On 12/12/2012 12:33 PM, Chris Austin-Lane wrote:
Is this the system you think would be better than our tax based
system?
You seem to be under the misapprehension that because I foresee
something I must 'want' all aspects of it.
You wrote of some better system than democracy:
> IS democracy /really/ better than all the alternatives? I submit that
it is not
I took your email to mean that you preferred the foreseen anarchy
system following the collapse was a sample alternative. So if not
anarchy, then what system is better than democracy?
We are getting some conflation and confusion here. I don't think
democracy is the best system, and I made it clear why: because it
inevitably segues into communism, which is a proven disaster. I said I
thought that a representative republic, as exemplified by the original
US constitution, was about as good as any government I know of, but I
also said I don't think there is ANY government that will suffice to
maintain personal freedom, social order, and a free/productive economy
in an overpopulated world or individual state for that matter. I said I
prefer anarchy (maximizing personal freedom) but conceded that it was
not going to happen in an overcrowded, technological society. I did not
say that I /wanted/ all aspects of the defacto condition of anarchy
which will prevail in the post-collapse world, but simply that it would
/be/ the condition, and that it has /been /the human condition except
since agriculture. Before one dismisses such a state as "nasty and
brutish" it should be considered that humans evolved from apes under
those conditions, and that we are DEvolving under the current order,
which can't be maintained /any/way, though I have no doubt that people
will try to do so at any cost ... the results of which will be both
ghastly and futile..
A comment on disasters in California - the earthquakes are less fuss
than the hurricanes I got on the east coast of the US - you just prep
and then hopefully it will turn out ok, but there's no advance
warning. No "tropical depression forming off of the blah blah
islands." No unneeded evacuations.
You probably realize that is not the kind of 'disaster' I have in mind,
though natural disasters may be the stressors that precipitate social
breakdown.
The fact that supposedly 'awakened beings' can't apprehend the
inevitable results of current trends and policy (indeed, argue for
hair-of-the-dog cures) falsifies their pretensions to enlightenment.
Not sure if you are referring to me here,
No, and it is to your credit that you make no such claims. In spite of
your occasional hostility, I respect your unpretentious efforts.
you see your kids ice cream falling from the cone and you catch it
with no gap no thought just seeing and moving,
In the martial arts this is known as 'mu shin'; it is a natural human
ability, though not 'dependable', in an actual conflict, until (after
long practice) one has gained control of emotions, particularly fear.
Depending on the circumstances and how often you experience it, and
assuming that you do not practice martial arts, it /might /indicate that
your meditation and mindfulness is starting to 'pay off'.
RAF
