After Such Knowledge

We must have an overproduction of elites right now, surely in the Neoconfederacy: oil, munitions, and now the enablers of the death merchants (targeting, recon, satnav) developing independence (SV). I see a possible division among the Yankees between publicly-traded corporations and private equity like that upstart BlackRock preparing to strip the Sceptered Isle. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘳 is BS?? Welp, the ones who love it seem bound by peculiarly formal Cavalier rules (like John Carter of Mars). But wait, only Universal States assassinate their most successful generals. Gotta contemplate this some more. Humans ritualize and ceremonialize everything to the point of uselessness. And then with Sargon the institutional dominoes fall (upriver). Hey, I didn't know King David was really a mercenary! What a pity the Levant is such a pesthole. Milk and honey my arse. It's why I dabbled in the thesis of thaumaturgy's prevalence during the time of Jesus. Judaism is more a culture tha...

I see what David Brin is trying to do: reform without violence Macauley-fashion. He wants to use institutional ad-hocracy to outflank the decaying New South's GOP but he never questions Wall Street or the Pax Americana. He praises Pericles who is a perversely bad example. The Delian League was a lot like our Bretton Woods / NATO order, and like Athens the US was the leader of this League, which began ostensibly as a defensive alliance against Persia. Over time, however, Athens converted the league into an empire - moving the treasury to Athens, demanding tribute, and enforcing compliance with the threat of force. This dead goldfish was democratic at home but imperial abroad. It was dependent on naval supremacy and economic extraction (helped along by the navy). The other allies started to resent this. Other city-states grew alarmed. The Pax Americana has also hardened into a hegemonic system, especially since the energy crisis and the weakening dollar. Like Athens the US was theatr...

The purchasing power available in the community is equal to income minus savings. If there are any savings, the available purchasing power will be less than the aggregate prices being asked for the products for sale and by the amount of the savings. Therefore all the goods and services produced can't be sold as long as savings are held back. In order for all the goods to be sold, it's necessary for the savings to reappear in the market as purchasing power. The usual way this is done is by investment. When savings are invested, they are expended into the community and appear as purchasing power. Since the producer's good made by the investment is not put on the market, the expenditures made by its creation appear as purchasing power. As a result the disequilibrium between purchasing power and prices created by the act of saving is restored completely by the act of investment, and all the goods can be sold at the prices asked. But whenever investment is less than savings, the...

Western Civilization has experienced seven major “plateauing” S‑curves — cycles of expansion, institutionalization, and eventual stagnation — since its emergence around the 10th century.   📚 Framework of S‑Curves describes civilizations as dynamic systems that grow through instrumental innovations (new ways of organizing energy, resources, or power). Over time, these innovations harden into institutions, which eventually become obstacles to further growth. This produces the familiar S‑curve:  Initial growth (rapid expansion through innovation); Plateau (institutionalization and rigidity); Crisis/transition (either renewal through reform or decline). Western Civilization, in this view, has been uniquely resilient because it has repeatedly broken through these plateaus by reforming or replacing its dominant institutions. 🌀 The Seven Plateauing S‑Curves of Western Civilization: Macrohistorians such as John K. Hord (formerly of the International Society for the Comparative ...

  The whole point of changing the teaching of economics was to make it acceptable to trash the regulations that had been put in place during the New Deal to prevent another Great Depression. And as would become readily apparent, these regulations had been put in place to address real needs. Well written and administered regulations lead to more scientifically advanced and prosperous societies because regulations protect and permit honest entrepreneurs to thrive. The more complex the society, the more of these honest people it takes to keep all the parts working. Take away the rules and the cheaters will drive out the honest operators. The only historical outcome of "deregulation" is a rise in corruption of all forms and a destruction of industrial potential. Pretty much describes the past 46 years, huh? Deregulation in all its forms has been an ongoing project. There are literally countless examples.  This is just my list. I have also created a separate category for the decri...

 A symbol of sovereign industry illuminated by stellar purpose. This started out as a convo on Twatter. I just finished discussing Ebenezer Scrooge. Pat Robertson thought Scrooge got rich by obeying the laws of God = laissez-faire. What he did with his profits was between him and God. I want to reclaim "elegance" but not as a mark of elite refinement. I liken it to a mathematical curve that intersects all necessary points, solving complex problems with minimal waste. This redefinition is central to my vision of a sustainable industrial future. Rather than associating elegance with aristocratic taste or aesthetic polish, I see it as technological and systemic coherence. Functional elegance is like a mathematical curve that passes through all required data points, elegant technology solves multiple problems simultaneously — economic, environmental, and social — without excess or contradiction. Upper-class affectations are the opposite. Always have been since the Bronze Age inva...