A Capital Idea

Greetings Ramblers,

Let me firstly say sorry to any pensioners I may offend in the following post, for they are the only real undeserving victims of our current economic woes. Everyone else deserves all that they have coming to them.

So, let's launch straight into it - I cannot keep the smile from my dial. In fact, my cheeks (both sets) are sore from smiling. It is almost impossible for me to contain my mirth resulting from the long-deserved stumble into the wilderness for the worldwide fraternity of eternally greedy fat capitalist pigs.

I personally hope that no whiff of a rescue package ever makes it to Wall Street. It's worth the financial pain of a few million people just to see the greedy bastards get their come-uppance.

My wife put the whole world financial crisis into fabulous context with some very simple words to me yesterday. She said:

Yesterday, there was a lot of pretend money. Today, there isn't quite as much pretend money.

Let's face it - it's all crap anyway, this whole stock market thing. To think that a company that floats on the stock exchange goes from being an ordinary business to being a megalomaniacal financial construct that puts the mythical "shareholders" on a golden pedestal and forsakes all of those quaint, antiquated concepts like customers, employees, community obligations, morality, sustainability and modest/achievable growth. All decisions become a cynical exercise of determining the resultant effect on the share price. Not only that, but a genuinely solid company can hit the skids just because a bunch of rich assholes get spooked and decide to sell their shares. I've never understood it, and I never want to, because it would dirty my soul and crush my spirit irrevocably.

I cannot believe the amount of time and energy wasted worldwide in speculation, hedging and all of the other crap that is involved with the capitalist movement of money. The way I see it, until mankind realises that there are waaaay more important issues currently facing us (such as our continued existence on this planet), we are screwed. What we need to do is to make some very hard decisions on a multitude of issues (pollution, deforestation, energy depletion, resource depletion, mass extinctions, etc). Unfortunately, nobody has the political will or the desire to change anything if it affects our precious economies. For craps sake people - if we don't do something within the next few years (not decades) then all of the money in the world will count for nothing. Money won't make all of the pollution magically disappear, nor will it make us suddenly understand the nearly infinite complexity of the creation around us that we are trying to play God with.

Now I know that millions of people worldwide are going to suffer the consequences of this so-called financial meltdown. Tough. I have little or no sympathy for them (except for the aforementioned undeserving victims such as pensioners). My wife and I won't have any problems at all, and do you know why? Because we've worked our butts off to minimise our debts. We've made concessions and compromises throughout our lives to ensure that we live within our means. We have not relied on all of that easy credit that's been sloshing around for a decade or so, because we are realists. And lastly, we are not nearly as materialistic as the vast majority of spoiled brats that populate the modern developed world.

So, to everyone who has overextended themselves, has lived beyond their means, has reaped fruits that they have not yet sown - well duuuuuuuuuh! It's not like you didn't have it coming to you. Serves you right.

And if it ever got as bad here in Australia as it is in the good ole U S of A, then I would fight tooth and nail to block any taxpayer-funded bailout. Why should the fruits of my hard labours be used to fund a bunch of people who have been hypnotised by the bouncing carrot that capitalism offers oh-so-tantalisingly out of reach?

I would much rather settle for the potato at my feet than the golden carrots all those idiots jump blindly for.

One of my greatest hopes is that this isn't just a temporary blip on the financial radar. I've always hated capitalism with a passion, and yearn to see the day when the greedy fall to their knees and realise that their soul-destroying ways have all been for nothing. I want to see the whole damn system ground into the poisonous ooze from which it was spawned, and the sooner the better.

Most likely, the fears on Wall Street will have been overplayed, in a typically cynical effort by the monied powers to obtain yet another get-out-of-jail-free card. This hated capitalism will continue unchecked, destroying all hope for rhyme or reason. The real issues will remain hidden behind reality TV, media conglomerates, fluffy news organisations that fail to disseminate the fundamental truths to the vapid masses, the latest celebrity scandal, soap operas, marketing blitzes that brainwash the stupid into buying more things they don't need, and a bunch of politicians driven by the economic backers that got them where they are.

I fear that there's life in the old whore yet, and she will rise from her deathbed and screw the world again.

Maybe it's for the best. If we truly fall for the same old tricks yet again, then we don't deserve to continue as a species on this planet. Time to let Darwin's evolution take us to the inevitable consequence, and the sooner the better. Let the chimps or dolphins have a go before we kill them off... they surely can't do any worse.

Staring Into The Mirror

One of the greatest problems facing mankind's future existence and the wellbeing of our planet is one of attitude. The sooner mankind reins in their rampant arrogance the better. We tramp our way through our lives, believing both individually and collectively that we have a divine right, a universal mandate, to exist. By rising to the top of the food chain on this planet, we have become blind to the fundamental facts as they are.

Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter...

1. Just because we have the ability to take what we want from the Earth does not mean that we should. We see the world as a big pile of resources without end, to be used as we see fit. There are little or no long-term considerations for sustainability and management of our devastating effects on all of the myriad delicate and interconnected ecosystems on the planet.


2. We consider ourselves a law unto ourselves, above and beyond the laws of nature. We continually distance ourselves from the natural rhythms, ebbs and flows of natural cycles and systems.


3. Way back in the dim dark past of pre-history, our ancestors were much more in tune with nature, and able to live as part of the world around us, not apart from the world around us. This must count as one of the greatest losses that we have ever encountered.


4. We have been incredibly lucky to balance on the knife edge of survival in the evolutionary game. This has made us arrogant, and we assume blithely that we will continue to exist as a species on this planet, no matter the odds or self-destructive behaviour that we engage in.


5. We should see ourselves as custodians of this planet. The continued existence of this world, and the maximising of its potential (not just for our sake alone) should be our primary goals.


6. In our superficial modern lives, 90% of what we believe matters, doesn't.


7. We seem to be squandering the gifts that we have been given, gifts such as the ability to rationalise, reason and empathise. Properly applied, these gifts can save us and our planet.


8. People don't generally take the time to sit down and think about things for a while. If we did, the realisation of our true position would surely switch on billions of light bulbs above our heads, illuminating our way forward.


9. Rarely do we consider more than just initial consequences before we act.


10. Peace and harmony are not ideals, but essentials.


11. No matter how naive it sounds, there are no conflicts that cannot be resolved.


12. Money does not make the world go round.


13. The industrial revolution set us on a path to greatness and mastery over the world around us. What a crock! We should sit down and have a good hard look at the simple equation of what we have gained from it versus what it has cost us. I believe that the world has lost out in this particular transaction.


14. The free market will not regulate itself and settle into a best-fit position where the interests of all people, the environment and the world in general are guarded and balanced.


15. A planned market economy will also not deliver a cure to our rampant destructive ways.


16. There are at least 3 billion too many people on this planet. We do not think twice about culling rampant destructive populations of pest animals and plants when we see an obvious imbalance or problem, but the population issues of mankind are left to grow unchecked.


17. The very nature of modern economies, whether capitalist or planned, relies on constant growth. We are locked into a dangerous spiral wherein we need more people to fund the people we have, and we need more funds to keep the ever-increasing peoples at the standard of living to which they have become accustomed. Thus the cycle continues ever onward, and the rape of the planet goes on unchecked.


18. Governments of the world, whether democratic or autocratic in nature, will continue to put self-preservation of power first, to the detriment of the hard decisions that should be made to ensure sustainable and ethical existence.


19. Science alone cannot hope to save us, nor can religion or philosophy alone. A combination of beliefs and endeavours is required.


20. The clock is ticking. We can't expect to continue on our merry way and let the following generations take care of it.


21. Whilst the boffins argue about the validity of the science behind climate change, there is still no denying the basic facts that chopping down old growth forests, pumping pollution into our ecosystems and depleting the world's resources are bad things.


22. Temporary job losses in major industries that greatly damage our ecosystems are no excuse to do nothing. If the solutions to our problems were easy, we would have fixed things generations ago. Inaction is not an option.

The Lighter Side Of Life

Hello Rambling Readers,

I thought that it was time for a bit of a detour into the positive side of life for a change. Yeah, I know - not exactly what you have gotten used to with me, as I've been kind of focusing on the negative aspects of existence that bring out the rant in me...

Anyhoo, I tried to write something flowery and sweet, but, as you will see below, it just didn't pan out that way. So, I guess, more of the same from your favourite ranting psychotic...

It can be very hard for even the most rudimentary intelligence alive on this planet to keep positive, since the more you know, the more you tend to hate the self-imposed destruction all around us. The vast, vapid majority of mankind is too busy caught up in the day to day, the materialistic pursuit of an elusive happiness that, were it properly thought out and defined, is actually within us all, to bother with the eternal verities of life.

Happiness is fairly easy to achieve, so long as you are a shallow meat robot that requires little more than gluttony, greed and sexual gratification to get your rocks off. However, if you are a reasoning being with a questing mind and a spirit that refuses to accept the horribly deficient status quo, then happiness is a little harder to find and, once found, keep a hold of.

Many people find it in religion. Good for them. I am happy for them that they have found solace in their faith. However, that avenue is closed to me, as I cannot bring myself to believe in fairies, pixies, little devils with forked tails, a "God" who imposes some ridiculous concept of original sin and divinely granted grace, or (for that matter) any "God" who speaks through the words of a bunch of fat old men with beards who sat around a camp fire a couple of thousand years ago wondering how they could wrest power from the bully of the day. And don't even get me started on the whole modern christian revival Hillsong thing - the hills are alive with the sound of music (and the ringing of cash registers).

Others find it in materialism - money buys happiness. That maxim has become so much a part of our every day existence in this capitalist world that it is rarely even questioned by the masses. Those countries that have been lucky enough to wrest resources from the rest of the world, to carve out a bigger slice of pie than they deserve, do not question their position of priviledge, nor do they give more than lip service to a worldwide equality, because the pie is only so big, and there really isn't enough to go around. Thankfully, my things do not own me, nor do I aspire to contribute to the capitalist system that I have so much vitriolic hatred for.

Yet others find it in family. Nice. I have heard many espouse their views that their lives and values were so meaningless until they pumped out a couple of little miracles. Through their children, they find a sense of worth and meaning that eclipses all that came before. How wonderfully biological for them, but I can't help but think that the last thing this overtaxed planet needs is more resource hogs, eating their way through the forests, oceans, plains, mountains and deserts.

Unfortunately, I do not have a deep desire to "live on through my children" or to aspire to any kind of immortality, if that were even remotely possible, so that avenue, too, is closed to me.

So, what is left? Yeah, well, I'm still working on that one. I have a small group of family and friends that I love dearly, and that give me great pleasure. I even hope that, during my less moribund moments, I give them some form of happiness. I hope to write something that I personally am truly happy with. One day I will. I hope to be around long enough to see the beginning of the end of the great capitalist mistake that really took off with the industrial revolution. I also hope to eventually provide a fine meal for some worms.

Can one really hope for more?

The Internet - Saviour or Sinner?

Hi Ramblers,

Long time no post. Been kinda busy, living life, getting caught up in the whole capitalist slavery thing, as you do, whether you like it or not. The whole concept of capitalism is rather complex, and quite a subtle trap for all of us (those that live in the developed chasing-the-carrot western world, that is). For the rest of you, survival is still one of the main battles...

I was thinking a bit about my post a while ago about universal values, and I kind of got to tackling the whole issue of the existence of the Internet. I forgot to mention at the time that the advent of the Internet is one of the great developments for mankind in the modern era. Once again, I need to mention that this is only the case for those countries where the Internet is readily available, and where mere survival has become more of an academic problem than a practical one.

My thoughts on the Internet are as follows - I believe that it has the potential to save us. However, it is fraught with danger. Let me explain...

Firstly, let me point out that any worldwide cultural change takes time to manifest itself. The effects of the Internet are far-reaching, and are only just beginning to filter through to our day-to-day existence. With the time-lag effects of generational change, and the inertial effects of existing power bases, it is realistic to assume that any truly significant changes will take some time to reach critical mass and break through the barriers of existing power bases.

It is already a rather exciting phenomenon that rapid technological change has become part of our every day lives. What would once have been considered impossible in the space of generations is now taking place in mere decades or years. This acceleration of change affects us in every facet of our existence. It would be an extremely dangerous act to simply embrace this acceleration without questioning it, despite the many perceived advantages that it may have.

What we are facing is a very interesting time. We are perched upon a precipice, with major advancements in multiple fields of endeavour bombarding us from all sides. One of the criticalities of this is that we need to remember our past to ensure that we do not make the same mistakes again and again.

A difficult proposition, considering the ever greater body of knowledge that is accumulating, and the continued abstraction of the reality that surrounds us. One of my main concerns is that we are climbing further and further up the ladder, without realising that we need to maintain a firm footing on the ground in order to survive.

Who amongst us is able to say that, given a catastrophic failure of the systems around us (the systems that we so take for granted), we would be able to apply basic survival techniques to live out the next few days without easy access to the fundamentals of life (food, water and shelter)? We may still have survival instincts hard-coded into our animalistic nature, but have we not become so far removed from the real world that we would struggle to stay alive given a removal from our comfortable lives of takeaway pizzas, water at the turn of the tap, and a safe warm house at the flick of a switch?

Safety in the modern world is merely an illusion, and has always been so. Anyone who believes otherwise is deluding themselves. The whole concept of the modern world is that mankind is king, that we are able to control everything in the material world, and that no catastrophe can touch us. The danger that faces us is that we are a spoiled couple of generations who have never known real hardship, have never known the cold, hard edge of survival at its rawest. The spoiled generations will come crashing down to earth with an incredible bang when the systems that we rely on are no longer able to cope with the harsh realities of existence.

A great universal quote from some nameless genius states that mankind is only 2 or 3 meals away from total chaos. We can manage skipping a couple of meals, sure, but when a major catastrophe or challenge disrupts our day-to-day existence to the point of destroying our essentials (food, water and shelter), then the thin veneer of society will break down, and we will be left fending for ourselves without any recourse to all that we once placed our faith in.

Whether that threat comes from disease (antibiotic-resistant strains, etc.), peak oil, global climate change or other unforeseeable factors beyond our control, the illusion of safety will be stripped from us in mere instants. The undeveloped world will most likely fare better than the fat, spoiled developed western world, because they are used to the daily struggle for survival. We will have to relearn this valuable skill, and quickly, to avoid extermination.

So, where does the Internet lie in all of this? I see the Internet as a possible saviour - through the dissemination of knowledge to the masses. But for as long as it remains an irrelevant source of porn, peer-to-peer piracy, proprietary products and a great new marketing tool for the monied powers of the capitalist machine, I fail to see how it can possibly achieve its true potential of informing the masses and preparing us for the fall that inevitably lies before us.

I only hope that we are ready for what I personally believe will come to pass - a cataclysmic event from any of the hundreds of possible timebombs, happily ticking away. Call me a pessimist, if you like. I choose to think of myself as a realist. When the shit hits the fan, come and see me. I'll be ready, and looking forward to the challenge of day-to-day survival. Let's face it, when all of the veneer of modern living is stripped away, that is what life is all about.

Till next time, oh ramblers, your humble servant is calling to you from the wings of the wasteland...