36:34.194-08:00I always blame Microsoft.I always blame Microsoft.John B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-12665064655770388072016-12-27T16:08:07.749-08:002016-12-27T16:08:07.749-08:00Point taken, Anon. The US variant does seem to be ...Point taken, Anon. The US variant does seem to be taking over and I'm not helping.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-85792049024926560242016-12-27T15:46:00.761-08:002016-12-27T15:46:00.761-08:00Well, the spelling is unravelling anyway, consider...Well, the spelling is unravelling anyway, considering we're supposed to be Canadian. I mean, really.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-32752484033623039772016-12-27T13:08:24.652-08:002016-12-27T13:08:24.652-08:00An excellent -- and depressing -- post, Mound.An excellent -- and depressing -- post, Mound.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-4067084605087805812016-12-27T13:07:06.103-08:002016-12-27T13:07:06.103-08:00Anyong.....I just have to leave you with this: &qu...Anyong.....I just have to leave you with this: "I saw Trumpy kissing Puty Claus underneath the Kremlin towers so bright`. Have a great Christmas week and all the best in 2017. ASMEAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-26127870662203634162016-12-27T12:46:00.675-08:002016-12-27T12:46:00.675-08:00Pamela, I would recommend two books: Diamond's...Pamela, I would recommend two books: Diamond's "Collapse, how societies choose to succeed or fail," and James Galbraith's "Predator State."<br /><br />Jared Diamond explores societal collapse by natural causes, i.e. not in the aftermath of a disastrous war. What he finds is that, 1) societies tend to collapse at their zenith, 2) that collapse occurs rapidly, and 3) that, in many cases, collapse is foreseen well in advance. It seems to be common to human nature that people will do plainly destructive things today realizing that they are bequeathing hellish conditions to those two or three generations ahead. <br /><br />Benefitting today at the cost of generations to come can even be expressed in economic terms as "rational." This emerges from an ideology that sees restraint and posterity as sacrifices that are inherently irrational. That this gives rise to a nihilistic philosophy is of no importance in this perverse but now mainstream creed. Its motto is "because we can" and gives no currency to whether we should. The moral factor is discounted to irrelevance.<br /><br />The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-64117375928312930772016-12-27T12:32:08.775-08:002016-12-27T12:32:08.775-08:00Thanks for the NYT link, Lorne. What a guaranteed ...Thanks for the NYT link, Lorne. What a guaranteed income means to society is unclear. Much depends on how it is disbursed, the manner in which it is funded and whether it can be protected from those who see in it an opportunity to be exploited by the rich and powerful.<br /><br />James Galbraith has an interesting take on guaranteed income as imperative while we move into a highly automated economy. With fewer workers on the payroll, the owners of automation will naturally seek to accumulate as much of the profit as possible in their own hands. Yet that will lead to inequality that undermines the viability of the consumer market on which the robot-class ultimately depends. You may not have to pay wages to a robot but that robot won't be shopping for the products you produce either. You may reap greater profits by automated production of toilet paper but if the only arse who can afford to wipe is the billionaire next door it won't matter. Plainly the case is made for some programme of government redistribution of wealth.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-26354187527749248162016-12-27T11:53:36.662-08:002016-12-27T11:53:36.662-08:00Thx. for this posting. It really puts things in pe...Thx. for this posting. It really puts things in perspective.Canada will not escape this unraveling , in fact this neoliberal government will be a contributor.<br /><br />How many times do we have to have a complete social, economic and political collapse before<br />we start identifying the causes.<br /><br />That would require intelligent and critical thinking, something as you said is in short supply.<br /><br />I wonder how many of a societies collapses throughout history, or just even in the 20th century have been preceded by ignorance and anti-intellectualism. <br /><br />I think many people living in democracies do not understand that their governments can become and are becoming authoritarian tyrants. I think they will find that out in 2017.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07842215982128591742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-22347578732914142492016-12-27T11:28:36.422-08:002016-12-27T11:28:36.422-08:00Times are becoming desperate, Mound. See what you ...Times are becoming desperate, Mound. See what you think of this: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/business/economy/universal-basic-income-finland.html?_r=0<br /><br />Is is a possible solution to the ravages of neoliberalim, or only a stop-gap measure to forestall the inevitable collapse?Lornehttp://www.politicsanditsdiscontents.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.com