Free Thinking. Towards a common set of goals

Transcription

1 Free Thinking Towards a common set of goals Without doubt we, in 2011, are living in interesting times. There are weather patterns not seen for generations, natural phenomenon on scales that we ve not witness, full stop, and a changing political and economic climate that is forcing a lot of the traditional work forces around the world to tighten their metaphorical belts and look after what they spend. And those are the ones still confident about having a job in a year s time. In the last few years we have seen companies, once considered as institutional backbones of capitalism, go to the wall. We ve seen whole countries being bailed out and the powers at be, in July 2011, are trying to save the P.I.G.S from total collapse with Greece looking like the one closest to the edge so far. And of course there is the small problem of $14 trillion worth of debt the U.S.A. currently finds itself laden with. A debt which cannot ever be repaid due to the nature of the Fractional Reserve Banking System ( and the situation that capitalism currently finds itself in. It is against this backdrop that we have tasked ourselves with moving our thought processes forward in a collective, inclusive, organised, peaceful and progressive way; no small task. There are a few overarching issues that have arisen during the course of my analysis of the current system and I plan to expose these one by one in this document. I should state up front that underlying each of these is The Profit Motive and I have detailed elsewhere just how that is, ultimately, anti-human at this stage in our species development. The topics I will discuss are as follows: 1 - Competition for profit as a modus operandi 2 - The Fallacy of Democracy 3 - The Dangerous Game of Street Protest 4 - Food Shortages 5 - Conditioning and Limited Thinking 6 - The Numbers Game 1 - Competition for profit as a modus operandi Without a doubt this facet of our current system is the one that leads to most of the ill effects we see on the face on the planet just now. From countries going bust to individuals losing their jobs because a company folds and even famines in impoverished countries; all can be attributed to this method of producing commodities. However, there are two central aspects, in my view, which make the profit motive more dangerous that it necessarily need be.

2 Antagonistic Competition Competition for profit amongst competing companies forces those companies to individually work on a product to bring that product to market before any other entity beats them to it. Apple is a prime case in point as I write this in July It was the first to bring out Slate computers, in the form of the ipad, and it was a huge success. A success which propelled Apple to be the biggest Tech company in May 2011 ( ). There is now a situation where other companies, instead of innovating and collaborating together, are simultaneously pouring hundreds of thousands of human-hours into researching, designing and building similar products to that which Apple has already built. There exist, on the planet, a slate for all occasions, it could be argued, and Apple have produced it. However, instead of utilising all of our tech resources to build a different and new X, Y or Z, we have highly intelligent humans in competing companies trying to emulate the success ( reap the same level of profits ) that Apple has. You can see from this very simple example that antagonistic competition holds humanity back by wasting our resources on goods we already have produced. For a different example see the The System ( ) Of course, collaborative competition is the complete opposite of antagonistic competition and it could be argued the embryonic usage of such a model is happening in software production currently. Companies such as RedHat ( ) and SUES ( ) etc are turning huge profits by using software that is built by the community and given away by the companies mentioned. Secrecy A direct consequence of antagonistic competition is secrecy. It is impossible to fight for profit unless the secrecy is all encompassing. Secrecy is entrenched in law by constructs such as copyright, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, intellectual property rights and even a crime of industrial espionage. Vic, in his introductory Video Blog to the SENVI site, stated that copyright was very important to him and that all work should use citations and pay careful attention to any possible infringements. So even out with the production of commodities, the secrecy aspect that we have all been conditioned to accept, and have to live by as it is enshrined in law, plays a part in our conversations. In my view, this is one of the areas that would have to change to see a material difference occur in the general production of commodities on this planet. 2 - The Fallacy of Democracy It is no understatement to insinuate, or directly say, that democracy as most of us conceive it to be, is nothing more than a sham and a joke. The evidence is glaringly obvious and to relate it is almost to be patronising, so please forgive me. Let us look at concrete facts, as those tend to tell us much more than beliefs, in any walk of life.

3 1 - Bush Snr moved into the White House in the greatest democracy on the face of the planet, the USA, back in Well, if he was not actually living there, he was vice president. 2 - Bush Snr finally moved 2 mile down the road and into the White House in He was usurped, by Bill Clinton in the 1992 election. 4 - In turn, Clinton, was replaced by George W Bushr ( Bush Jnr ) in And the families basically swapped back when Hillary Clinton moved into the White House circles as Secretary Of State in It is now 2011 and Hillary Clinton is still there. Therefore for 30 years, that is almost as long as I ve been alive, the American people have had 2 ruling class family names in the White House. Of the 300 million or so Americans, the vast majority of them believing they have the best democracy in the world and the most freedom, have only been able to elect two different family names into their highest seat of power. If that is our definition of freedom, I would like to help change it. And if anyone is patriotic and American reading this, please believe me, you are not alone in being told one thing whilst another goes on. It happens all over the world, and I in no way imply that it is solely an American problem. 3 - The Dangerous Game of Street Protest I raise this topic here so that my cards are on the table from the start. I am not one for asking the powers at be, by mass marches on the street, to change their modus operandi. I see it as futile, the powers at be have no interest in changing such a thing. It is also highly dangerous, not just in terms of personal safety ( bullets, gas, batons, riot shields ) but also for a person s legal status. There are a whole string of relevant references I could point you towards but this link has the full story. Suffice to say I see it as our job, if we have a job at all, to be pro-something and not against something and in that act do not beg for change like a dog asking for food from its masters table; let us create our own food. 4 - Food Shortages As I write this it is currently July 2011 and yet there are still famines on the face of the planet. That fact would be totally bewildering to me if it were not for the over arching affects of the profit motive, however I do feel that the obvious needs stating; once again. I wrote this article almost exactly 2 years ago to highlight the equation between the security we give to food and the security we give to banks. In my view, and I am sure that it is shared amongst you good folks, this is completely the wrong balance given that we know that the profit motive actively curtails humanity and that humans are a great resource. The very fact that it is necessary to donate money to impoverished countries so that they may ensure the continuity of food supply when at the same time the continuity is threatened by the monetary system is an irony that is not lost on me. It also highlights that most of us are missing the bigger picture.

4 Food doesn t grow if there is no water, that much we know. However, we also know the following: We know about desalination We know about pipes We know about pumps We know about irrigation We know about hydroponics We know how to build tall buildings turning 1 acre into 100 acres of crop production In short, we have the technology to prevent any kind of food shortage on the planet, right now, we don t have to wait. No more humans have to die from lack of food or water. Yet, as Bono once said tick tick..tick 5 - Conditioning and Limited Thinking I understand that a human s material conditions colour the thought patterns that it is able to conceive. Without being exposed to swimming, there s no way you know how to do it. Having never plucked a guitar, you can t play Stairway to Heaven. The opposite is true, if you are told one thing, over and over, and you witness and experience it on a day to day basis then you are automatically reinforcing the validity of what you are being told. Capitalism is the only way. Get educated. Get a degree. Get a good job. Get your head down. Work. Get a spouse. Work. Get a mortgage. Work. Get kids. Work. Get a new car as often as you can. Work. Get a pension. Cash your pension in. Die. Without being exposed to critical thinking skills and having the world around you continually reinforcing the limited possibilities and the correct path, then it is very hard for most people to conceive of a different way. The people that do, tend to have experienced some very hard circumstances and they want to break free from those. That is their material experience playing a vital part in their education. It pains me to re-produce this URL ( ) as there is so much fear, hate, anger and disillusionment on the topic of saving the euro that one has to wonder as to the possibility that the majority can even conceive of a different way. Thankfully, as the next topic suggests, it may not be important to convince everyone to act in their own best interests. 6 - The Numbers Game It is coming, more and more, to my attention that it will not necessarily be necessary for every human on the planet to design the next stage of pro-human evolution. I am the first to champion complete, honest, open, transparent and universal communication and education however, as stated previously, some people, for their own reasons, are just not in a place

5 where they can hear logic or reason. The case in point is demonstrated time and time again by us going to war ; it is not necessary for the majority to get behind an idea to see that idea actually manifest. The opposite is actually more accurate: It is only important that the majority do not oppose the idea and manifest that opposition into concrete actions. It is with that thought that I draw hope from small collective efforts to drive a brighter future for humanity. Tomorrow doesn t have to be designed by 7 billion people, but it has to be for 7 billion people, and counting. 7 - Towards a common set of goals Obviously this document is a collection of my thinking and my perspectives and is a direct result of my material experiences to date. And as much as I would like it to form the basis of discussion or inform opinion, I realise that it may do neither and I look forward to hearing your inputs as life is a learning experience. However, let me throw some common goals into the ring to kick things off: 1) The abolition of all secrecy laws including, but not limited to, copyright, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, intellectual property rights and even a crime of industrial espionage. a. And by definition the opening of all information resources on the planet for scrutiny by any human being on the planet. 2) Open, honest, transparent, recorded and disseminated communications and meetings to prevent the likes of death squads ever re-appearing on the planet or even just to prevent decisions such as the one to feed dead sheep to cows. 3) A pledge that our common goals will be for the betterment of all humanity regardless of creed, colour of skin, gender or physical ability. a. The more human resources we can gather around us the more work we can get done. 4) That we pledge to endeavour that our technical efforts are only for the betterment of humanity and all investment in human-time and money into weapons of any kind is abolished as soon as possible. 5) That any transition to a more pro-human society will be done with peace at all times.