Would you be more scared if there *was* a conspiracy behind all of the world's problems or if there *wasn't*?
I veer on the side of there actually not being any great conscious body "pulling the strings", which really means that we've got ourselves to blame for the state of the planet.
Sometimes I think as you do, sometimes not. There are entrenched powers behind the scenes, of course. But all-ruling?
I get more worried (as bartok hinted, that no one is in charge, that the problems we face are mostly the emergent result of multiple interests pulling priorities toward their desires. Sometimes they win, sometimes not. Mostly, though, what happens is the cumulative total of everybody doing what they feel is best.
Which is kinda scary. If the ruling elite were truly in charge, one would have someone to whom one could appeal for beneficial change. Lobbying everyone to park the monster trucks and live in walkable communities while, oh yeah, paying higher taxes to mitigate the destruction already done?
First of all, I didn't actually allege the existence of a *unified* global conspiracy- I wrote "transnational financial and corporate interests", plural. Nor did I claim that a conspiracy exists, or that it was all ruling.
It is interesting that most people seem to prefer to think in terms of this false dichotomy - either world events are the result of self-interest multiplied by 6 billion, or a global conspiracy of shadowy cigarette smoking men runs everything.
But there are many shades of gray between these two extremes.
The most likely scenario in my view is the following:
The political and economic designs of shadowy elites have a very powerful (though not all-powerful) impact on world events, even as these elites are divided into many factions and sub-factions.
Sometimes, when most of their interests are aligned, they act with great power, at other times, when there is significant disagreement between factions, enough of their influence is canceled out so that "people power" has a chance to tip the scales in its favor.
I've noticed the jump to/from unified conspiracy myself. I wonder if it has anything to do with our human psyches. We seem to be wired to consider only a few possible influences theoretically. Therefore, our brains have a tough time getting past either the "no one's in charge" (a single thing to consider) or "a cabal's in charge" (another single thing).
Even considering weighted by not-all-powerful cabals, vying not for mastery but at least dominance in their chosen field, means we must give those considerations due weight, which means getting into mental social differential equations, something that by definition would break the "single thing" focus our brains prefer.
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I veer on the side of there actually not being any great conscious body "pulling the strings", which really means that we've got ourselves to blame for the state of the planet.
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I get more worried (as bartok hinted, that no one is in charge, that the problems we face are mostly the emergent result of multiple interests pulling priorities toward their desires. Sometimes they win, sometimes not. Mostly, though, what happens is the cumulative total of everybody doing what they feel is best.
Which is kinda scary. If the ruling elite were truly in charge, one would have someone to whom one could appeal for beneficial change. Lobbying everyone to park the monster trucks and live in walkable communities while, oh yeah, paying higher taxes to mitigate the destruction already done?
Hard sell.
Reply
It is interesting that most people seem to prefer to think in terms of this false dichotomy - either world events are the result of self-interest multiplied by 6 billion, or a global conspiracy of shadowy cigarette smoking men runs everything.
But there are many shades of gray between these two extremes.
The most likely scenario in my view is the following:
The political and economic designs of shadowy elites have a very powerful (though not all-powerful) impact on world events, even as these elites are divided into many factions and sub-factions.
Sometimes, when most of their interests are aligned, they act with great power, at other times, when there is significant disagreement between factions, enough of their influence is canceled out so that "people power" has a chance to tip the scales in its favor.
Reply
I've noticed the jump to/from unified conspiracy myself. I wonder if it has anything to do with our human psyches. We seem to be wired to consider only a few possible influences theoretically. Therefore, our brains have a tough time getting past either the "no one's in charge" (a single thing to consider) or "a cabal's in charge" (another single thing).
Even considering weighted by not-all-powerful cabals, vying not for mastery but at least dominance in their chosen field, means we must give those considerations due weight, which means getting into mental social differential equations, something that by definition would break the "single thing" focus our brains prefer.
Reply
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