On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.9.6

9f. Western civilization appears determined to destroy itself. Two World Wars were fought to try and kill it. When a third orgy of mass destruction became became impossible,[10] it lapsed into decadence to finish the job. Its exhaustion is showing. Stronger civilizations are vying to edge its prominence out. Internally, strong cultural trends are attempting to deliver the coup de grace without an actual coup d’etat.[11] As a result, Things simply Fall Apart on Their Own. In the age of the declining state, a slow descent does allow for the possibility of mitigation by those aware of its passing. One can be blind but still have sight.

[10] Civilization should not be confused with the world.   Some things go too far.

[11] At least, the alternative would be quicker. A sure sign of decadence is the complete inability to get things over in a timely manner.

Happy New Year.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.9.5

9e. Order is sought by the majority. People like things calm, but will resist external attempts to maintain it. Authoritarian behavior should not be confused with discipline. A line has to be drawn somewhere. The peace may be kept either above or below. At the very least, one can do a small part. The worst instincts of the herd are found within Shadow. Their power can only be driven. Stampedes sweep away all. Individuals can be collective. Tyranny does not exclusively fill a need. Guidance is not predation.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.9.4

9d. When it comes down to it, the political division between Left and Right, a remnant from the French Revolution, is drawn among false lines. One might argue that the true demarcation is between authoritarian, and non- or even anti-authoritarian. No matter the uniform, authoritarianism is tyranny. Unfortunately, few professing a love of freedom seem to understand this reality. The Left aligned itself with communism. Even after the Soviets destroyed the only Spanish Republicans, it continued to do so. Now that oppressive ideology is mostly dead, like the depression that follows the death of a family member, the Left appears dormant or dead. Of course, the embrace of fascist thinking by the Right is no better. How can authoritarianism lead to freedom? It cannot. Ultimately, in the fight against all tyranny, the only lines worth drawing is among those believing they should control others, and those whom do not. This distinction applies to systems, institutions and even individuals. Advocacy does not require force. All other things will sort themselves out. Time will determine the difference between truth and what is merely the product of yet another false ideology.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.9.3

9c. On the other hand, the Right is also guilty of attempting to hold onto a dead past. By doing so, ironically, it undermines its own values. The world changes. In the past, before mass communications, those not wishing for such changes could more easily opt out. In the current era, the alternative was seemingly limited to Backlash. However, by engaging in such a tactic, the resultant noise simply reminds everyone about what they disliked so much about the past in the first place, and thereby provides an incentive to stamp it out once and for all. Unwinnable, culture wars are detrimental for defenders of the old guard. In these battles, by its failure to compete through adaptation, tolerance for its values is eroded to the point of demolition. Like an octogenarian slugging it out with a teenage street gang on its terms, the herd cultural conservative, being a product of something older than mass communications technology, can never win against a trend nurtured by mass communications will come up short. Inevitably, unless the fight is defined on its own terms, the weak perish. In the process, perhaps in desperation to hold onto something, the Right has turned to the very corporations that produce that which it finds so objectionable, and, like a starving cat, laps the spoils of its own demise. By worshiping the consumerist market, a false god if there ever was one, the Right reduces its ideals to reactionary broadcast filler for corporate advertising. No wonder the political Right has been divided and devoured by plutocrats and fascists.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.9.2

9b. The past often lives far longer than deserved or warranted. The continuing fixation on economic references long deceased is one such case. For example, social realities of the 19th Century were held by Marxists long after those social classes had ceased. In the West, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat were once distinct and at odds. Over time, it could be argued, much of that distinction has become blurred. The middle class once owned and passed on property to its descendants. Now, mortgaged to the hilt, most properties are owned by the bank. If you can’t burn it to the ground, then it isn’t owned. Yet, the middle class still often behaves as if it is separate from the working class, and as if the corporations bleeding it dry share a common interest with itself. By still insisting on this artificial division, the political Left helps perpetrate this great error and fractures itself in the process. Even worse, the Left believes that things like lifestyles are more important than economic reality. No wonder the political Left has accomplished nothing in forty years. 

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.9.1

9a. Among the greatest errors consuming those ensconced in the Technical Morality is the inability to comprehend social and cultural issues in any terms beyond the rational and technical. This flaw views struggle as nothing more than a matter of competing economic or political interests. Its judgements are based solely on utility and competence in carrying out goals towards those ends. It therefore fails utterly in comprehending and judging those whose aims are driven by higher (or lower) considerations. Maximum Advantage is never all-encompassing. Lest one be defeated utterly by being transformed into a robot, This Modern Warrior Archetype must never believe it to be so. 

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.23

8y. Ideology represents a failure to regard the world on it own terms. As if it were a movie screen, a Verbal World is projected upon reality. Like a movie, it adherents appreciate the feeling of being able to slip into fantasy. However, in this case, the film never ends, and those viewing things otherwise are regarded with suspicion. The ideologue knows the truth, and everyone else is wrong. For this reason, hostile towards critical thought, this type easily slips into the realm of the fanatic. As such, ideology is a cultural disease vector better inoculated against by engaging the world as one finds it. Those failing to do so are little better than meat, and should be treated accordingly (which is what their masters would do anyway).

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.22

8x. At best, ideology is a fantasy; at worst, it is a dead end lie. Regardless of justification, ideologies are always motivated by control (or anti-control is a few cases). One way or another, the powerless provide eager fertilizer. A sucker is born every minute. This Modern Warrior Archetype has no need to be such a Chump. By doing so, an example may be set for other. The goal is to eliminate the plague of ideology forever. Those persisting are the real enemy.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.21

8w. False populism is akin to fly paper. While offering nothing, it snares and immobilizes. The elite has found this approach very useful in harnessing discontent and channeling it for their own ends. Ideology is an excellent means of purveying falsehoods. A world of degrees and difference is transformed into a bipolar lie. While economically bleeding the nation dry, by creating division, these false populists would have one believe that they stand on the same side as those being ground down. Politics is the art of deflection. Your problems are not caused by someone choosing to live differently. Know your enemy.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.20

8v. This Modern Warrior Archetype must operate under the media radar. Its focus is pure bile. Anything within its camera lens is reduced, debased and eventually absorbed. In this feeble reality, serious discussion is relegated to the status of entertainment, or exploited for the purpose of fear mongering. The public eye swells the ego. Expect nothing from clowns.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.19

8u. Popular culture is easily portrayed as the will of the people. They consume it, so they must want it. In actuality, in almost all cases, it is a reflection of the media. It’s on, so it is watched. History and real culture are inconveniences to the machine. Popular culture may be used as a substitute, and as a means to facilitate forgetting. By distracting the herd through meaningless diversion, the past is effectively eliminated. Of course, by doing so, as witnessed from time to time, terrible Backlash may be provoked. Massive destruction is seen as the surest means to ending the chatter. Not everyone lies down and passively swallows decadence.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.19

8t. Consumerism is an effective means of blunting dissent. Any anti-establishment messages are simply deadened by buying their sources. An entire charade is created as a means to the end of selling the latest in hip rebellion. In addition, a false populism is created and may be exploited to Maximum Advantage by reflecting it back the from the consumerist mirror. The Spectacle is ongoing. The formula is simple: look at that haircut, listen to that music, buy those cloths, but don’t think about reality (and certainly don’t do anything beyond play acting). Hence, what was once an expression of dissatisfaction with the state of the world becomes yet another fashion accessory for Chumps. In this context, a rebel is just a slave who thinks they are free. Selling out only makes things worse. Lest one become just another fad, This Modern Warrior Archetype must be constantly aware of this situation and avoid falling into the trap of popular culture. The less seen, the better. 

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.18

 8s. A media, that promotes itself for the sake of itself, will eventually negate its own message. Its pose of impartiality is among the first things to go by the way side. Hence, why bother? Except, one something is exploited to Maximum Advantage then it appears most difficult to break the habit. As stated before, the Technical Morality is like a highly addictive drug. Focus is directed exclusively on obtaining a daily fix. A new formula might go awry, but the standby is tried, true and well sponsored by various societal (and under-societal) interests. As a whole, these concerns have a stake in maintaining an comfortable supply to make the hook up easy. Why mess with a lucrative business? Pushing is done for economic reasons. To stop, one must leave the old environment behind, and go elsewhere. Few manage it.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.17

 8r. Media is subject to manipulation, but in and of itself, its Persuasive Techniques[9] are limited. Direct human contact largely negates second hand propaganda. Blatant overuse of propaganda in media can even produce the backlash of widespread disbelief and discreditation of its outlets. However, if a population were socially isolated, then these techniques could prove much more effective than would usually be the case. Hearing nothing substantial to contradict second hand information, the typical citizen would be unable to make a basis of comparison. Hence, with a little market research, the odds are good that a majority would accept most pronouncements. This approach would be especially successful while espousing propaganda tailored towards proclaiming that everything is well and, above all, stable. Few want to believe uncertainty.

[9] See J.A.C. Brown’s Techniques of Persuasion–From Propaganda to Brainwashing, Penguin Books, Middlesex, England 1963.  I will be reviewing this book in the near future.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.16

8q. In a technological society, the care shown, or lack thereof, a ruling elite shows while seeking advantage is a direct indicator of the level of spread favoring the Technical Morality. Appearances mean much in an age of constant mass media. Those forgetting their place risk losing everything. A certain sufferance is allowed. Regardless of content or merit, lest backlash be unleashed, some lines should not be crossed even once. Every now and then, the machine demands a sacrifice. At the least, its targets walk away diminished in power. At worst, the entirety may be leveled. The multitude likes to watch destruction.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.15

 8p. Maximum Advantage does minimize outright corruption by favoring institutional channels for the same impulses that lead toward bribery. The system thus created certainly appears more sound, but is instead infected by internal rot. Where straightforward graft affects the surface, everyone knows where things stand. Hence, legitimacy is never seriously undermined, because degeneracy is simply taken for granted. Nobody expects anything different. A system, which requires at least the appearance of popular support, that uses legality to allow the same sort of behavior in the end undermines itself. The law becomes meaningless. Its respect (or fear) becomes lost, and relatively soon its framework crumbles. Only tools respect hypocrisy.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.14

8o. Standardization is necessary for the most efficient operation any technical system. Components must be compatible. Maximum Advantage, as stated previously, leads toward the application of technical efficiency toward all human affairs. As such, humans are encouraged and nominally rewarded by their degree of standardization. In many such instances, seeking normalization is a perfectly rational and completely unworkable. The result is dysfunctional. Yet, still many will attempt to tread the same impossible path to the point of no return. As a sure sign of intellectual inbreeding, reinforced by regularization, these sort call their stupidity optimism. Consequently, this habit is very difficult to break, and generally takes a disaster. At this stage, the herd mentality will be very susceptible to panic. Lest tragedy occur, This Modern Warrior Archetype must be ready to de-escalate and calm the situation. Constructive action must be advocated. Rebuilding is the most efficient means. As an incentive towards success, never forget that, one way or another, chaos is the surest route to tyranny.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.13

8n. Bureaucracy is the death of any popular movement. Its basic structure precludes dynamic action. Its focus is toward broad goals. One assuredly universal bureaucratic aim is perpetration of itself. Like a fungus, its tendrils spread outward in every possible direction. At the same time, it envelopes unto motionlessness everything dependant upon it. At a certain point, when growth is no longer possible, the downward spiral toward stasis. The endpoint is stagnation. At this point, in the worst cases,[8] decadent instincts may assert their drive toward parasitism. Like a tick, it sucks energy and resources away from vital interests, and gives nothing back. Sound familiar?

[8] The better solution is probably disbandment.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.13

8m. Maximum Advantage thrives under care and feeding by bureaucratic institutions.[6]  The machine becomes necessary. As efficiency is sought (and even sometimes found) through consolidation, the Technical Morality becomes a means for justification of the ends. Size become necessary. As their mandates expand, bureaucracies grow and bloat. Although never successful, they seek to encompass everything. Eventually, a point is reached where money runs thin. When funds grow short, the law is then used to force technical improvement. Others are forced and coerced into following these unfunded dictates unto unity. Unity defines totalitarianism. Bureaucracy is the enemy of freedom.

[6] Granted, bureaucracies of a limited sort and scope existed prior to widespread Technique, but the older form was mostly (with the notable exception of Confucianism) a system of patronage.

[7] And not just the public sector.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.12

8l. Maximum Advantage requires standardization. Hence, uniformity is sought uniformly. Institutional settings are particularly susceptible to this requirement. Whereas in purely technical fields standard specifications are necessary for proper functioning of a dynamic system, other human oriented arenas suffer from these constraints. Scientific studies are also affected to a degree. Imposed bounds naturally limit developments with regard to non-standard thinking. Originality is discouraged, and discarded. Revolutions cease to be as frequent to the point of stagnation. Eventually, it becomes impossible to produce anything new. Leaving the petrified remains behind, the world moves on.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.11

8k. Maximum Advantage discounts, even as it exploits obligation. The Technical Morality demands every action result in gain. It therefore demands allegiance and loyalty, but returns very little in ever diminishing proportions. Of course, its goals and means can be upset by those holding to higher causes. It therefore seeks and rewards those whom do not take their oaths seriously. Hence, in the system thus created, ethics and the older moralities are legislated. For example, one is not allowed to profit from public service unless one waits a short period. Therefore, as befitting the actions of someone whom has been promised a reward implicitly, one only needs to always act in the favor of various interests to be ensured that one will be well paid by those same interests after parting ways with ones official posting (after a few months). One plays the game or stays for the long haul.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.10

8j. By nature, Maximum Advantage cheaply exploits emotions. Its shallowness is a definite weakness to be used and abused by opponents and opportunists alike. This Modern Warrior Archetype is mostly caught in the middle. Chaos breeds tyrants. Power vacuums are filled by fear. Freedom need not mean pandemonium, but one must work to not make it so. One need not live on one’s knees to be secure. Standing is relatively easy. The much more difficult task is dragging others to their feet. As a tool for the job, intimidation has its place.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.9

8i. Maximum Advantage is completely externally oriented. Inner knowledge must have a purpose or use to be valued. Commodities are preferable. In general, those thinking otherwise are alienated and fail to understand this mode of thinking. Its stink treated as something contaminated. However, unlike hazardous chemicals, one can choose the affect. Unpleasant it may be, but contact need not be terminal. Knowing one’s environment can never be a weakness.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.8

8h. Maximum Advantage is brevity but not wit. Although forced to adapt to its time frame, This Modern Warrior Archetype must avoid its stupidity. Conduct need not be driven.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.7

8g. Maximum Advantage is a natural flame retardant. Enveloping all; nothing burns. Eventually, enough fuel accumulates to overcome its effects, and the world witnesses a raging inferno. Dullness only lasts so long.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.6

8f. Maximum Advantage drives onward through inertia. Paths are not easily changed. Only slight corrections are possible; most only prolong inevitable descent. In the process, unrenewable resources are squandered in a frenzied race to the bottom. Stopping only occurs through either falling or exhaustion. Either way, nature triumphs over all eventually.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.5

8e. Maximum Advantage rewards mediocrity. A direct consequence is the general favoring of drives toward progress over improvement. The occasional advance is used to justify constant motion. The result is a low-grade agitation that leads toward a state of absolute exhaustion. Like individuals, societies and cultures tire to the point of either sleep or unconsciousness. A speed freak, addicted to motion, cannot stop and therefore drives toward death. The habit must be kicked or one will almost certainly die. Nations are no different. However, due to its vicarious nature and existence, the herd mentality faces an even harder undertaking to beat its addictions. It must stay on the streets. Anything else is delusional. It cannot check into rehab.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.4

8d. Maximum Advantage does not really understand hostility. It can only manage anger. As a consequence, any responses directed toward hostile forces, groups, nations or peoples will be completely inappropriate. The situation is managed. Bureaucratic reaction time is by nature difficult to move, and slow when it finally does. Quick moving events will carry it along basically rudderless. Non-bureaucratic organizations and force, varying in size from masses to small groups (or even individuals), are far more fluid than state or corporate entities. One must not be that kind of many.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.3

8c. Maximum Advantage molds human beings into machines. As the attempts steadily grow more anti-natural, as replaceable parts, individuals cease to care. Society and culture suffer and decline through the resultant internal decadent backlash amid a sea of apathy. Eventually, external revulsion is spawned by the spectacle and an even deadlier backlash is born. In tandem, both backlashes pull society and culture apart. Nothing becomes worth defending. The silence becomes a tomb. Eventually, such civilizations crumble with the ease of pulling the wings off a fly.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.2

8b. Maximum Advantage requires a society consume itself and all others. Like any plague, it will naturally be resisted. Fire is among the cheapest means.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.8.1

8a. Maximum Advantage demands Order of Rank through dilution. Hence, it undermines its own authority.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.7.8

7h. Emotion is a primary creator toward identification of values. It cannot be discarded. It is fallible. One must learn to live with emotion and its consequences. Emotional outbursts can be both weakness and strength. Containment leads toward depression, but unchecked emotion consumes. Optimally, when necessary, one can better handle internal turmoil by postponement. Retaliation is more effective when served cold anyway.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.7.7

7g. Delusions can be contagious. The disease vector can be inoculated, but rarely immunized. One may understand or avoid. However, in many cases where mass hysteria is impossible to avoid, one will almost certainly be affected. Maximum Advantage seeks unity. All are targets. Understanding manipulation is a primary tool towards combating it. Knowing the score is better than ignorance of what one is up against. Projections must be discarded.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.7.6

7f. Resolve is important in any type of conflict. The weak can lay low the strong through its corrosion. On the other hand, the strong are more likely to try to beat it down. Those inhabiting the middle ground will thus be doubly assaulted. Hence, one in such circumstances needs to learn either to duck or fly. In either case, as one will then largely be ignored, the extremes will weaken each other. Their mutual animosity is a weapon to be exploited beyond Maximum Advantage. One way or another, the difficult part is avoiding being sucked in.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.7.5

7e. Misplaced optimism leads one toward the path of destruction. Thinking happy thoughts will not make external problems go away. Fantasy should not be even remotely all-encompassing. Unfortunately, too many are so enshrouded as to be forever lost. However, some types do have the potential to break away. Tasks are a better means toward escape than simply being lost. Like oxygen, some optimism is necessary to live; an excessive amount corrodes.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-13

16. Overall, Dark Ages America is worth reading concerning the Decline and Fall of western and particularly the US. Basically, the culture has opted to commit suicide through decay. Maximum Advantage in All Things is hollow. One of the things I never have understood is the belief that some specific cause (or range) is solely responsible for systemic failures. Internal cultural trends and forces seeking to eliminate the existence of Western Civilization would have little appeal were this Civilization viewed as something worth preserving by a significant segment of the population. One way or another, respect must be earned. Decadence withers regard. These viewpoints can be repressed by eliminating insight, but never eliminated. Indeed, external forces would have no real negative net effect on a healthy society. The drowning of New Orleans could not have occurred in an environment with sound social, cultural and government structures. Empires dig their own graves. These Days, these trends just appear to be a lot quicker than in the past. Acceleration hastens the final destination. The ruling elite assume that nothing, beyond cosmetics, will ever change. As those controlling mass media, their message will never speculate otherwise. They believe their own propaganda. Hence, psychologically, collapse will hit those believing in this false permanence hardest. Those already aware of their situation will find adapting easier.

End.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-12

Continued from Part-11.

15a. As I previously noted, Berman does not really discuss conditions during a so-called Dark Age. His Previous Book is a better place to look. He sees parallels with the historical period after which the term is named. Falling empires are one thing, but their aftermath is something else. One difference I can see would be due to instant communications. People tying to survive might have little use for culture, but information is another matter. Also, what if some areas of the globe were untouched. Might these not attempt to influence and draw in those outside?

15b. Berman also appears to believe the end of national government would mean the end of the United States. Absent federal influence (and corruption), the nation's nature might change or split. It does not mean the end of civilization.

15c. Of course, judging from the current state of stupidity, Berman may be exactly correct. Perhaps decadent western civilization has become pointless. Something stronger will take its place. We might witness a Dark Age, but it could be significantly shorter than its predecessor.

15d. Lastly, if one is aware and mentally prepared, one can be prepared to keep the peace oneself by refusing to fall into insanity, and by example lift a few others in the process. If no one else may maintain even a minimum standard of order, then one will need to do so oneself. The important part is remembering what one is. Else, one is lost. Berman is completely correct on that account.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-11

Continued from Part-10.

14. Berman discounts the "Pendulum Theory." This viewpoint entails the belief that events such as we are witnessing at presents are a temporary extreme. Eventually, the theory continues, the pendulum will swing the other way. In the common error of proof by example, past instances in US history, like during the Great War, are always used as justification for this argument. The author states the following as evidence that the past will not repeat itself:

(a.) Cultural Disintegration.
(b.) Civil Liberties permanently compromised by a Pandora's Box filled with advanced surveillance technology.
(c.) A nation of laws has become a nation of men. Loyalty is more important than performance. In other words, the US Government is like a mediocre Mafia. Incompetence and even criminal activity is tolerated as long as one keeps one's mouth shut.
(d.) A state of permanent war. Being undefined, the current wars being fought by the US can never be concluded. One can expect no less from those involved in (c.) above.
(e.) Cumulative effects are not recoverable. This technological system is like a car with just too many miles.
(f.) Fantasy is esteemed over reality. He describes Verbal Worlds in different terms.
(g.) He draws parallels with Rome. Beware proof by example.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-10

Continued from Part-9.

Lucky 13. "The State of the Union" is next discussed by Berman. He states the obvious, namely (but it still needs to be said - often) that people get the government they want (or I might add, deserve). Apathy towards government causes its demise. The fall does not occur without a reason. Those lacking a stake will never lift a finger to proactively prevent or even arrest decline. Bourgeois rhetoric wound espouse otherwise, but inane blabber goes by the wayside as the middle class is forcibly plunged into the world of the working class. A system built on legitimacy being conferred by participation inevitably reaches crises levels as even nominal participation evaporates. (Other systems die for other reasons. All machines wear.) Voting is done with one's feet. It is easy to walk away from a burning building that contains nothing valued. Loyalty needs to be earned. When sufficiently weakened, and nobody cares otherwise, the result is predation. Somebody has to pay. One way or another, all human beings are just meat.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-9

Continued from Part-8.

12. Berman's book also has an interesting discussion concerning various trends and movements in the field of urban and rural planning. The author concludes that all current such developments are doomed to fail. (If you want the details, then read the book as I do not have the time to devote the space I would like to explore this topic in depth - I have written on the subject and will do so again.) In summary, my own opinion (partly professional and party not) is that one would need to level the suburbs, then shoot developers and other vested interests to destroy the push to recreate it (just look at New Orleans for an example). Since I certainly don't advocate such fascism (believe that if nothing else) , and thankfully few would at present (such fascism that is), the task of redesigning cities, towns and suburbs away from the automobile (and hence it's culture) is not achievable. It will need to fall apart on its own.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-8

Continued from Part-7.

11a. Suburbia is also discussed in depth by Berman. He believes that America typically has less public space because Americans don't value the public realm. In this regard, his regional bias towards the East Coast definitely has it's flaws when applied to the US at large. Indeed, cities and town are discarding or have never even developed public space in the first place. However, in the West at least, public space is more regarded as something wild. By and large, public land is valued by people in the West. The space is just much larger. The cities and towns are intrusions. (North of the border, including Alaska, is something else again.) In some regards, Americans are at heart a rural people (and possibly even more so in areas settled by those fleeing cities). Americans just don't like people.

11b. Author's tautology:

Car Culture + Suburbia = Oil Dependency = War Culture.

Kids from the inner city and rural areas are fighting for the suburbs. As product of both the mountains and the city, I have always maintained that these two supposed extremes have far more in common than not.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-7

Continued from Part-6.

10. The topic of Car Culture is discussed in Berman's book as well. He views the American Car Culture, not as a nation deprived of the possibility of other modes of transportation, but rather as the continuation of the Frontier Mentality (except possibly in Alaska). The physical frontier was closed, but the gaps could still be filled in. This situation is the result no (collective) inner frontier. American's are not known for introspection. This condition is reinforced by a fear of change.

I do wonder if something like an aggressive space program would have channeled such mass expansionist instincts along a different path. We'll never know. At this point, the cities and much of rural America would need to be leveled and rebuilt. It can never be willingly abandoned and will inevitably fall.

I would have to add his thesis does help explain the miserable people I have had to deal with while working on this nation's highways. Highway workers hate and fear (with good reason) the motoring public. Many work with the assumption that everyone behind the wheel is insane, inattentive or just plain stupid--often a combination. As a benefit, one will certainly live longer by such lack of trust. As most people spend some time on the road, although possibly not to this extreme, this sort of justified paranoia must eats away at society. One learns to hate from the road. The stink of failure smells like exhaust. Cars suck all life away.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-6

Continued from Part-5.

9. Berman devotes considerable energy to the topic of roads not taken. As an historian, the author presents an interesting case concerning the current state being a product of history and not an accident. Falls just don't happen. The USA has spawned a collective culture that reflects its collective values (thus affirming Unity is the Bad Part of Community). Berman points out that almost all Americans by default are effectively Capitalist Protestants individualists. One has little choice in an environment defined by consumer economics. This current state is the result of progress for its own sake. A race towards nothing begets nothing.

The author does make a further interesting observation. As America has no true aristocracy, no obligation is felt toward the greater society by the ruling elites. The USA has become a banana republic.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-5

Continued from Part-4.

7. The next topic Berman touches upon is the American Empire.

a. The author maintains that the conflict with the Soviet Union was really a means towards the ends of empire. The Cold War was a case of manipulation by extreme opportunists on both sides used it to justify war expenditures.

b. Blowback, a term popularized by Chalmers Johnson, is used repeatedly to describe the unintended consequences of the pursuit of empire.

c. Empire represents the intermediate step between decadence and barbarism without any civilization in the meanwhile.

d. Empire can only be fought through terrorism.

8. The meaning of 9-11 is the subject of an entire chapter. The author views the aftermath of those events as the point of no return towards inevitable decline and a new Dark Age. Americans could have chosen to use those events as a source for inspiring self-reflection, as others have chosen to do. Rather the USA began to accelerate down the path of self-destruction by catering to our basest impulses. Hence, world sympathy has gone down the tubes, and the terrorists responsible for 9-11 have become stronger. Bin Laden is now quoted in speeches. In addition, it opened the door to manipulation via propaganda to start an unwinable (as its objectives are indefinable) war in Iraq (and Afghanistan). In addition, the Iraq conflict showed the disdain of the US for civilization itself by the failure to protect the historical treasures of the cradle of Western Civilization.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-4

Continued from Part-3

5. The author also explores Economic matters:

a. The role of technology is discussed. Although Berman does not use the term Maximum Advantage, he adequately describes the situation. The lowest common denominator is not too difficult to discern.

b. The author provides an interesting discussion of the consequences of abandoning the Bretton Woods (and with it the Gold Standard.) He describes it as a turning point on the path towards irreparable decline.

6. Berman touches upon the Curved Spectrum of the secular verses tribal cultural arrangements. The extremes represent stagnation. Too much tribal culture smothers the individual; too much secular culture leaves the individual lonely and ungrounded.

Next.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.7.4

7d. Isolation may be encouraged and even embraced. Fear is a component of most Verbal Worlds. Manipulation may be active or passive. An effective combination will produce agitation and dread. Uncertainty is capitalized for advancing agendas and programs at the expense of other competing interests and ideas. In this arena, opposition is nullified by the basest means for the lowest ends. Indeed, after a point, challenge becomes futile on the mass verbal plane. If one cannot win, a better approach is to bypass it entirely. The old, now largely empty niches are still waiting to be filled.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.7.3

7c. Once the future has been assuredly compromised by historical events beyond one’s control, only a few broad choices remain. One may ignore impending doom, or fear it and be wholly devoured. One may embrace it by exploiting the downward spiral to Maximum Advantage in all Things, and be devoured beyond. One may seek to merely survive, and be left with nothing. One may embrace it defiantly, and laugh. Options are neither limited nor infinite.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-3

Continued from Part-2

4a. The author writes at length concerning a concept called "Liquid Modernity" (LM). LM is basically the product of a valueless society characterized by rampant consumerism (everything is a product), social isolation and resultant loneliness, no stability, no tradition and no orientation. He makes the point that Americans have forgotten what it means to be an American (except in the negative sense which defines American by what we are not). Other characteristics of LM also include, the worker being unconnected to craft. Machines do all the work, so there is not sense of craftsmanship. (Or as I can attest as an engineer, machines create so much work and unnecessary revisions that after a time one stops caring and only wants to get the job out the door.)

4b. Globalization is a by-product of liquid modernity. Products are uniform and come from anywhere. It also produced a race to the bottom.

4c. Liquid Modernity is only possible among an over stimulated population. Like any addict, the populace wants more and more of nothing.

4d. Liquid Modernity causes news to become entertainment. A disconnected populace only cares about stimulation, not content. (Like malt liquor?)

4e. Liquid Modernity celebrates narcissism. Selfishness is a virtue.

4f. Children have become nothing but another consumer demographic. Even psychoactive medications are marketed towards children. Rather than deal with a child's reaction to social decay, a pill is pushed to allow the child to adapt to a maladaptive environment. Meanwhile, all sorts of other garbage is peddled to children.

4g. Community has disappeared. Few know or care about their neighbors. Other than stale and plastic malls, there is no center to most communities. In the extreme, a culture of depraved indifference has arisen. The author gives several examples.

Next.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-2

Continued from Part-1

Now, to elaborate on actual points and themes from Dark Ages America itself:

1. Collapse is inevitable, but can be mitigated. The downward trajectory (some would say spiral) has too much momentum. Compared to his Previous book, his view is outright pessimism. I would agree, as far as the governmental level is concerned, that the case is hopeless. The drowning of New Orleans is an obvious example of the downward slide. Iraq, not to mentions a whole slew of past presidents, would never have occurred otherwise. A strong nation would never tolerate such losers. However, the actions of those unencumbered by government could be successful. One has to do things for oneself. Lest one become dependent, help should only be accepted from those like minded.

2. The US has ceased to be a nation of law and has become a nation of men. The transition to empire is thusly defined.

3. A nation that justifies torture, especially by comparing its actions to the like of psychopathic religious fanatics, has lost its roots. Its moral values are seriously imparted. The author also asks, why are only grunts being prosecuted for war crimes?

Next.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.7.2

7b. When culture and society converge towards unity, the result is either narrow greatness or broad stagnation. Both states lack certain necessary ideas. Mass psychological health entails maintaining identity. The higher orders must be checked. A purpose has constraints and certain drawbacks while maintained by machines. After awhile, the future is bled dry by the demands of the day. Apathy is the inevitable by-product of being treated like a cog, and bled dry.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.7.1

7a. Whether one is a product of a society and/or culture afflicted by the universal urge towards Maximum Advantage in all Things, actions speak far louder than words. A fundamental error is propagation to the extreme method. Means become ends. The treadmill goes nowhere. Sympathy can be tarnished. Devaluation is easy to avoid. Propaganda can be used as a gag, but fails in the extreme. Ends become means. Deeds may be silenced. Structural erosion may be masqueraded by display. A society enthralled by the Technical Morality believes force = power.[5] Influence may be sold, but nobody likes a pusher (except an addict). Cultural disease vectors are like an unclean hypodermic needle. A bad situation only becomes worsened by really bad hygiene. Outside of a totally controlled setting, sanitation may not be forced. Sewage treatment is a necessary element toward civilization continuing its existence. At least, by common standards, it can be minimally enforced. Some things are just unacceptable.

[5.] As if proof by example is ever valid.

Interlude: Dark Ages America Part-1

As a follow up to my Review of The Twilight of American Culture, as promised, I will now review Dark Ages America by Morris Berman. As previously indicated, published in 2006, this book is far less optimistic about the future of the US than its predecessor. The author considers the events of 9-11-01 a last chance to reverse course. The opportunity was squandered by an even greater removal from reality. The US chose to accelerate down the path of no return.

Other than details, very little of what the author discusses in this book was new to me. I found this book to be very instructive (and confirming) regarding the causes and consequences of decline. As far as I can recall, I don't believe any other contemporary author has so closely agreed with some of my writing. His points are relatively easy to translate from my own. His writing is definitely more accessible. Therefore, I would highly recommend it to those readers that find me a little too abstract for their tastes. The irony is that in other respects, I find nothing that is not absolutely concrete (pun intended) frustrating; therefore, I would understand the need to deal beyond theory. The author stresses a need for theory. Philosophy should be as universal as possible. Few able are not correctly positioned.

If you happen to prefer aphorisms:

All seeds require fertile soil, but only some will only survive in a harsh climate. Even fewer are removed. Maximum Advantage demands uniformity as a contact vector. A materialist world necessarily demands completely concrete thinking patterns by means of passive positive reinforcement. All affects vary in degree and unpleasantness. Unoccupied outlets are niches. Thundering along, the herd does not stake its turf. Technology allows the human mass animal to become like the largest bison herds trampling everything in its path. In such an environment, opponents and opportunists would choose to think in completely concrete terms. Indeed, at least, the fields are well fertilized.

Anyway, back to the review...

I appreciate that he quotes from The Baffler. (Where's my magazine? I truly appreciate a magazine that publishes when it damn well pleases.)

As a final point (for now), despite the title, this book does not actually contain much about what an actual Dark Ages would entail. His previous book would be a better source.

Part 2.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.11

6k. As the old saying goes, “in the land of the blind, the one-eyes man is king.” If one possesses sufficient insight to see within oneself, then and only then, one may see outside oneself. In fact, although extremely helpful, self-examination need never be shared, only actualized. Cleansing, from time to time, is necessary for the sake of good hygiene. One will then understand manipulations. One may still choose to go along–with open eyes (or at least not glued shut).

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.10

6j. This Modern Warrior Archetype will necessarily deal with the affects of mass media. This realization implies that one must master certain aspects and devices concerning the employment of propaganda. In so doing, lest one becomes that which one fights against, its use for Maximum Advantage in all Things must be avoided. The machine exists; one cannot deny it. Our technological society is meshed within its gears. The machine may only be avoided by its destruction. Such a course would unleash such misery and death that most would prefer totality. Hence, freedom may only be maintained through maintenance beyond Maximum Advantage. The ability to recognize that point is a skill of the highest order of rank.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.9

6i. Mass media is a macroscopic tool than can be manipulated at the immediate level. Like any lever, the media may be misused to Maximum Advantage. The results depend upon where one stands, but self-destruction is another matter. Whether rhetoric has appeal or not, one must acknowledge pressure. The unaware are an empty vessel. The mass mind is subject to falling under shadow. One needs to be positioned aware from the darkness. The falling weight is better avoided when seen.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.8

6h. Mass media is a primary disseminator of stupidity. As such, it may be exploited to manipulate and deceive for Maximum Advantage in all Things. Cattle want to believe they are something else, and mass media fills the order. All aspects of human life may be distorted through the mechanisms of the media. In the case of fighting, the means are primarily through vicarious illusion. Predictably, the result is an instilled belief that one and one’s heard is greater and more powerful than reality. Desire becomes confused with skill and talent. Seeing is confused with being. If nothing else, This Modern Warrior Archetype will know the difference.

Interlude: The Twilight of American Culture

As I am currently between L. E. Modesitt books,* I read Interlude: The Twilight of American Culture by Morris Berman. Published in 2000, it took me back only a few years that seem much farther away in time. This book is somewhat optimistic than his more recent works. (I'll likely write a review of Dark Ages America in the next few weeks.) He believes that America is an empire in decline, and will fall like Rome. The culture has become decadent (and depraved). Its content is effectively empty; society has come to reflect the shortcomings of its culture. Whatever the details, these empires share a common history: being eaten away from within their core. Consumerism has drowned most everything. This book is somewhat optimistic than his more recent works. He believed the time frame is long term decline, but could be avoided. After reading a chapter of the latter work, he would appear to now agree that these trends identified in his first book have accelerated the pace, and that of the corresponding decline. I would tend to agree. In other words (being mine), the technological system has produced a rotten culture that will take down its society by the means of its own anti-natural requirements. The incessant demands requiring Maximum Advantage in All Things has degraded human interaction and connectivity. People have stopped civic interaction. Local democracy (the only kind) is dying. The Technical Morality has imposed its efficiency on everything. Propaganda has reached its saturation point. Human beings are not machines. Things Fall Apart on Their Own.

Anyway, now that we've discussed the context, his major theme is preserving knowledge and culture through a true Dark Ages. Cultural Preservation can and should be carried out by individual means and methods. Anything worth doing is not worth doing in the public eye. He compares these efforts to those of (mostly Irish) Monks during the European Dark Ages. The book tends to be heavily Eurocentric. He does not really consider that other cultures exist that are not decadent. The American consumer life may have appeal, but the affects are not universal. His most recent book (after reading one chapter) would indicate that he does not feel such to be the case now. (How times change.) The geographic regions that have the strongest culture are simply not as weakened by stupidity. (Fanatics are another archetype altogether.) Enlightenment values have been contaminated by a decadent culture spawned as a reaction to Maximum Advantage in All Things.

One of the most interesting points of this book regards cognition. Perhaps, human general thought patterns actually retrograde and become atavistic during certain eras. Human beings are products of their environment. Although strangely, the author does not always seem to understand that ignorance is a constant presence in all places and all times. When one's sense of value is degraded, human animals react accordingly. It's not that the atavistic and anti-intellectual are not always present; they don't always predominate (which says nothing about suppression of one form of intellectualism over another.) Perhaps, these inclinations are channeled elsewhere.

The author does rely on personal anecdotes. An author's life is relevant (at least regarding honest authors.)

*I like his fantasy better than his science fiction novels. Some like the Corean Chronicles are a mix of both sub-genres. The Recluse series is based on a type of magic that is based on the manipulation of entropy. His heroes are pure. Why not read fantasy that is all fantasy?

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.7

6g. Mass media is an efficient vector for disseminating influence. Appeal may be easily projected through such means. At the same time, simplicity does not imply that one should become lazy with respect to the message. The world changes. Repetition causes communications to lose their charm. In addition, the audience changes. One group may be attracted to that which another finds repulsive. Maximum Advantage demands that everyone be treated the same. Unfortunately, this demand often leads to backlash against the source of propaganda. Hence, in the scheme of the Technical Morality, a lowest common denominator is sought. This ground state is stable, but cannot changed without a great deal of effort. In fact, in light of the potential for upset, it is probably better never to try. Despite popular dullness, other means exist. One need only be personal about it.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.6

6f. Mass media exposure affects are not equal nor universal. Those individuals credentialed by events are less likely (but certainly not immune) to its pervasive message. Metaphorically, affect is proportionate to the inverse squared of the distance from its sources unto backlash. Hence, point sources are inherently flawed. Yet, non-point sources are weakened through diffusion. Reality, whatever it might be, just simply can’t allow stupidity its desires.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.5

6e. In a society conditioned by common mass media experiences, theater may substitute for substance. one may walk unchallenged by appearing relaxed and in no hurry. On the other hand, this observation does not apply to those societies less affected by mass media exposure. Rather, theater is perceived as posturing and therefore something to be challenged. As such, one can appear to belong, until one finally does so. One state should not be perceived as another. Failure to make such distinctions will make life much more difficult than necessary. Thinking to Maximum Advantage in all Things is prone to a fatal error of seeking unity where it does not exist. Tolerance does not mean acceptance. Projections quickly become negatives.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.4

6d. A society conditioned by common mass media experience is subject to manipulation by both opportunist and opponents. One can also choose to walk through walls. An ignored niche does not cease. Direct presence is far more immediately affective when few understand or even comprehend its existence. Fear ensures order. It need not come from above. The personal touch is certainly more respected.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.3

6c. Art is a primary tool of the propagandist. One can learn much by observing propaganda of the deed. However, a fundamental error is made by those thinking that such actions need be spectacular and earth shaking. Rather than demonstrating, an individual is better off projecting power. One can only do so much.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.2

6b. Propaganda is the language of Maximum Advantage. It’s expression can be an art or the product of a machine. Those possessing the art rarely enjoy the ability or insight to resist being engulfed and smothered by their own inflexibility. Those not bending break–too often by the rationale and justifications of The Technical Morality. This Modern Warrior Archetype will necessarily employ this important tool, but should know it for what it is. History’s losers are those lands, leaders and peoples who believe their own bullshit, and expect the eventual victors to believe it as well. The unconvinced and disbelieving have power; it can be used for something beyond Maximum Advantage in All Things.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.6.1

6a. Propaganda exists, most would agree, but it couldn’t possibly affect themselves. Only others are snared. One simply happens to think that way. Left in a vacuum, they would still behave, think and believe in the exact same manner. Only others are so mutable. For if one is an individual, one must be unique. The unacknowledged influence is the strongest. Few dare admit it. This Modern Warrior Archetype must be an exception, or else never be anything other than a tool. Influence must be admitted and purged through honestly admitting vulnerability, at least, to oneself. Shame is for the weak minded. Failing to recognize this battle is akin to the belief that a bullet will not rend and tear unprotected flesh. The mere idea is ridiculous. So goes the mind as well.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.14

5o. Collective action is not by nature antithetical towards individualism. Decadence and the decadent, being inherently anti-natural, will most easily make it so. A case in point, due to historically unseen technical advances, the world is interconnected. The values of competing civilizations are, in a sense, pounded at and on opposing population. That which cannot change has it forced. In this arena, left unto itself, the struggle between civilizations will be settled. Victory can only be a product of propaganda. Yet beware backlash. Nobody controls world propaganda.

[3] To a degree.

[4] As if.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.13

5n. Collective action may be vertical or horizontal in structure. However, although height might give one an advantage, that which is stacked too high will naturally reach a state of unstable equilibrium. The fall is hard. Those arrayed on the ground need only stay away from the downward path of collapse to be considered the success. These sort simply don’t promise or expect the world; whatever happens happens. Bear in mind, this assertion says nothing to imply that such low positions are never found on their knees, but they will likely survive. Those left merely standing will thrive. Some will stand taller than others.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.12

5m. Collective action may be a non-point source. As such, it can be blunted but never eliminated entirely. Indeed, just trying is a victory.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.12

5l. Collective action is susceptible to diversion. Hence, a program is required. This assertion should not imply rigidity.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.11

5k. Collective action leads to maximum exposure when applied for Maximum Advantage in all Things. In this scheme, the act occurs but once. By the act of immolation, attention is grabbed hard. Hence, means and ends beyond the Technical Morality must be employed for sustainability. The goal is not just to survive, but thrive.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.10

5j. Collective action has no innate control; so why push it? Things fall apart on their own.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.9

5i. Collective action is better witnessed through magnification. Practice is superior while small. An avalanche may be triggered by a single breath.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.8

5h. Collective action can be individual; it’s also harder to stop.

Archetypes

I'll be changing my ISP, so I won't be posting for awhile. For more on Archetypes check out Concerning Character and Archetypal Behavior Patterns. These pieces were originally written in 1996, and posted on this blog in 2004. Travis B. was kind enough to do a synopsis in the form of a graph. So if you don't want to take the time to read the whole thing, you can still get the general ideas involved. (Click on image to enlarge.) When I return, On This Modern Warrior Archetype will continue where it left off.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.7

5g. Collective action need not make one an insect. Society is not a hive. Culture is not a singular instinct. Complexity obscures. One may preserve one’s individual sensibilities by constantly questioning direction and goals. Of course, this does not imply one should turn against one’s friends and comrades. It does mean that one should not stay silent in the face of idiocy.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.6

5f. Severed ties may be mended, but will never be as strong again. In such situations, the knot is the weakest link, and therefore must be bypassed by using the longest remaining segment. Indeed, proximity may compensate for prior distance. However, tactics and strategy must accommodate this new reality. Few, it seems, are capable. This Modern Warrior Archetype requires setting aside personal feelings as a means to an end. Principles, on the other hand, should never do so sublimated. Discerning one from another is a different matter altogether.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.5

5e. Bonds are always subject to erosion. Energy must be expended in, more or less, direct proportion to the removal from base natural inclination. At the risk of being redundant, commonality will provide the lowest common denominator. In certain circumstances, This Modern Warrior Archetype must sink. A time comes to quit. The key to retaining one’s beliefs and identity is knowing when and how not to wallow. Even friends disagree.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.4

5d. Unity in cause should not be confused with solidarity. Both states imply something totally different over the short or long term. Both states create something totally different over the short or long term as well.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.3

5c. Allies are not necessarily friends.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.2

5b. Common causes should not be confused with affinity.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.5.1

a. Maximum Advantage, by its existence, demands that resistance always be met with ruthless efficiency. A lone individual cannot hope to do much against such machine moralities. Anyone believing otherwise is a tool to be exploited as an example. A price must be paid for believing contrary no matter what the specific counterpoint might be. Everyone must be the same. As a result, all contrarians are lumped together as threats. Beneficially, this forced grouping may cause individuals from many different backgrounds and mindsets to find commonality and even solidarity. As the communist and capitalist nations of the world united to fight fascism; so can individuals. Of course, these alliances are not natural. Such things must be made to happen.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.4.5

4e. According to Maximum Advantage, causality is ever simple and direct. As long as the course is steered straight the present order will be eternal. Hence, any deviation from the defined norms and means is unexpected. Although some individuals may know better, the greater society, entombed with the Technical Morality, is unable to adequately cope with any but the most minor change. Interesting times simply lead to fear. The herd blindly stampedes. Only luck avoids a cliff. This Modern Warrior Archetype must learn when to get out of the way in the better way possible. Failure to do so will inevitably result in being trampled. Stupidity kills.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.4.4

4d. As with all others, power vacuums must be filled. Often, chaos creates something worse than the previous order. Too many are foolish enough to believe that anything, as long as it appears different, is better. The Soviet Union is a prime example of such dynamics. One tyranny was exchanged for another. However, in the case of entropic decay, the choice is made without direct casuistry. It simply happens.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.4.3

4c. Egos may sink as well as swell. Victory over an unworthy or lesser foe is not a cause for celebration. Maximum Advantage demands all targets be treated equal. Like a heavy weight boxer beating down the proverbial 98-pound weakling, the weaker opponent is elevated, and the victor reviled. As with a brawl, others will leap to his defense; the collective assault is sustained by outrage and eventually prevails. Buried under a pile of bodies, the erstwhile champ suffocates. As a result, all that remains is a power vacuum.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.4.2

4b. Influence is a form of soft power. In some circumstances, it may even bypass money. Accumulating influence is a primary goal for any and all in the political arena. Once possessed, it may be used to call in favors and sway decisions. It may also be easily lost through scandal. This Modern Warrior Archetype is no exception to these basic rules. However, unlike a politician, the warrior gathers influence primarily through deeds. In addition, action is less resented than promises and back-room dealings, but more feared. Even so, unlike others, the warrior can therefore rise more quickly, but also fall harder. Hence, lest nothing remain, This Modern Warrior Archetype must constantly keep a check on the ego.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.4.1

4a. Strength is often mistaken for power. Although capability must be acknowledged, only ability garners respect. An enemy might fear overwhelming capability, but the choice to do more with less is honored. All else will be seen as unwillingness or even cowardice by those weaker. In this regard, as with other cases, Maximum Advantage is the path toward scorn and probable defeat. Only the decadent may be beat down solely by machines.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.3.2

3b. Although nothing repeats exactly, cycles and trends reappear over time. Many such repetitive instances are the result of re-emergent error. The old die; the past, although recorded by history, becomes forgotten. Oral traditions are more powerful than mere words on paper. A book, unless memorized and recited, does not have the power of living memory. The decadent have left behind this path. This mistake is always exploitable to Maximum Advantage, and even beyond, in all things. Those understanding technique hold the key.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.3.1

3a. Eternity may be a valid concept for philosophical or theological debate, but is meaningless with respect to human affairs. Entropy affects even nations. Solutions become failures in time. Ruts are dug deepest by adaptive failures. Whether one approves, change is inevitable, but not always further. Some change is retrograde.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.2.6

2f. Time is a product; industry requires its quantification. The non-industrial can never view waiting as waste in and of itself. Observation is a tool of patience. Expense requires the forward rush. Retrograde is never a real option. Forward path requirements limit and even eliminate choices. No alternative is by definition limited and therefore mediocre. Response is always the same and predictable. Introspection is basically non-existing. In the face of changing conditions, repetition is extinction.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.2.5

2e. For Maximum Advantage, immediacy is a virtue. Those operating within other moral frameworks are indifferent to its demands as a moral imperative. Ruled by the demand for instant gratification, the decadent fails to see otherwise, and may be defeated accordingly. This Modern Warrior Archetype must resist such instincts. The alternative is servitude to a lie.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.2.4

2d. Older cultures view time in longer increments. Modern cultures are tools of the clock. Paradoxically, those living shorter identify more strongly with lengthier means and ends. Perhaps the ephemeral are more strongly drawn toward the larger everlasting. A basic example is the religious instincts. Cast aside, nothing lasts beyond the individual; the world ceases with death. The elder world, including its atheists, knows different.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.2.3

2c. Individuals with a much lower life expectancy have less to lose than those anticipating otherwise. Maximum Advantage is never suitable for application with respect to those whom the future means little. Decadent instincts demand otherwise. This insistence inevitably leads to conflict. Those embracing technical and technological values as human morals cannot help do otherwise. Anything else is contrary to progress.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.2.2

2b. Time is not just something to be measured by clocks. Time is also very psychological. Those conditioned towards impatience view time differently than the western mind. Long term perspectives are incompatible with the expectation of haste. In struggle between opposing temporal senses, the resultant conflict will perhaps become the greatest challenge over all others. The victor is that side whom manages to control the time frame. The short-term mentality, being most easily bled dry, has an inherent disadvantage. Those demanding quick victory are especially easily to sucker into conflict that is systemically unwinnable. A job done rapidly is not necessarily a job done well. Hence, lest one fail, This Modern Warrior Archetype needs to break from speed and everything that it entails.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.2.1

2a. Maximum Advantage demands haste. Speed is deemed efficient. Rapid closure is seen as desirable, but is it? Mistakes are more likely by rushing through conflict. As always, This Modern Warrior Archetype does not need more enemies. Mediocrity is the surest means. Why create more?

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.1.5

1e. Maximum Advantage is a siren better resisted than accommodated. Driven by its nature, the Technical Morality attempts to devour everything and replace it with machines. Perception is altered; alternatives are ignored. Solutions converge to final unity. As only one option is perceived the most efficient, that solution will always be a compromise and therefore mediocre. This Modern Warrior Archetype understands that although many paths lead to victory, some should not be tread.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.1.4

1d. As Maximum Advantage permeates, everything affected slumps. Human motivation is no exception. Efficiency becomes moral. Fighting is certainly no exception. Machines offer absolute cover. Risk becomes something to be avoided at all costs. Even as their disdain increases, enemies are forced to respect overwhelming force. Innocents become targets. Idiots ask why.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.1.3

1c. Conflicts settled by machines requires no honor; hence it largely disappears in modern practice. Enemies have become things. Defeated standards are no longer hung in victory, rather vilified in perpetuity as something less than human. Their eyes are never seen. Senseless destruction, collateral or otherwise, has led to a mass psychological distortion by failures with respect to coping. Fighting is regarded as akin to abuse and murder by the multitude. In and of itself, this state is not necessarily bad. If conflict were forever ended, such thinking might be an indication of beneficial cultural evolution. Unfortunately, when living vicariously, the herd mentality may only sink. Spawned by error, the resultant events are too easily exploited to Maximum Advantage in all Things. Indeed, all are seized.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.1.2

1b. For civilization, struggle appears to be a constant condition. Only intensity varies. The machine has led paradoxically to both a decrease in relative frequency and an increase in the level of violence. Fighting becomes more deadly, and thus generally less frequent. Yet, as always and in all ages, instincts and impulses toward conflict are still present. Release is denied; the boiler explodes. In this regard, mass and individual psychology differ little. Only the expression differs.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.1.1

1a. Since the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the machine has been regarded the embodiment of power. The mechanical became idealized. For some, the universe, including humanity, were viewed as strongly deterministic; the past would always define the future. Humans were regarded as components made from components. The Technical Morality emerged and grew in prominence even as it was more strongly denied. Eventually, the deniers were eclipsed. Conflict was obviously no exception.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Six.0.0

Part Six.

On Maximum Advantage–

0. As discussed previously, Maximum Advantage is the effective morality for a technological society. By nature, its primary drive is towards efficiency. While ensconced, human action and motivation is guided by the needs and requirements of machines. The singular is less complicated than actual human beings, and perhaps paradoxically, more comforting. It takes no insight to be a machine.

MAXIMUM ADVANTAGE: The Technical Morality Revisited

For the benefit of newer readers to this blog, and also due to the fact that the subject directly relates to the next installment of This Modern Warrior Archetype, I will reprint the following post.

MAXIMUM ADVANTAGE: The Technical Morality

The Higher Morality

Draft 3.0+
Maximum Advantage is not everything; only those things which matter in a technological society. Wholly encompassing, Maximum Advantage may be applied in all situations. Quickly mutable, Maximum Advantage will co-opt or corrupt any rival moral philosophies, belief systems, religions and long lasting traditions. Maximum Advantage is not for cowards nor heroes. Minimum effort expended for maximum gain, Maximum Advantage is the embodiment of mediocrity. Maximum Advantage exploits the mean and mitigates circumstances, thus allowing the course to always follow the path of least resistance. Maximum Advantage is morality applied technically. Maximum Advantage facilitates propaganda through efficient application of advertising, promotion and applied psychology. Encompassing attention spans and finances, Maximum Advantage is brevity. Maximum Advantage is the real 1984. Maximum Advantage is the next highest branch on a genealogical tree of Western morality. A technical morality for a technical age was inevitable. A product of reductionism, maximum advantage has arrived largely unacknowledged but hardly unnoticed. Maximum Advantage is speed. Degeneration is a by-product. Efficiency does not apply to everything. Nadir and zenith rapidly alternate and reverse in a slow downward spiral. Cultural declines occur over the span of a mere generation.[1] Past populations experienced either relatively stable transition, or forced conversion by the sword; maximum advantage is neither. A truly positivist morality would have likely produced a world nuclear funeral. The myth of progress was thankfully dulled and diluted just enough by the science it helped spawn. Although extremely destructive, sinister incarnations of deterministic thought produced blatant totalitarian machinations which were thankfully not viable. The liberal democracies prevailed, were contaminated by contact vectors, and became something different even while retaining old trappings and framework. Some continuity is necessary. Politics became an illusion due to excessive squabbling over scraps. Only technical efficiency was deemed unquestionably good. All else must be justified. A mediocre bastard child was spawned by a union with global capital and approaches maturity. Adolescence ended with the cold war.
Maximum Advantage is the moral code for the successful wielding of power in the United States. Maximum gain for minimum effort is desired in all things. The forward view is very myopic. Mitigation is attempted through subtle mutation but co-optation is the result. Maximum Advantage in all things is desired. The unity is all-encompassing. Nothing is perceived beyond its scope. Power must be unrestrained. Hence, economics becomes progressively more abstract. Reinstating the gold standard would be an economic disaster. That old verbal world has been superseded by the more evolved. Hence, outright coercion has be replaced by less direct methods. Two-million fill our national prisons. Yet we are free. Drugs have been exploited to maximum advantage in all things. One might wonder how many proverbial birds are being slain by the stone of the drug war. The technical morality learns from past mistakes. The American public only cares about body bags. Hence, we have bloodless wars where the only military footage allowed is at extreme heights. The Serbian and Iraqi Population bled, but their leaders remain in power. Thus military expenditures and imperialism are justified by digging up not-quite-neutralized threats. As long as nobody is drafted and only elite pilots are put in the line of fire, the population is apathetic. Nobody is forced to join the military. In addition, legitimacy is conferred by international coalitions after being rubber stamped by the United Nations Security Council. It shows that even pacifist sentiments and constructs may be exploited to maximum advantages. The population is united by abstractions and myths, like progress and freedom. Loyalty is maintained by statistical prosperity. If the statistics say the nation is prosperous, then it must be healthy. Data and definitions are skewed for maximum advantage in maintaining system status quo. Socialization is supplanted by a mass media verbal world supporting the consumerist world view and calling it truth. Rather than just another historical transition, the present is portrayed as eternal, but instead stagnates. However, even the failures may be exploited to maximum advantage in all things. Criminals sell paper and boost ratings. The Judicial Branch is an industry. A niche exists for all. Radical change may be portrayed as inconsequential and nothing be labeled as something, but that does not make either case so. The world moves toward the anti-natural and will pay the price. Bankruptcy only works in court. Emotions may be manipulated. The opportunist is never immune. Dissident elements may be negated without crackdowns. Their message is inconsequential to the present technical moral scheme of maximum advantage in all things. Even while promoting the opposite, the concrete is always valued over the abstract. The system creates itself. Individuals ride the wave. Some fall. Others prosper, including some dissenting voice. Ralph Nadir is a millionaire. All are products. The elite knows it.
Though not the cause, the strict positivist mentality pervading industrial societies, while infecting others, produced two World Wars and the Cold War. The human factor has failed to develop at the same pace as its tools and toys. The mental energy necessary has been directed toward progress. Rigid mechanistic doctrines were devised which fit the times but not the future. Victory was assured by the dialectic, which proved itself wrong. Nothing is inevitable except death and taxes. Nationalism proved stronger than international worker solidarity. Properly utilized, tribal rivalries are easier to promote and maintain. Xenophobic propaganda does not rely upon reason or rationale. However, the result created an unstable condition of nuclear brinkmanship culminating in the Cuban missile crisis. Excessive rhetoric can be exceedingly antagonistic, and required toning down. Propaganda became less inflammatory and over-stated. When employed too readily, blatant propaganda becomes extremely hollow. A softer touch used to maximum advantage in all things was required and developed accordingly. Art was co-opted by both propaganda and advertising industry. The emerging technological society would not allow itself to be destroyed. Rather quick destruction could be averted while enriching the arms industry. The combination was simply the most efficient societal means. The technological system encroached upon all others, meeting the approval of the positivist mindset, because its parts may be measured. One cannot quantify emotions. Hence, the qualified has no value except to be exploited for maximum advantage in all things. Manipulation assures concern to be a liability. The mediocre becomes ascendant. Slave and master moralities were quickly absorbed into the technological framework, and synthesized into a common median. The resultant system, developed by exploiting and encouraging conflict, allows justification for increased efficiency essential for technical propagation. Unlike harsher systemic schemes, the minimum effort necessary for maximum gain is the approved standard applied. The resultant mythos created is a hollow mockery. Progress rolling over everything, defining all valuations by drenching the earth in blood if necessary, is perceived as good in a world long past such quaint notions. However, progress does provide some continuity for us drones chained to its capital-controlled economic system. Else all would perceive the drift. A supposed link with past traditions has been a common error during all ages. The current era is no different. The base means are dredged for maximum advantage, a value system which attaches like a parasite to any available host as a means of least action. Rebellion is subdued by commodification of its products. The elite gain by the stability necessary for maximum technical efficiency. The resultant cultural inertia often produces weak worthless decedents, whom mean absolutely nothing, slowly withering away in stupid angst. Only their money saves their useless existence from being stomped into mulch. The slow mediocre spiral drags all down by subduing natural reactions in favor of anti-natural meaning. Inefficiency is evil, but the walking dead are an abomination. Maximum advantage is not destined to be long lasting, but will permeate everything of value in a skewed technological society. The hyper-rational must allow outlets for expression, but never enough to upset the established order. Any popular appeal will be bought and sold to a hyper-stimulated populace craving new diversions. Existing pathways are exploited to natural advantage in all things by superseding nature itself. Corruption is a by-product which must be minimized by expending very little, thus little may be corrupted. Hence, decay is evidenced over collapse. While allowing less room for discontent, passivity is always encouraged and valued over submission. Populations do not rebel over boredom.
Altruism is not conducive nor compatible with maximum advantage. Its appearance has ulterior motivation. A large corporation may donate large amounts to charities, but will milk it for maximum advantage. Big Business only supports cancer research, because its pollution may be a cause. The issues become entangled and confused. Any debate regarding globalism grinds to a halt in a maze of pros and cons. The larger questions are not even considered. Progress is not viewed as a myth, but rather a definition drawn by little more than sentiment. Value judgments are supplied by propaganda, both pro and con. Most just ignore large-scale concerns and continue with their daily lives. Some things are simply never contemplated by those seeing no profit or profit in such things. The big picture is far away but the rent is due on the 5th of the month. Immediate concerns supersede all else. The periphery is less tangible and easier to manage. A landscape is constructed where before only a monolith existed to be venerated or assaulted. How could anyone, besides the insane, completely question an all-encompassing vista?
The higher technical morality supersedes older traditional moralities by smothering. Good and Evil are re-defined, but not re-evaluated, according to the dictates of technical efficiency. The absolute adherence demanded has created a higher morality above all else. Propaganda is the language of the new mediocre religion of progress for purposes of a lowest-common mean unity. Stagnation while scurrying about supposedly promotes stability. The clergy are simply supplanted by technicians, which even a thinking atheist [2] might admit is alarming. In the modern incarnation, the priest has only verbal authority, rather than the full trappings of the ultra-rational and re-definable progress. One cannot see God. The protestant reformation is long over. The religious types have no power beyond annoying rhetoric. The possible social consequences inherent in cultural rejection of religion may pose serious difficulties. According to the 19th Century themes of Dostoevsky, the removal of God from peasant societies leaves a void allowing murder with a good conscious. Russia certainly proved his predictions correct. The opportunistic will sight upon any available target. The population is a different matter. Its restraints must be removed. The priest would see slaves, but the technical would eliminate all humanity from consideration, ideally replacing it with a stagnant rationale. The result is lower than slavery. At least religion becomes decadent and decays into something tolerable, or at least easily ignored. Development is hampered by religion, but denied by technique which produces nothing different only better. Absolutes are anti-natural. Faith in the anti-natural leads to ruin. However, the technical insulates through its inherent efficiency, effectively obscuring everything outside its spotlight. Hence, the individual becomes unable to discern differences, and therefore may be exploited to maximum advantage by the most efficient means. Socialization is blunted by unstable environments masked by the delusion of stability. The force required to maintain the facade must be legitimized by propaganda techniques. Intertwined among short and long term concerns, a double-spiral guides the ascension of technical reality. The most effective delivery vectors often act through the mechanisms of market bastard capitalism. The populace actually pays to be propagandized in the ideal docility required for the efficient operation of this technical society. Even elite classes become complacent by propagating the resultant system, because these groups benefit most rapidly and maintain their position. They believe their own bullshit. The most adaptable may become the new ruling class, but will see their heirs generally stagnate due to intellectual inbreeding and otherwise. Hence, dynasties are quickly toppled, although a parasitic leisure class by-product often emerges to be replaced by fresh meat. Hence, some artificial circulation occurs, thus enabling certain myths like the American Dream.
Often society and culture become confused by being perceived as synonymous. A blurring effect is maintained for maximum advantage in all things, thus eliminating any possibility of distinction. History is erased, not by decree, but by context. Everything hitherto has lead to this height of attainment. The shining examples of strip malls and lame entertainment, are rationalized and excused by real accomplishments such as sanitation and infrastructure. Successive generations score higher on cognitive intelligence test, but becomes more stupid. The current crop will be eaten alive when the global economy depresses. The social dynamic has been supplanted by allowing malleable popular culture free reign across the consumer landscape. Decadent instincts become ascendant in any anti-natural environment. Nihilism eventually decays unto death, but may be mitigated for maximum advantage. Prime time snuff films bring high television ratings. Discontent is disbursed, then exploited for profit. The proper response is directed by consumer culture, which demands cash for overpriced goods and services even at the consequence of massive debt. Bankruptcy rates soar, but no matter. Credit may always be easily re-established. Lifestyles must be maintained as required by progress, which means meeting or exceeding preceding (de-)generations (one way or another). Hence while the technical world spirals upward, the natural slowly declines. Even the decadent becomes less creative. A short attention span would not even note any passing of stronger instincts, merely run with the herd mentality. Even the propagandist is affected by the induced perceptions. The eternal present becomes manifest. Our memories become surreal. The question is permitted, yet still forbidden, and non-existent besides. The critical becomes blunted by contact vectors, which slowly drain vitality by overwhelming with constant over-stimulation. Befitting a spent technological dream, in the end, only rusting hollow shells, with a shiny attractive exterior, will remain.
Occasionally, the technical morality will miscalculate actions and reactions. The difficulties must be handled effectively for maximum advantage. For example, an incompetent national foreign policy may lead to reprisal terrorist attacks, but these events allow and provide justification for retaliatory attacks, increasing intrusive regional influence, enrich the arms industry, and even facilitate establishing increased domestic restrictions on suspected internal threats, thus enriching the prison industry, etc. The chains that bind have many parallel links. All approaches must be extremely malleable. Goals are accomplished by overcoming social inertial forces, or merely providing the perception of change. Obscured by the spectacle of instantaneous gratification, this system may expand or contract relatively slowly in actuality. A perceptual shift is far more efficient than even the small level of actual change demanded by technical requirements. This state is not an automatic consequence of adapting technique, rather a result of anti-natural and unbalanced development. Efficiency encompasses everything. A mixture of belief systems must be accommodated or manipulated for maximum advantages. Those beyond a certain mean (in the base sense of the word) are easy prey for exploitation as well. A common enemy is a most efficient means for instilling unity in a suitably divided and pacified population. A jester is even better. For instance, UFO believers are ridiculed, perhaps rightly so, but every unidentified flying object is not an alien from outer-space. An aborted military test flight might unfortunately stray into civilian territory, but most potential witnesses would likely avoid talking much, beyond the anecdotal, concerning a "far off streak in the sky." (Let alone file an official report.) Lest reputations suffer, only the attention starved would bother. The government need not even bother with a cover story. Technique does not just apply to machines. The path of least resistance is identified then utilized for maximum advantage. Any potential difficulties will also receive a refined, most efficient, non-invasive response as possible, which further pacifies the populace. Sensationalism swells and overloads the senses, and earns a tidy profit to boot. "Info-tainment" is not real news, but amuses and pacifies. The constant stimulation makes nothing very noticeable, even the corrupt and absurd. The technical morality does not care about cynicism, merely coopting expression for maximum advantage. The technical morality does not recognize any emotions, rather utilizes their effectiveness for maximum advantage. The unknown is exploited for maximum advantage. Any resistance is a measure of societal and cultural inertias, which may in turn be exploited for maximum advantage. Economic bad times create higher crime which may be utilized to saturate the media, which encourages fear and citizens stay indoors. Why bother with brute force methods like general curfews, when the population will do so by its own accord and pay money for it? Any unrest is vilified and demonized for maximum advantage. The meek stay meek. Maximum efficiency is constrained by thermodynamics, but may always be presented otherwise. Surpassing the natural, the technical morality will move into the realm of the anti-natural. No distinction is possible in the mythical realm of progress. The improvement can never end, although it must and will.
Any assertion contrary to the myth of progress will be met with circular arguments or proof by example. However, any system has components neither provable nor disprovable within itself. The whole is different than the sum of its parts. These theorems are true; it requires one sufficiently alienated to document this system created by the technical morality. The only self-awareness required is the extent of that disenfranchisement, and the ruthlessness to pull the wings off a fly... However, most believe such freedom from fear requires strength beyond them. Their perceptions have been lead like cattle. Under maximum advantage, "Nothing is forbidden; everything is permitted," may be allowed but will never occur in the resultant mediocre compromise. In truth, rather the opposite, but sweet lies are better. However, some errors are necessary.
[1] The generational concept is a relatively new concept. It requires rapid change, therefore different age ranges experience vastly different worlds. The resultant conflict inevitably occurs as a clash between verbal worlds. History is witnessed.
[2] As opposed to a rational or reactionary atheist. Progress and rebellion are both lies. Prayer is an order of rank higher than faith in progress.
1997 - January 1, 2001