mourning glory‽
the article builds on the previous … a good launching off point.
https://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_698.pdf
here’s the thing; when amounts get that expansive — one tips from reality to phantasy. Where and when does financial modeling and projection cease to be a useful construct (map/relation of money to life set to time) ? ? ?
Rather, what is the central loco-motion that is occurring?–
i would posit that the story is now driving humans to act in accordance with the narrative–
this is analogous to “holy” crusades, self-flagellation,
or
drinking the kool-aid. Self-directed madness.
and the flip-side
a level of acceptance of one and all (pride month!)
not through emotional growth and maturity,
but through imposed politically correct thinking
a strict ideological adherence
to saying the “right” thing and acting accordingly
now is not the time to fear
like a petulant child ready to lose his favourite toys
[big fancy house with 24/7 HVAC? Shitty designed cities in the US necessitating two cars in every driveway, roads and parking lots everywhere? Airports, Air-travel? Food shipped thousands of miles? FIRE based economy? Electronics? Electricity?]
I tell ya, I watch a video like the one above–
and my first instinctual response?– be quiet and don’t upset the powers that be … but also, like, what do you expect?
That right there, is the inculcated belief I was indoctrinated with in my youth —
via propaganda —
propagated through media, education, religion, family …
unions are not the enemy;
they are far more part of the solution, that being communal relations.
What I don’t understand, in this day and age – why frequent Apple, Starbucks, WalMart at all?
convenience comfort conformity routine
cccr
whoops, party time!- that should be cccp. my memory failed my witticism
but, like, why aren’t there local worker owned coffee shops everywhere –
like, find a bean wholesaler, get a cheap roaster, and fill a room with kitschy items and wifi; voila [granted the others are slightly different, but the economy seems to be rapidly evolving into …
and that brings me back to ukraine, europe, russia, china.
union busting, people busting, and power (although i repeat myself)
it’s the only way to truly join up the western world with the ideals of china …
and reigning in the “gas station”
controlling the breadbaskets
and that is the crux;
western comforts are not because of some “specialness” of western civilization.
au contraire, western comforts are built on the suffering of others (along with the exploitation of resources)
and, unquestionably, the inability to see that suffering (externalities!) built into the foundations of the system itself.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/15/china/china-zhengzhou-bank-fraud-health-code-protest-intl-hnk/index.html
shades of the canadian trucker convey, eh?
bonus tracks: