A thought. The perception by those in power today is that history runs in a straight, progressive line. It leads to a sense of inevitability about historic process. But, it seems that this is a shallow, more wish-fulfillment idea. Instead, history is cyclical and all processes must address the real changes that take place. The example of the mass production of guns in the 1770s is an example. I've felt that the smart phone is also one of those technological disrupters. In this case, it means that nothing is hidden. And the people in India, Africa, and elsewhere in the world can develop relationships of shared interest on a global scale. This isn't the same as knowing what is going on through social media. That is just a new cultural form of mass communication, for better or worse. What it does mean is that people can acquire new ideas and skills through their engagement with others around the world.
My question is where are we in the cycle of conflict between Merchantilism and Capitalism? Another way of viewing this is as the conflict between centralization and decentralization. I call this the Two Global Forces. There is a global force of centralized institutions of governance and finance and there is a global force of decentralized networks of relationships. The way I see things is that the only way the Merchantilists can remain in power is to destroy the world that they created. The only way Capitalism can be sustained is at the margins, at the periphery of society, in small towns that reach agreement to care for one another.
Some of the evidence of this view I see in the growing split in the political parties. Groups within the parties are making alignment decisions between foreign and domestic political policies, or more broadly, Global and Local orientations. In saying this, my sense is that we don't know anything about what will take place in the future. All we can do is build relationships of respect, trust, and mutuality in order to together weather the storm of conflict that is before us.
"I characterize myself not as “conservative,” so much as “retrograde”. I am stodgy by nature, and believe in learning from the best-practices of the past." I have tried to popularise the hashtag #ForwardToThePast,, a play on Back to the Future (with GIFs to reinforce the humour) but my twitter reach and/or lack of interest has made this a damp squib. I think this sentiment is especially important at this historical juncture, faced as we are by resource bottlenecks (especially in oil and other commodities) which necessitate a simplification of "Western Civ" as Jim Kunstler calls it.
I'm increasingly of the opinion that Net Zero and the political hijacking of climate alarmism - although the crisis still appears to me to be founded in essence on solid science - is a cover story for peak oil, insolvent institutions, and a ruse to push through the whole Great Reset agenda the oligarchs have chosen to resolve this predicament.
And learning the lessons of what worked in the past (low-tech, low-throughput, successful and sophisticated ancient civilisations), plus what is still working in some contemporary regions of the world, can give us hope that future generations will yet thrive if voluntary simplicity supercedes technological (fascist) utopianism.
"In Mercantilism, merchants didn’t make products. They merely sailed to other countries and picked up finished goods there and transported them back home to sell them at a premium... Capitalism dispenses with the need for slaves and colonies."?
So mercantilism is colonialism, with its slaves and colonies?
I'm autistic myself, though never non-verbal that I know of. It's made a mess of my life, but my perception is such that I see much that others miss, while missing much of the obvious that most everybody else sees. So I live on the fringes, even at 73, although there has been healing and it is ongoing. After what I've seen of society the fringes are fine, thank you, and you can have your bright lights and loud noises, and mirrors in public spaces. But autism is not something I recommend.
Gosh Unbekoming, your substack is an education in itself.
The stuff you find and share....thank you so much.
Wow. That was the best podcast I’ve ever watched. Thank you.
Good stuff, I like it. I'm a 1/4th the way through Tragedy & Hope.
This is excellent.
A thought. The perception by those in power today is that history runs in a straight, progressive line. It leads to a sense of inevitability about historic process. But, it seems that this is a shallow, more wish-fulfillment idea. Instead, history is cyclical and all processes must address the real changes that take place. The example of the mass production of guns in the 1770s is an example. I've felt that the smart phone is also one of those technological disrupters. In this case, it means that nothing is hidden. And the people in India, Africa, and elsewhere in the world can develop relationships of shared interest on a global scale. This isn't the same as knowing what is going on through social media. That is just a new cultural form of mass communication, for better or worse. What it does mean is that people can acquire new ideas and skills through their engagement with others around the world.
My question is where are we in the cycle of conflict between Merchantilism and Capitalism? Another way of viewing this is as the conflict between centralization and decentralization. I call this the Two Global Forces. There is a global force of centralized institutions of governance and finance and there is a global force of decentralized networks of relationships. The way I see things is that the only way the Merchantilists can remain in power is to destroy the world that they created. The only way Capitalism can be sustained is at the margins, at the periphery of society, in small towns that reach agreement to care for one another.
Some of the evidence of this view I see in the growing split in the political parties. Groups within the parties are making alignment decisions between foreign and domestic political policies, or more broadly, Global and Local orientations. In saying this, my sense is that we don't know anything about what will take place in the future. All we can do is build relationships of respect, trust, and mutuality in order to together weather the storm of conflict that is before us.
I've written extensively about the Two Global Forces idea at https://edbrenegar.substack.com/p/the-two-global-forces-series
Thank you.
Thank you Ed, appreciate the thoughts and comment.
Fantastic interview! You are hitting one home run after another! Really impressive work! 🙌
Thank you Toby 🙏
"I characterize myself not as “conservative,” so much as “retrograde”. I am stodgy by nature, and believe in learning from the best-practices of the past." I have tried to popularise the hashtag #ForwardToThePast,, a play on Back to the Future (with GIFs to reinforce the humour) but my twitter reach and/or lack of interest has made this a damp squib. I think this sentiment is especially important at this historical juncture, faced as we are by resource bottlenecks (especially in oil and other commodities) which necessitate a simplification of "Western Civ" as Jim Kunstler calls it.
I'm increasingly of the opinion that Net Zero and the political hijacking of climate alarmism - although the crisis still appears to me to be founded in essence on solid science - is a cover story for peak oil, insolvent institutions, and a ruse to push through the whole Great Reset agenda the oligarchs have chosen to resolve this predicament.
And learning the lessons of what worked in the past (low-tech, low-throughput, successful and sophisticated ancient civilisations), plus what is still working in some contemporary regions of the world, can give us hope that future generations will yet thrive if voluntary simplicity supercedes technological (fascist) utopianism.
"In Mercantilism, merchants didn’t make products. They merely sailed to other countries and picked up finished goods there and transported them back home to sell them at a premium... Capitalism dispenses with the need for slaves and colonies."?
So mercantilism is colonialism, with its slaves and colonies?
I'm autistic myself, though never non-verbal that I know of. It's made a mess of my life, but my perception is such that I see much that others miss, while missing much of the obvious that most everybody else sees. So I live on the fringes, even at 73, although there has been healing and it is ongoing. After what I've seen of society the fringes are fine, thank you, and you can have your bright lights and loud noises, and mirrors in public spaces. But autism is not something I recommend.