Maximum Advantage: Inevitable Deductions 1-4

1. On Law
Law exists for protection, restraint and settling disputes. Its implementation is dependant upon a system composed of many separate institutions and individuals all collaborating with the common purpose of maintaining its unquestionable legitimacy. Justice is besides the point. No other possible alternative is even conceivable. Morality and ethics alone are incapable of restraining a mass society. Consumerism does not promote loyalty. All individuals are isolated from society to varying degrees, yet always tuned in to something, and influenceable due to their lack of appropriate references. Sometimes surreal, the endless media barrage penetrates even the thickest skulls. Rather than assaulted, the will is worn down. Radicalism is damped in favor of safer approaches. Violence becomes merely destructive with no appreciation of its cleansing potential. Life is too secure and comfortable. Real revolutionary tendencies will not emerge. Empty rhetoric is all that remains. Fat and stupid, the Western intelligencia blabbers on about nothing. Meanwhile, lacking direction, the lower social stratas will simply eat themselves rather than actually pose a direct threat to the power structure. The growing prison population is evidence of this assertion. Note those conspicuously absent from its ranks... This indicates where the true threat lies. Only an idiot would assert otherwise. The anti-establishment intellectual community invested too much prestige in authoritarian Marxist doctrine. The resultant void has yet to be filled. Lacking direction, revolution and upheaval have proven to be atavistic, at best, or extremely reactionary, at worst, taking such forms as religious fundamentalism. Only clueless idealists currently look forward. Based on a reality which doesn't exist, their useless babble is discredited even before it leaves their pens and mouths. Completely harmless, one could expect no less of idiot-intellectuals. The only real danger is believing their bullshit. Witness the complete lack of empathy or focus toward the working proletariat by the environmental movement. Labor is the backbone of industry and society. Nobody respects spoiled whiny children incapable of connecting with the vast international working classes and lumpen-proletariat. In a true revolution, these sort would prove easy targets and be the first against the wall. Their ideals and ideas mean nothing in a world beyond such things. Only the coldly pragmatic, exploited for maximum advantage, means anything. Laws were made to be ignored, not petitioned against through their own avenues of propagation by professionals who are part of the loyal opposition. Until realizing otherwise, no true anti-capitalist ideology will ever emerge to direct and provide a moral authority, leaving only reactionary violence (in the broadest sense) as an alternative. Pacifism is dead, but the alternative need not be mindless. There are two 'asses' in assassination. Unfortunately, the intelligencia provides no alternative. Even while espousing otherwise for maximum advantage, the opportunist would be ill-advised not to take its obsolescence seriously. The threat has neutralized itself. Hence, the opponent should not even bother. Their war will not be fought on this front.

2. On Science
Science has many definitions and meanings. It creates pure power. Given the will, technological superiority wins wars and establishes empires. Interpreting the meanings and ramifications of scientific advancement is another kind of power. Modern physics has shattered the myth of the neutral observer. Scientific debate occurs upon both the intellectual and emotional planes. Human interests and concerns will necessarily intrude upon any discussion regarding scientific achievement. Even a flawed theory will find adherents based on convictions and perhaps even the pride of its founders. Even discarded theories may be revived in an attempt to salvage one or its more components for non-scientific reasons. In fact, the adherent might be at least partially correct, but their motivations are hardly scientific. Drive is never dispassionate or unclouded by human emotion. Of course, the general lay public need not be aware of the details in its assigned role as passive observers. Many defense contractors have made billions of dollars by playing upon scientific ignorance and the fear engendered by all means necessary. Deliberate stereotypes, like mad-Arabs with nukes, are exploited for maximum advantage to justify the developments of defense systems which are technically unfeasible, like the Strategic Defense Initiative.[1] They have seen it on the movie screen... Hence, the populace and ignorant elected officials bleat their acceptance and acquiesce to wasted resources. The herd will believe anything spoken in the scientific or technical tongue. Misconceptions and ignorance may always be manipulated by pseudo-science. Interestingly, this authority appears to extend toward other concerns, some not even remotely scientific. Experts may always be trotted out. A string of initials after a name has some sort of mystical weight among the populace. Capable of being bought, the scientist makes an excellent mouthpiece for spewing garbage. The tobacco industry proves this assertion.
[1]Many Articles have been written in Scientific American supporting the view that SDI is unfeasible and easily circumvented. Our stupid political leaders would rather believe their propaganda concerning American technical invincibility. Money breeds ignorance.

3. On Leaders and Followers
Despite our social nature, a tendency exists for the individual to desire his or her own way, even at the detriment of others. The fittest must survive. The entire civilizing process suppresses this inclination. Differences between individuals eventually leads to societal divisions. In turn, those on the higher tiers encourage still more segmentation. The strong enjoyed advantages over the weak but still needed them for mutual survival, or so it appeared (which amounts to the same thing). Eventually, the reality of a pecking order became dogma. The only remaining disputes concern the arrangement. The entire system is taken as a given. The existence of leaders and followers is questioned by so few, that the remainder is an irrelevant curiosity exploitable to maximum advantage as a threat to order. The present age is culminating in an end with increasing categorization and ever narrowing specialization. The hangman's noose tightens. Definitions are beyond any order of rank. However, the propagandist must portray otherwise. Even in the face of increasing cynicism, enough believe in the necessity of leaders and even systems. Social conditioning is strong. In addition, a desire for possessions has been instilled thus requiring longer working hours to pay the bills and debts incurred. The populace is too busy to question. Behind superficial reform, idle musings are all that remains. Depending on prestige, various roles are more esteemed. Hence, we have presidents who won't take a crap without consulting an opinion poll. The legislative branch is as hogs at the trough. Hands tied by law, only the judiciary remains. The old virtues are extinguished. The hollow appears solid. Very few would (or could) admit their entire lives a lie. Reinforced by society, the top classes believe the loudest mouths. In capitalist countries, money is the only power. Inflation is a disease. The rich do not often fight their own wars. The workers of the world will never unite. Herd instincts are forceful. The will to follow is greater than the will to power. Propaganda reinforces this relationship. The reality is challengeable but indisputable. The idea never seems to fade away. Economics is the base myth of our society. Following is the reality of our civilization. One might be tempted to ponder where the line ends...

4. On Money and Economics
Money has always represented the exchange of wealth and a symbol of power. A worthless wealthy inbred is held in higher esteem over a strong, intelligent but poor man. The standards have changed. Once money was a more concrete concept. A coin was worth its value as a metal. Later, script represented reserves of precious metals. However, the impulse to print excess paper money eventually made it necessary for a divorce from reality. The gold standard was dropped. Based on a mix of production and perception, money represented national clout. At least in theory, this allows economic stability to be better maintained and controlled. Unfortunately, this situation means none comprehend the actual state of the economy. Its mechanism are too complex. As a physicist, I have always found it amusing when economists claim their mumbo-jumbo a science. It reminds me of alchemy. Saying a material body may move faster than the speed of light does not make it so, but the equivalent seems to be possible in economics. It would be amusing if it did not impact the world in such an invasive manner. Economists have promoted a con job. Different forms of economic schema under broad classifications are made equivalent. The resulting perception is an unbroken progression rather than a series of highs and lows, necessitating alterations which somehow are accepted as natural. Today's capitalism has very little in common with the same moniker fifty years ago. Market Capitalism represents the greatest achievement and triumph of modern propaganda, and never would have been possible were it not developed in response to competing systems. In a sense, state capitalism, based on Marxist-Leninist philosophy, created the present situation by its inability to compete. Some economic systems are more anti-natural than others. Future generations will marvel and shudder at our memory, but understand it could have been worse. At present, the opportunist would be ill advised to swim against such an over-powering current, but this will change. Damage control and mitigation need only fail once... In this environment, an economic downfall might prove a disaster. Currently, the perceived value of many products is completely disproportionate to actual worth, resulting in a very real skewing in the world economy. The sneaker industry proves this point. The waste is not sustainable. Only an idiot believes otherwise. Absolutely none comprehend the extent. Interpretations skew perception. Propaganda utilizes the most favorable point-of-view and interpretations of data to promote stability in these economic systems. However, the good times are not going to continue indefinitely. Economic faith is not religious faith despite the similarities. The bill will come due. Eventually, a systemic correction must occur. The rug may be pulled out too quickly. If another Great Depression were to occur, the populace would be unlikely to pull together as was done prior to World War II. If systemic failure occurs (and no one knows if it will or when), both opponent and opportunist must seize the moment to maximum advantage. The technical morality will still be respected. Clout must be seized. Unity is power. The propagandist must be flexible, and never become emotionally invested in any system, lest a bad horse be backed for sentimental reasons. Of course, most will make this mistake...