(first draft, comments are welcome, text part of a series. pls read in order.)
Terror: Why do Muslims commit acts of terror?
Terror: Does the West commit acts of terror?
Terror: Land of the free?
Intro
The previous text probably
does not conform with the world view many in the West have. As a free
thinking person you might have the following reaction:
The view presented does
not conform with my daily life. We are not controlled by power hungry
industrialists. We have freedom. We have free speech. There are free
elections and multiple political parties. My society is not motivated
by greed and consumerism. We have human rights and social programs.
Well, let me explain. We
live in a two faced society. There is the public face you just
described, the just society, and the hidden face of exploitation and
control.
The paradox
The main result of the
European enlightenment period was a transfer of control from
organized religion to the individual. Man became the master of his
own fate, instead of God. We found out we could do things ourselves,
instead of relying upon the Church. This resulted in a number of
developments that had both 'positive' and 'negative' outcomes,
depending upon whom you ask. The rejection of rule by nobility,
humanism, the rights of the individual, democracy, free competition,
private industry, etc.
One of these developments
was a strong sense of social justice. The right to pursue happiness
unhindered by church and state, and free from exploitation by others.
This sense of social justice clashes with the need for control. You
can't maximize your own control if you are not allowed to take it
away from others. This creates a paradox. You can't have a society
where both social justice and the pursuit of control at the cost of
others are prevalent.
And yet we have one.
The powers that be
People seek out people
that are like themselves and have similar goals. Those that hold
positions of power are no different. They band together to further
their collective interest. This is natural human behavior.
In the Netherlands the
rich members of the Dutch East India company held great sway over
national policy during our Golden Age in the 17th century. In the British Empire the upper class formed cabals
to help each other out, dividing positions and land in the colonies
amongst themselves. In the Roman Republic there were the wealthy
families like the Julii en Scipii that banded together in order to
rule. In modern times you have the groups of politicians and
industrialists that work together, like Dick Cheney and Halliburton,
in order to award themselves government contracts. Fox News, which
should be an independent news organization somehow only broadcasts a
conservative agenda.
These groups of powerful
people we call cabals. A cabal is a group of people that seek to
further their own interests outside of the public view. The reason for secrecy is that their actions clash with either the law or public
morality. Cabals can be found anywhere and everywhere. Some cabals
are an open secret, like the Roman families were or the British upper
class is. Others are more secretive, like the military industrial
complex and their politicians in the United States are or the Oligarchs
were during the Yeltsin years in Russia.
Do remember there is
nothing odd about these groups. It is natural human behavior to band
together and help each other out.
So how do these cabals
deal with all of our freedoms and our sense of social justice? Well
secrecy is not the only means by which these ''powers that be''
maximize their control at the cost of you and me.
The solutions for dealing with freedom
The powers that be found
several ways to circumvent or nullify our perceived freedoms.
Free thinking. Europe
developed a tradition of free thinking during the enlightenment
period. This needed to be countered by the powers that be. Free
thought brings the risk of non conformity. The solution was
programming via commercials and mass media. How do you keep your
workers consuming and distracted? You tempt them with commercials to
buy more. You provide them with easy access to entertainment based on
primary emotions. Super hero movies, talent shows, sitcoms, etc. And
you give them something to fear via the news media. The Soviets,
black people, terrorists, the Chinese, diseases, and so on.
The powers that be
improved upon the old Roman axiom: in order to control the masses you
need to give them bread and games. It's now bread, games, and an
enemy.
Free speech. The right to
say what you want seems dangerous to any would be ruler. An
individual might contradict your story, and pull others in with him,
thus undermining your power. However this threat can be easily
circumvented by simply providing for many, many, many voices.
Sometimes this happens
naturally. Take the Internet. Where in the past dedicated individuals
might make the effort to set up a movement which contradicts the
official story, on the Internet lazy keyboard warriors like me in
their millions create a forest of opinions, thus rendering them all
ineffective.
In other cases
organizations are created. Take Fox News. It's primary mission is to
provide alternative story lines to support their overlords. The
counter divergent political messages, social justice warriors and
scientific facts. And there are many, many more official and
unofficial news organizations.
The Internet together with
the news media are enough to nullify the effects of free speech. It
doesn't matter that there are many critical thinkers who publish
books, blog and make documentaries. As long as the majority in more
focused on their own material and social situation and believe their
society is just, there is no danger. The odd public issue that pops
up can be resolved by counter messages, diverting blame, diversions,
etc. While George Bush and Dick Cheney were widely criticized for
their handling of the Iraq war, the world wide news media ignored the
military industrial complex which made billions.
Free choice. Free choice
is simply nullified by providing the available choices. These
available choices are created and enforced via companies, government,
and the media controlled popular culture.
Free elections. America
and Europe developed a tradition of multi party free elections.
Anybody could go into politics and win elections. This could not
stand. Vital interests could be threatened by the wrong man at the
helm. However politicians and parties need money in order to operate.
For the industrial cabals in America this was the solution. Simply
buy them all. This has been a fact of life since Eisenhower.
In other countries this
approach was not possible due to the legal limits set on
contributions. In a lot of European countries parties do often act in
the public interest. However the politicians do form cabals
themselves, helping each other out with lucrative jobs and positions.
And industrial cabals do succeed in poaching the politicians with
promises of high paying jobs after their political career.
Free competition. Via the
economic model of free competition you create a steady stream of new
products and new markets, which means more and more profits, always
increasing. Greed provides the incentive. Inventors and companies
feel the need to out do the competition in order to maximize their
control.
The competition model
however means that you often cut into each others profits. Unless you
are in a new or expanding market, your companies market share is
increased at the cost of another. This benefits the customer, but not
you as a C.E.O. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, with the
overall effect being zero. And you want all the profits, not just a
share that changes in size over time. Furthermore there is the risk
of your company going under.
The solution are
diversified ownership and capital. If you control more than one
company, you benefit no matter what. If you have capital you can
steer the outcome of competition. You can withhold or give loans and
investments, buy up competitors, undercut the market prices, etc.
This translates into
shareholding and banking. So the early industrial cabals transformed
from people that ran individual enterprises into people that own many
things. Banks and stocks. C.E.O.'s are now simply employees.
Obviously this
circumvention of free competition is not air tight. Many companies
successfully withstood buyout attempts. Facebook, Microsoft, etc.
However once these companies became industry leaders they themselves
reverted to buying out and undercutting any startup that could
remotely be a threat. Ever wonder why there is only one consumer
operating system sold world wide?
Fairness for all. The
world does not have enough raw materials to sustain mass consumption
for all humans. The solution lies with distract, hide and conquer.
Specifically the distract & hide part. In secret, the West robs
many other countries of their natural resources, purchasing these at
bargain prices, or mining them ourselves. The whole of Africa is a
resources free buffet. Of course Joe-public can't accept the fact
that his new microwave was made by poor Chinese workers from
resources purchased off corrupt governments and dictators. The
solution lies with the Media. We simply do not inform the public. And
when news does break, it's just a drop in the ocean of propaganda and
distraction. From the news we all know Africans are stupid, warlike,
always hungry and uncivilized. Who cares if some Nigerians are
poisoned by an oil company. The new IPhone is of much, much greater
concern.
Public interest. There are
many public interests. Defense, health, education etc. Things we all
need, and need done well. These interests can be at odd with the
quest of the individual to maximize it's control. Take the fast food
industry. This industry found out that food can be made addictive by
adding sugar and certain fats. We as humans have evolved to select
sugar and fat above anything else. It's an old adaptation from the
time of the hunter gather, when a quick boost from these scarce
resources could mean the difference between survival and death.
However we are not build to handle large quantities. Our liver,
kidneys and other organs suffer from overuse. We develop diabetes and
other diseases. Despite the public interest in limiting access to
these types of food, fast food restaurants chains have only been
expanding. A powerful lobby from the fast food cabal has thus far
successfully prevented legislation.
Another example of success
is the health industry cabal. They found out that they can charge
ridiculous prices for medicines, way, way above cost price, as long
all companies do it. People after all need to get better, no matter
what. While in theory there are several large companies that produces
medicine and prices should be low due to competition, this is not the
case.
An example of failure is
the tobacco industry. It's lobby could not prevent legislation.
An example of success of a
political cabal is the French-German axis in European politics.
Nothing gets decided without their say-so.
Terrorism is also a good example of successes gained by political and
industrial cabals. As can be read in the text about Muslim
terrorists, there are plenty of reasons why Muslims can justly be
upset with the West. These issues produces a steady yet very small
stream of new terrorists that carry out the occasional attack in the
West. Yet instead of dealing with the social injustices the West
helped create in the Middle East, we add fuel on the fire
discriminating against Muslims and bombing various countries. We also
continue to support Saudi Arabia with large sums of money and
military hardware, while the Saudi government is the driving force
behind the spread of Wahhabism. Wahhabism used to be
a minor movement in Islam, a bit like Pentecostalism in Christianity.
It believes in the absolute correctness of the scripture, yet is
focussed soley on phrases containing instructions for repression,
excluding the majority content of the Koran which focusses on being a
decent loving human being. Wahhabism is now wide spread in Europe
and the Middle East. It is the doctrine of ISIS.
Our
strange behavior seems inexplicable. We create this image of the evil
Muslim that needs to be fought, yet contrinu to provide the few
actual evil Muslims with means and cause. However if you think of the
billions and billions of dollars spend worldwide combatting terrorism
you might find an explanation. The military/security cabal in the USA
wages a very strong pro Saudi and anti Muslim lobby in US politics.
Soft Control
Over time the powers that be have
learned how to leave our freedoms intact and yet control us.
You can still think for
yourself, if you make the effort to put down your Iphone.
You can still say what you
want, but your voice gets lost in the crowd, and most people won't
listen anyway.
You can chose what you
want to do, from the choices provided.
You can pick your
political candidate, but chances are that he or she is just a
chocolate or vanilla flavor of the same stuff: cabal ice cream.
You can compete all you
want, but chances are you will be swallowed up or owned.
Fairness for all seems far
off, but as long as you don't realize that your new Samsung phone is
related to suffering in Africa, it doesn't really matter. At best you
shake your head in despair at the problems other countries
experience.
So how do they do it? Most importantly there is
no need to clamp down on everything. As a member of the powers that
be, all you are interested in is to maximize your own chances for
survival. This means control over resources and general control over
the behavior of your host population. Anything that does not impede
your control does not matter and is thus allowed to occur.
Gay rights? Fine.
Legalized Marijuana? Fine.
Black lives matter? Not fine. Might hinder prison profits and the 'omg-a-black-person' fear factor which is an important control on the majority white population.
Black lives matter? Not fine. Might hinder prison profits and the 'omg-a-black-person' fear factor which is an important control on the majority white population.
Abortion? Fine, just let
the religious zealots duke it out with the liberals.
The method by which control is exercised by the cabals of the present day could be called ''soft control''. Direct
oppression brings with it the risk of revolution and is very
expensive. Leaving the individual sense of freedom intact but
providing the framework in which this freedom is allowed to operate
is much safer. And allowing many things to occur naturally, and
then steering them with a soft unseen hand, is much cheaper.
Outcome
We do live in a free
society, and yet we don't. Our freedoms only exists within a
framework the powers that be provide for us. Economic, social and
political developments in the West are controlled by various cabals
that seek to maximize their control. The result of which is that the
majority of the population is focused on consumption and fearful of
imaginary threats. This control is not absolute. Occasionally things
do change. However the nature of soft control is that it need not be
absolute, as long as it is wide spread and largely hidden. The
occasional loss is more that compensated by gains elsewhere.
Conclusion
Our free society is not as
prevalent as we like to think. We are only partly free, within a
framework decided for us by those that are successful in maximizing
their control. However, this is only a natural outcome of what
defines our society: individualism.
The acts of terrorism are carried out both by Western hands and those of Muslims. The mechanism that creates the terror however is not natural but artificial with the sole purpose of maxizing the control of groups of powerfull people that own the military industrial complexes and security companies. ISIS is nothing more than a sales pitch.
The acts of terrorism are carried out both by Western hands and those of Muslims. The mechanism that creates the terror however is not natural but artificial with the sole purpose of maxizing the control of groups of powerfull people that own the military industrial complexes and security companies. ISIS is nothing more than a sales pitch.
