Political power disintegrates when the people withdraw their obedience and support. ~ Gene Sharp The Musk’s hyper-tech-bro ruffians storm-trooping through the federal government has moved as fast as phantom fairy dust from the Wicked Witch of the West. The initial response of widespread protest has moved fast too, but not nearly fast enough to have … More It’s Only the Beginning: Tyranny and Resistance
It still seems odd to be talking about a fascist coup in America. On the other hand, just as with the climate crisis denied, it would have been a lot easier and cheaper if we had faced it head on at a much earlier stage. Plenty of history provides clear understanding of how it all … More What Does It Mean to Resist a Fascist Coup?
Sometimes, it is very hard to understand certain minds, well, almost impossible. But there are clues. Psychology and psychiatry have certainly built a vast storehouse of knowledge about how people think about how they behave and how the way they live relates to others. But there is so much more, which is why we have … More Ignorant Indifferent Intelligence: Is It Artificial or Real?
Of course, in the United States and in other industrialized nations many people wish they were billionaires. That is what the culture of consumerism has taught them. Even the billionaires who turn out to be scoundrels at best, are idolized for their wealth however ill-gotten. The “greed is good” value system of ‘Gordon Gecko’ (played … More Energy Equity Requires No Billionaires
Image credit: NBC News. This post was first published on my new Substack platform, Illusions Transformed. The idea that economic growth is the road to progress is so ingrained in the minds of we ‘moderns’ that the growing disconnect between capital accumulation and human wellbeing is hardly noticed. Yes, we know about poverty, but the … More The Great Battle: Economic Growth vs. Human Wellbeing
Anyone who thinks our new and growing climate chaos is the ‘new normal’ (and assumes that we merely have to adapt), anyone who thinks that the “Trump transition” merciless administrative actions are the new normal, anyone who thinks that what they imagine is the ‘new normal’ has any relation to ordinary (normal) social change or … More The “New Normal” is Extremely Abnormal
Just today, I ran across a New York Times article describing the latest, and possibly one of the least dangerous of the many efforts at geoengineering proposed in this era of illusions about the actual nature of climate change and human life on planet Earth. A little over two weeks ago, an article appeared in … More The Illusion Prevails. Why?
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash There is an old statistical principle having to do with probability and risk in trying to estimate future conditions and how to prepare for or take action to mitigate them to try to alter the outcome of our past and present bad behavior. In assessing the two potential errors in judging the … More Are We All Here? “Balance” and Meaning in Seeking a Livable Future
I guess the saying, “There is no accounting for taste” may be true after all. Nevertheless, some things can be said of choice when it involves contagion and fear. Sometimes taste may be only part of the explanation of political self-destructive behavior. There are, for example, too many reasons why people who really do not … More A Gang of Sycophants and the Dominator Culture
“Yes, sometimes we need to take a moment, shed a tear, and then double down on our commitment to building a cleaner, fairer world for all. The recent #USElection results may have left many of us rattled, though perhaps not surprised.“ ~ Mamta Borgoyary, Executive Director, She Changes Climate I have tried to maintain a … More Does Realism Trump Hope?
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 