Evolution of Consciousness

Another look at the economic shenanigans taking place in Europe right now: “Eurozone Crisis is Self-inflicted” by Mark Weisbrot.

And we might as well take this opportunity to recognize “austerity” as the buzzword of the day: code for economic raiding of public assets by private interests. Basically, it means “everyone else tighten your belts, while we raid the cookie jar.”

This standard Milton-Friedman-esque IMF-ish ploy, first perpetrated in far distant lands (Latin America, Asia, Africa), is now coming home to roost in the “western” countries (Iceland, United States, Greece).

Now that the rich boys have scoured the globe, I guess they’ve decided to target the really big prizes, before the whole charade falls completely apart. This could be a good sign, perhaps the end of this economic horror show is fast approaching.

These are interesting times we live in.

We are currently being presented with some momentous decision points concerning government and economics, so it is becoming more and more important for people, the masses, to understand what is happening at the foundational level.

If we continue passing through these crises largely unaware and misinformed (Hello, Teabaggers) we could go the way of the Weimar Republic (totalitarian fascism). That is what ignorance could bring.

On the other hand, this is also a golden opportunity for us to take an evolutionary step in a much more positive direction, but in order to accomplish that we must have some basic understanding of the actual forces involved. We need to attain a critical mass of consciousness about what is currently happening.

Naomi Klein’s book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007) provides excellent background on this subject, and here’s a few more recent discussions on the latest events…

• “Austerity Does Not Produce Prosperity” by Robert Kuttner
• “The Greeks Get It” by Chris Hedges
• “Euro-Bankers Demand of Greece” by Michael Hudson

Here’s an interesting example of the dynamic discussed in the previous post; that is, the possible coming together of ideological “opposites” in the name of change and progress. This example comes from Britain, following the curious merger of the Tories (conservative party) and the Liberal Democrats. As Greenwald neatly puts it in his essay: “how citizens of vastly divergent political philosophies can align.”

Glenn Greenwald takes a look at the disgruntled mood of the electorate this year: “Why Do Voters Hate Incumbents?”

This desire for change from the citizenry is good, and certainly called for, but in order to usher in truly healthy change and growth, it must have some footing in reality. There must be a modicum of understanding and intelligence behind it. We don’t want to throw the bums out, only to replace them with something worse.

I think the challenge in this country right now is to combine the revolutionary energy of the right with the progressive intelligence of the left. It’s time for the people of this country to come together against the wealthy and powerful elite. We’ve got to put the old Party divisions behind us (along with the psuedo ideologies that have powered them). It really is time for something new.

David Michael Green approaches the subject from a different angle in “Fear Comes of Age“; and Robert Scheer makes an attempt to close the circle with “Who’s Afraid of Rand Paul.”

The buzzword of the day is “unwind.”

Strategic deployment of this term can bestow economic sagacity. Example: “Look at that Euro unwind!”

Note: although “unwind” has become widespread, is being overutilized well, and shows signs of longevity, it is not expected to threaten “deploy” for Buzzword of the Decade.