The Banner of the Solar Forge

 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 invasions. Thorstein Veblen got that part right. He had stumbled on a human tendency that causes civilizations to fall, in spite of the efforts of artisans and inventors. Simply extend it to all vested interests through history since its beginning.

Once asked how my hero will save the world. Instead I snatched him out of orbit and flung him to another galaxy. So he missed WW II and the Soaring Sixties. The Soaring Sixties came rather close, though.

Elegance for me is about designing tools, institutions, and systems that harmonize industrial productivity with ecological sustainability. It’s not about going “back to nature” but about advancing forward with precision and care.

The elegant tech (more than computopia!) is the hardware of a new industrial order — machines, processes, and infrastructures that are environmentally sound. Industrial environmentalism is the software — social, political, and economic systems that support sustainable development. I argue that we must resolve the contradiction of industrialization (its ecological damage) by designing elegant technologies that preserve the biosphere while maintaining productivity.

It's a kind of technological choreography in which every move made is purposeful, nothing wasted, a solution that touches every necessary point (each point a human need) with graceful sufficiency. Without overreach - or the current cant "overshoot" used by the degrowth crowd.

It won't interest you to know that the Industrial Revolution was started by Nonconformists. Quakers were all over the place. (What the devil happened to Nixon??) But when the Anglicans got involved via the invention of the LLC, Dickens and Marx both trimmed their quills.

Meanwhile, somewhere in H-X.1 — a speculative Herschel designation, inaugurating a new class of mythic objects beyond his original I–V categories.

Jack Reid’s concept of Veblenist economics centers on empowering the industrial class — engineers, builders, inventors, and craftspeople — to drive sustainable prosperity through elegant, problem-solving technologies. He contrasts this with the extractive, manipulative logic of predator economics.

Here’s a deeper look into Reid's environmental blueprint:

Who Are the Producers? Producers are those who create real value — not through speculation or manipulation, but through tangible work. Engineers, machinists, farmers, builders, designers — anyone who transforms materials, energy, or ideas into useful goods and services. They are problem-solvers, driven by curiosity, precision, and a desire to improve systems. Producers are often invisible in elite historiography, yet they are the backbone of civilization.

He argues that producers form a distinct industrial class, with values rooted in functionality, sustainability, and long-term thinking. This class is often misunderstood or ignored in mainstream economics, which tends to favor financial elites or consumer behavior.

Producers vs. Predators: Reid draws a sharp line between producer economics, grounded in real production, innovation, and systemic improvement, and predator economics based on rent-seeking, speculation, and manipulation — especially in finance, advertising, and politics.

He sees predator economics as parasitic, extracting wealth without creating value. In contrast, producer economics builds durable infrastructure, elegant technologies, and ecological solutions.

Producer Utopia: Reid describes and prescribes a producer republic as a working environment where there is permanent funding, modest living, and minimal supervision. Producers are free to focus on solving problems rather than chasing grants or navigating bureaucracy. This environment has yielded breakthroughs like microchips, artificial heart valves, and solar technologies. (On lost legendary Earth, that is.)

He believes that when producers are trusted and resourced, they can deliver elegant solutions to complex problems — especially environmental ones.

Jack Reid’s vision of economic renewal is not anti-industrial — it’s post-predatory. He advocates rebuilding the economy around producer values: sustainability, precision, and long-term usefulness.

Designing elegant technologies that solve multiple problems at once — like reducing pollution while increasing productivity.

Reforming institutions to support producer logic: education, funding, and governance that reward real innovation.

The Russkies he rescued got around to founding the nation of Runia. Its flag was an atom surrounded by a cogwheel. Replace it with the sun, maybe. Well, not good ol' Sol but the next best thing, the new star Phoebus.

This framework feels ripe for ceremonial encoding. He might inscribe producer economics as a symbol of sovereign stewardship — a rite of generative labor that opposes the extractive logic of the mob. Perhaps a forge-circle motif, where each artisan’s tool becomes a planetary spoke, turning the wheel of renewal. I'll save that one for the nation analogous to the US.