Beautiful-and Deadly-Decadence

Webster sat at the desk and held his hands in front of him, staring at them. Hands that had skill, held knowledge. Hands that could save a life if he could get them to Mars. Hands that could save for the solar system, for mankind, for the Martians an idea-a new idea-that would advance them a hundred thousand years in the next two generations. But hands chained by a phobia that grew out of this quiet life. Decadence-a strangely beautiful-and deadly-decadence.

-Clifford D. Simak
City

Social Conditioning

Social conditioning fosters propaganda susceptibility. Any image must mirror the original for greatest acceptance. New notions or fads are required to overcome societal inertia and inevitable drag forces. Familiarity is the most efficient appeal as it will receive less critical attention, and may be unconsciously absorbed—but only if one has the resources to ensure media saturation (including bad press directed at the effort by its opponents). The herd will rally and defend its flags. Critical thought is not a herd virtue. Cosmetic window dressing and directed semantics are crucial elements in to achieving a successful saturation propaganda campaign. Short attention spans increase the likelihood. Ideally, the idea is regarded eternal. A seed of doubt may be planted to weaken both state and herd. Popular ideals can be vivisected in the same manner the opposition was refuted. Glass may prove more valuable whole than smashing it. Destruction can be satisfying. Decadent Morality smothers. You chose your values.

New God

The new God is not necessarily an improvement.

Systemic Mediocrity

Systemic mediocrity is a trap where nothing is real and everything is the same. Only the determined may overcome its perils. Nobody else has the stamina. The path of least resistance is to go along to get along. Money is made selling crutches.

Limits

Maximum Advantage represents limit upon thought and action. When every action must be justified by efficient gain, very little humanity remains in the process of decision making. Real choices disappear in favor of essentially predetermined response. Humanity is discarded; the culture becomes base and stagnated under general apathy. Society is poisoned by the cultural decadence "Decadence" spawned when the population, as a whole, becomes so disconnected that it no longer cares. Pointlessness rots the spirit all the quicker. Eventually, Things Fall Apart on their Own. Maximum Advantage can only be abandoned by letting go of intangibles. (Of what?)

Shortest Path

Business destroys nations through total reliance on efficiency.  The  race to the bottom always takes the shortest path.

Loyaly

Loyalty is inefficient.

Delusion & Self-deception

1. Delusion is an individual art, and a mass science.
2. Self-deception is an enabler.
3. The gap is bridged by social conditioning.

Self Knowledge

Self knowledge is a distraction.

Business

The business of business is total degradation.

Why the Outrage?

Why the outrage over something already known?

Fait Accompli

Control freaks can never accept anything as fait accompli.

Relative

Hatred is relative and therefore measured by extremes.

Demagogue

For a demagogue, alienation equates to extremism.

Say Stuff

The insecure, the stupid and politicians always seem to feel a need to "say stuff" for its own sake. Which one are you?

This Godless Communism

This Godless Communism was a propaganda comic book.  It "was an American comics feature that appeared in Treasure Chest, a biweekly, subscription-only comic book distributed in parochial schools from 1946 to 1972."

Worth a chuckle at the least.  It is an example of propaganda aimed at children.

Link.
JPG Link
PDF Link
CBR Link (Comic Book RAR file--good for readers)

Senseless Violence

Senseless violence is a product of alienation.

Pointing Fingers

Pointing fingers is a sign of tribalism.

Change

Even though it occurred through their entire life, why are the old surprised by change?

Values

In details, values ar a stage of life.

Censorship

Censorship is a government art form.

Other Possibilities

Mondragon: Spain's giant co-operative where times are hard but few go bust.  An interesting capitalist-cooperative hybrid model.  There are other possibilities.

Drones

Voters are drones.

Death of a Class

From a review of Death of a Yuppie Dream: The Rise and Fall of the Professional-Managerial Class:

Historically, members of the PMC have designed and managed capital’s systems of social control, oftentimes treating working-class people with a mixture of paternalism and hostility. As advocates for rational management of the workplace and society, however, the PMC has sometimes also acted as a buffer against the profit motive as the sole meaningful force in society. Today, members of the PMC face a choice. Will they cling to an elitist conception of their own superiority and attempt to defend their own increasingly tenuous privileges, or will they act in solidarity with other working people and help craft a politics capable of creating a better world for all?

Of course they will not.  They've been raised to believe societal myths and to embrace hyper-individuality.  Collective action is therefore inconceivable.  All that remains is complaining.  Talk - Action = Nothing.

Friends

In politics, supporters are often more of a detriment than enemies.

Not Very Bright

Bill Gates is naive, data is not objective.  Beyond marketing crappy software, he just is not very bright if he really believes in objective data collection.

Stupidity

Stupidity is contagious, but it can be cured by exposure to reality.

17 Equations

Link.

Talk

Those knowing nothing talk the most.

Psychopaths

Per Jobs fit for a psychopath?

1. Chief Executive Officer
2. Lawyer
3. Media (Television/Radio)
4. Salesperson
5. Surgeon
6. Journalist
7. Police officer
8. Clergy person
9. Chef
10. Civil servant

These professions have the lowest rate of psychopaths:

1. Care aide
2. Nurse
3. Therapist
4. Craftsperson
5. Beautician or stylist
6. Charity worker
7. Teacher
8. Creative artist
9. Doctor
10. Accountant

See Also.