January 24, 2017

"Most people I know felt that 2016 was the beginning of a long decline with Brexit, then Trump and all these nationalist movements in Europe."

"It looked like things were going to get worse and worse. I said: ‘Well, what about thinking about it in a different way?’ Actually, it’s the end of a long decline. We’ve been in decline for about 40 years since Thatcher and Reagan and the Ayn Rand infection spread through the political class, and perhaps we’ve bottomed out. My feeling about Brexit was not anger at anybody else, it was anger at myself for not realising what was going on. I thought that all those Ukip people and those National Fronty people were in a little bubble. Then I thought: ‘Fuck, it was us, we were in the bubble, we didn’t notice it.’ There was a revolution brewing and we didn’t spot it because we didn’t make it. We expected we were going to be the revolution.... Actually, in retrospect, I’ve started to think I’m pleased about Trump and I’m pleased about Brexit because it gives us a kick up the arse and we needed it because we weren’t going to change anything. Just imagine if Hillary Clinton had won and we’d been business as usual, the whole structure she’d inherited, the whole Clinton family myth. I don’t know that’s a future I would particularly want. It just seems that was grinding slowly to a halt, whereas now, with Trump, there’s a chance of a proper crash, and a chance to really rethink."

Said Brian Eno.

In case you're about to comment "Who's Brian Eno?," let me send you back to my old post from 2005, "Music to read by: the suggestions."

You can play "Music for Airports" here. I like dead silence for reading, but if I'm in a place where the sound is distracting, this is probably the first thing I'd choose to plug my headphones into.

100 comments:

MayBee said...

"There was a revolution brewing and we didn’t spot it because we didn’t make it. We expected we were going to be the revolution.... Actually, in retrospect, I’ve started to think I’m pleased about Trump and I’m pleased about Brexit because it gives us a kick up the arse and we needed it because we weren’t going to change anything. Just imagine if Hillary Clinton had won and we’d been business as usual, the whole structure she’d inherited, the whole Clinton family myth. I don’t know that’s a future I would particularly want. "

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes


yes

Earnest Prole said...

Self-perceptive: There was a revolution brewing and we didn’t spot it because we didn’t make it. Self-delusional: We expected we were going to be the revolution.

Scott M said...

It just seems that was grinding slowly to a halt, whereas now, with Trump, there’s a chance of a proper crash, and a chance to really rethink."

Fucking-a right on :)

Anonymous said...

Eno loves him some nationalism, actually, so long as it's Palestinian.

YoungHegelian said...

It just seems that was grinding slowly to a halt, whereas now, with Trump, there’s a chance of a proper crash, and a chance to really rethink

From your lips to the Left's ear, Brian!

But it ain't gonna happen. What the Left needs to do is write down its questions, stick a ball gag in its mouth, & actually listen to what the folks who have abandoned it have to say.

The Left must keep chattering because it must set the terms of the discourse. Always. All the time. Every single fucking minute. Setting the terms of the discourse is the only idea of truth that remains on the post-Marxist Left. That's why they can't shut up & re-think after Trump's win.

The modern Left needs a big ol' dollop of Gelassenheit about now.

Drago said...

Yeah, the decline started with Reagan and Thatcher.

Uh huh.

That Carter term was a rollicking success, eh?

Xmas said...

The problem with liberals is they think they are fighting the establishment and they don't realize they have been the establishment for the last 40 years. Large cities are run by Democrats, unions are run by Democrats, but the biggest problem for liberals is city police unions protecting bad officers. Broadcast news organizations and newspapers are mostly staffed by Democrats, but the biggest problem for liberals is people lost trust in the news media. Schools, colleges, and teachers unions are run by Democrats, but the biggest problem for liberals is widespread ignorance and misunderstanding of basic concepts needed for civilization to function.

There wasn't a bedrock institution that wasn't firmly in their control until a few years ago. The Presidency is firmly controlled by Congress and the laws they pass and the money they allocate. And except for a blip during Clinton's final years, Congress has been firmly controlled by Democrats.

Gahrie said...

That Carter term was a rollicking success, eh?

The UK under Labour and Callaghan was a basket case also......

Scott M said...

. And except for a blip during Clinton's final years, Congress has been firmly controlled by Democrats.

Didn't W have the presidency and Congress for a couple of years?

chickelit said...

If this is what passes for introspection on the left, I guess I'll take it. Please continue.

Karen said...

His lack of self-awareness is really quite amazing. I read the whole interview and somehow he thinks he's come to an amazing new insight that power does not have to be from the top down but that societies can function just like rock groups where everybody does their own thing and great music is produced. He does not see that he has just described what a true free-market economy would look like, yet he's still supporting the liberal progressive viewpoint in all his other comments. Maybe if he keeps thinking long enough, he will see some more little glimmers of truth. At the end of the comment you quoted, is still spotting the Marxist view that what we really need is to see the entire society collapse so that the deep thinkers like him and the other elites can swoop in and show us the way.

Walter S. said...

Your commenters certainly know about Brian Eno if they work crossword puzzles. He's as famous in that world as Uma Thurman, Ike, and Ani DiFranco.

rehajm said...

It is easily summarised in that Joseph Stiglitz graph....You have 62 people worth the amount the bottom three and a half billion people are worth.

Those 62 people didn't make extra trips to the salad bar to steal all the steak and crab legs, they created that wealth. Life isn't a zero sum game.

DavidD said...

Karen said...
"His lack of self-awareness is really quite amazing...."

Well, Paul McCartney never internalized the message of Taxman, either.

Brando said...

Sounds like a "heighten the contradictions" argument.

Or, maybe in the usual push and pull there is no real radical change and even policies you don't like aren't going to be nearly as sweeping as you imagined. I think a lot of people will be surprised at how "normal" all of this will be in the end.

Dave in Tucson said...

> with Trump, there’s a chance of a proper crash

Jeez, what a goober. He's made some very nice music though, so he's got that going for him.

Robert Cook said...

"He does not see that he has just described what a true free-market economy would look like...."

There never has been or will be "true free-market economy," as that requires everyone in the market be on a level playing field. Of course, those who amass greater money amass greater power, and they exercise their power to control the market to insure they continue to amass greater money and greater power...ad infinitum. When financial elites speak about a blessed "free market economy," they mean one "free" of any government regulations impeding their "freedom" to act as they wish in order aggrandize their power and wealth. (Except when they want government to act to their benefit and to the detriment of other parties.) It is government regulations that--theoretically--are meant to maintain as level a playing field as can be maintained, given the disparity of wealth, information, and power among those in the market. This is skewed, of course, by the power of the players with great amounts of money to influence the regulators.

It is not a "free market economy" that works from the bottom up, but, theoretically, a democracy.

BillyTalley said...

The problem for the Left was the elevation of symbol over substance. Maybe if Obama made life in the inner city better, made healthcare better, the list goes on, then Trump wouldn't have had such a tail wind. But that didn't happen because a postmodern turn was taken in the 60's and rallying for the utopian dream of Marx replaced Classical Liberalism with hazily defined Progressivism.

The reformation of the Democratic Party will have to begin with substance over symbolism. In the meantime, Trump has a chance to swoop in and do it for them, to the detriment of both parties' identities.

ALP said...

SWEET - Ann, that was a fabulous Blast from MY Past from out of nowhere.

Baby's On Fire!

God I miss Christopher Hitchens. I would give anything to read what he would have to say about our current situation.

Robert Cook said...

"Those 62 people didn't make extra trips to the salad bar to steal all the steak and crab legs, they created that wealth."

Hahaha!

Oso Negro said...

Sabo correctly observes - "Republican is the new Punk"

mockturtle said...

Your commenters certainly know about Brian Eno if they work crossword puzzles.

Yep, Walter. That's where I've heard of him.

mockturtle said...

Cookie, tell me this: Where do you think capital comes from?

Anonymous said...

Re-read the pertinent bits in the article, and decided my comment @11:53 AM was a stupid mis-reading of his words.

Anonymous said...

So I'll delete it.

Fernandinande said...

rehajm said...
"It is easily summarised in that Joseph Stiglitz graph....You have 62 people worth the amount the bottom three and a half billion people are worth.


World poverty is shrinking rapidly, new index reveals

These guys have almost no "income inequality". Because they have almost no income.

American Liberal Elite said...

Familiarity with Eno is a prerequisite for solving NYT crosswords.

Titus said...

I sometimes listen to Brian Eno in the gym. Love Signals.

tits.

buwaya said...

A lot of the 62 (or 8 perhaps) did not create any wealth - or little of that vs taking it from someone else or making it out of thin air.

With powerful governments all over, much of wealth accumulation is pure exploitation of government power for personal benefit. The leftist complaint here is at least partly correct. More correct now than it used to be anyway.

We can compare for instance Andrew Carnegie, the industrialist of the gilded age. A man who started from nothing, who introduced new technology and created a whole world-leading steel industry in the US, besides serving as a spur and a model globally. Its an excellent argument that without him this all would have not happened, or at least would have gone more slowly or amounted to not as much. A man loudly hated by the left in his day, and still vaguely despised as a robber baron.

Let us turn to Carlos Slim. He exploited and corrupted the Mexican government to create an effective telecom monopoly (which largely still exists) to rake off profits by legally overcharging Mexican consumers. A man ignored, at best, by the left.

There are quite a lot of Carlos Slims.

rehajm said...

A lot of the 62 (or 8 perhaps) did not create any wealth - or little of that vs taking it from someone else or making it out of thin air.

Bullshit. Have you ever read the list?

Amexpat said...

Most people living in bubbles are not aware of it. And most of us are living in bubbles.

sunsong said...

Actually, in retrospect, I’ve started to think I’m pleased about Trump and I’m pleased about Brexit because it gives us a kick up the arse and we needed it because we weren’t going to change anything. Just imagine if Hillary Clinton had won and we’d been business as usual, the whole structure she’d inherited, the whole Clinton family myth. I don’t know that’s a future I would particularly want. It just seems that was grinding slowly to a halt, whereas now, with Trump, there’s a chance of a proper crash, and a chance to really rethink."

I wouldn't put it exactly like this - but it's pretty good. There's a paradox for me. The Clintons would have been the better choice. Trump really is that awful. But it's a relief that the Clinton's aren't in the White House. Strange times. Trump will probably do some good things and a whole bunch of horrible things. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem is a stupid idea, for instance... As are gutting regulations and tax cuts for the greedy rich. That's what brought us the economic debacle of 2008...etc

Skipper said...

Wishful thinking, my man.

Roughcoat said...

Brian Eno is a Brit, and the election of Donald Trump, and American affairs in general, are none of his business. There are many like him over there. In the course of my travels I have often and inevitably been subjected to the expression of anti-American opinions by the peoples of the British Isles. Such individuals never feel in the leastwise constrained in ventilating their negative opinions of the United States to the nearest American. So many of them are moralizing bigmouths, a trait I associate with their proclivity for binge-drinking and getting falling-down drunk.

buwaya said...

rehajm,

"Have you ever read the list?"

Yes, I have read these lists regularly.
Carlos Slim is #4
George Soros is #23, who made the bulk of his fortune through currency manipulation.
Some of the Chinese fellows on there are in large part "crony capitalists".
Many of the rest would bear examination. Dassault for instance, in his interests in the European Airbus semi-government monopoly.

buwaya said...

"the election of Donald Trump, and American affairs in general, are none of his business. There are many like him over there."

And over here.
American affairs have been the family business, actually, since my great-grandpa, corporal of Cazadores, leaning on his Mauser, watched Commodore Dewey sail into Manila Bay.
People like Eno may be annoying, but he's not wrong. The 500 pound gorilla is a special sort of guest at the party, who bears watching by all concerned, if only for reasons of physics.

buwaya said...

"As are gutting regulations and tax cuts for the greedy rich."

The regulation part is for my sake sunsong. I deal with them, not the greedy rich.
Have pity on middle management across America.

Hyphenated American said...

"There never has been or will be "true free-market economy," as that requires everyone in the market be on a level playing field."

Complete and utter nonsense. Free-market means market free from government interference. Nothing more, nothing else.

You are free to explain what you mean by "level playing field", but you cannot in general term, and in the end you would need the arbitrary government power.

Hyphenated American said...

"It is easily summarised in that Joseph Stiglitz graph....You have 62 people worth the amount the bottom three and a half billion people are worth. "

I wonder if you take Joseph Stiglitz himself and do the same comparison. I wonder if he is worth more than hundreds of thousands of people at the bottom. Maybe more than millions.

Hyphenated American said...

"Moving the embassy to Jerusalem is a stupid idea, for instance... As are gutting regulations and tax cuts for the greedy rich. That's what brought us the economic debacle of 2008...etc"

I never saw any explanation how president Bush cutting top taxes led to the 2008 debacle. No one explains which regulations he gutted that led to the financial crisis.

On the other side, there is a clear explanation on how government requirements to provide loans to undeserving folks led to the financial crisis.

mockturtle said...

roughcoat says: Such individuals never feel in the leastwise constrained in ventilating their negative opinions of the United States to the nearest American. So many of them are moralizing bigmouths, a trait I associate with their proclivity for binge-drinking and getting falling-down drunk.

Do you know if they still puke on windows of business establishments like restaurants, etc? That was a common practice when I was there last. Most unappetizing. I do love England, though, in spite of their idiocies.

My late husband was British [became a US citizen eventually] and yes, they do look down their noses at us--but they move over here because they like the money. As I have oft proclaimed, I don't give a fat rat's ass what the UK or Europe thinks of us.

Robert Cook said...

"Free-market means market free from government interference. Nothing more, nothing else."

Yes, and with no government interference, the corporate powers would become complete tyrannies, monopolizing all business activity. The small businesspersons would be wiped out, and the customers would be subject to whatever prices the monopolies forced upon us. Without government regulation of commerce, the market becomes merely competition among gangsters as to who will victimize the rest of us.

mockturtle said...

Hyphenated American rightly observes: On the other side, there is a clear explanation on how government requirements to provide loans to undeserving folks led to the financial crisis

That is exactly what happened! No down payment? No job? No stable credit history? They thought to demand basic qualifications was discriminatory. And it was. Rightfully so. If you can't meet these requirements, you shouldn't be buying a house.

Roughcoat said...

"The 500 pound gorilla is a special sort of guest at the party, who bears watching by all concerned, if only for reasons of physics."

Except they do more than watch. And it isn't physics that compels them to do it. Not at all.

E.g., I would say that an alien getting involved in American politics is not good form. Even if I do approve of that alien's political views.

Meade said...

" But it's a relief that the Clinton's aren't in the White House. "

Now that's the sunsong I know and love.

Drago said...

"There was a revolution brewing and we didn’t spot it because we didn’t make it. We expected we were going to be the revolution.... Actually, in retrospect, I’ve started to think I’m pleased about Trump and I’m pleased about Brexit because it gives us a kick up the arse and we needed it because we weren’t going to change anything."

There was an actual revolution on the left. It was Sanders and he should have won the nomination.

But the dems hacked their own primary to put a corrupt, under investigation, criminal on the ticket. Not surprisingly, many people flinched at voting for this wreck of a candidate.

And there you go.

Drago said...

Robert Cook: "Yes, and with no government interference, the corporate powers would become complete tyrannies, monopolizing all business activity. The small businesspersons would be wiped out, and the customers would be subject to whatever prices the monopolies forced upon us. Without government regulation of commerce, the market becomes merely competition among gangsters as to who will victimize the rest of us."

LOL

I guess we will never be as successful as the Soviet Union, Cuba or Venezuela.

Alas, we must endeavor to muddle through nonetheless....

Roughcoat said...

"Do you know if they still puke on windows of business establishments like restaurants, etc?"

Public drunkenness in the British Isles remains a frequent and widespread phenomenon. And when I say "drunkenness" I mean blind, puking, staggering, falling-down-on-the-sidewalks shitfaced.

Robert Cook said...

"I guess we will never be as successful as the Soviet Union, Cuba or Venezuela."

Who is "we?" The American people, who are suffering under prolonged and worsening economic hardship and loss of jobs, or the captains of industry, who are becoming less and less moored to any sovereign nation, and who continue to reap greater riches than the majority of humankind can even imagine?

sunsong said...

Now that's the sunsong I know and love.

Aw thanks - It is a relief Meade, but we are in for a turbulent year and Trump is, imo, worse

Bob Loblaw said...

We can compare for instance Andrew Carnegie...
Let us turn to Carlos Slim....


Yes, the circumstances are very different. That's my big problem with the class-based view of the progressives and the Marxists. It lumps very different people into the same class purely because wealth is comparatively easy to measure.

sunsong said...

Meade,

I agree with Frank Luntz from Sunday's Face The Nation:

LUNTZ: And he did. But that’s not how you govern the country. You’re not presidents of 46 percent of America. You’re president of 100 percent. And in the green room before we came on, we were talking about our expectations for the future. I’m clearly the darkest person on this panel because I think we’re going to remember this weekend for a long time to come as not the end, not the campaign being over, but this is the beginning of the most tempestuous, if that’s the right word, than most, in my mind, awful conflict between left and right, between men and women, between young and old. I think we are --

DICKERSON: (INAUDIBLE).

LUNTZ: We are breaking apart. Since 1968 when we lost some incredibly good people in this country, that’s 50 years. I saw those signs in the parade, and they were so horrific and they are eight, nine, ten year-olds who are being taught to hate the other side. And that’s the problem, when you teach young people to hate, you can’t get it out of their system.


As the global Women's Marches made clear - We are NOT going back. And as is also clear from your right wing commenters here - they are NOT changing either. We are splitting apart - half want to go backward - half want to go forward -
and then there's the rest of the world :-)

buwaya said...

"We are splitting apart - half want to go backward - half want to go forward -"

There is no backward or forward. But the splitting is real.
My impression following the foreign press and etc. is that the rest of the world is not as angry at each other, in the factions in their countries, as those in the US are.

Gahrie said...

who continue to reap greater riches than the majority of humankind can even imagine?

The poor in this country have more riches than the majority of humankind could ever imagine:

They have a building to live in
They have hot and cold running, clean water
They have electricity
They have natural gas
They have an indoor, flush toilet
They have central heating/air conditioning
They have a refrigerator
They have a large screen, HD, TV
They have more than 3 sets of clothing
They have a cell phone
They have access to fresh fruits and vegetables all year long
They eat meat, most on a daily basis
They have access to modern medical care

there is not an a pharaoh, a Mayan ruler, a Chinese emperor, or a pre-twentieth century European king who wouldn't change places with someone considered to be poor in the United States.

johns said...

Sunsong said:
"a stupid idea, for instance... As are gutting regulations and tax cuts for the greedy rich. That's what brought us the economic debacle of 2008...etc"

This is an incredibly hackneyed regurgitation of lefty talking points. Do you know what PM2.5 is? or how much it will cost the American economy? or that there is NO science that has demonstrated that it has any validity?
do you know what mileage standard Obama mandated for a few years from now? Do you know how much it would cost to achieve it? Do you think everyone can drive electric cars?
And yet to you, it's just about making things easy for the greedy rich. Is that what they taught you at Oberlin?

Gahrie said...

Moving the embassy to Jerusalem is a stupid idea, for instance..

Perhaps, but it is a law passed by Congress years ago that has been ignored up to now, and if we move it what is the worst that can happen? The average Arab will hate us even more? The Palestinians will yet again refuse to acknowledge Israel's right to exist? Hamas and Hezbollah will smuggle weapons into the occupied territories and commit acts of terrorism against Israelis and Americans?

buwaya said...

"there is not an a pharaoh, a Mayan ruler, a Chinese emperor, or a pre-twentieth century European king who wouldn't change places with someone considered to be poor in the United States."

But not everything is about creature comforts or even health. Rather little is really.
The true satisfaction for a pharaoh, a king or chieftain, is status and power.
The satisfaction of:

"..and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it."

BarrySanders20 said...

"It just seems that was grinding slowly to a halt, whereas now, with Trump, there’s a chance of a proper crash"

Interesting how people can be flippant about wishing for "a proper crash." As if Eno alone defines what it is and can control the outcome.

If the proper crash gets out of control the first to go are those who make ambient music.

Gahrie said...

The true satisfaction for a pharaoh, a king or chieftain, is status and power.

I didn't say they wouldn't be ambitious.......

Gahrie said...

Cookie, tell me this: Where do you think capital comes from?

Why it is surplus stolen from the workers of course........

Robert Cook said...

"there is not an a pharaoh, a Mayan ruler, a Chinese emperor, or a pre-twentieth century European king who wouldn't change places with someone considered to be poor in the United States."

Completely insane.

sunsong said...

and if we move it what is the worst that can happen?

war, for starters

Gahrie said...

Of course, governments amass greater power, and they exercise their power to control the market to insure they continue to steal money and amass greater power...ad infinitum.

There FTFY

By the way...government is the only entity that can force you to purchase a product whether you want to or not at the point of a gun.

Gahrie said...

and if we move it what is the worst that can happen?

war, for starters


Between whom?

The Israelis and Palestinians have been at war for nearly 100 years. Islam and Western Civilization have been at war for 1,400 years.

Bay Area Guy said...

. I thought that all those Ukip people and those National Fronty people were in a little bubble. Then I thought: ‘Fuck, it was us, we were in the bubble, we didn’t notice it.’

It takes a thoughtful person to recognize this. I wish more liberals would pause, stop hyperventilating, stop wearing Pussy Hats, take a breath, read this quote, exhale, reflect for a full minute, and give thought to the premise that a lot of good people in this country aren't racist, aren't sexist, aren't homophobic -- but simply disagree with them on the issues and the candidates for reasons they can fully articulate in a civil setting.

Robert Cook said...

"By the way...government is the only entity that can force you to purchase a product whether you want to or not at the point of a gun."

Actually, I'm not sure how that works. When has government done this?

Monopolies don't have to use a gun. If they are the only supplier of absolutely necessary goods--life-saving medicine, food, drinking water--they just have to wait for we who need these things who cannot get them elsewhere to come crawling forth to pay whatever is demanded in order get what we need.

Bad Lieutenant said...

[Robert Cook,] You are free to explain what you mean by "level playing field", but you cannot in general term, and in the end you would need the arbitrary government power.
1/24/17, 1:38 PM

He means Harrison Bergeron with himself as Diana Moon Glompers.



Blogger Robert Cook said...
"there is not an a pharaoh, a Mayan ruler, a Chinese emperor, or a pre-twentieth century European king who wouldn't change places with someone considered to be poor in the United States."

Completely insane.
1/24/17, 2:53 PM

[Expletive deleted], you say that and you had successful chemo treatment for leukemia!

sunsong said...

By the way...government is the only entity that can force you to purchase a product whether you want to or not at the point of a gun.

how silly - pretty much anyone can force you to do anything at the point of a gun

You aren't required to live in a civilized society. That's your choice - government and all...

Robert Cook said...

"[Expletive deleted], you say that and you had successful chemo treatment for leukemia!"

I don't know what your point is, Bad Lieutenant.

Gahrie said...

how silly - pretty much anyone can force you to do anything at the point of a gun

Yes...but for anybody but government it is illegal......

Roughcoat said...

"..and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it."

Words spoken to emphasize the point that his power and authority as a military man were as nothing to him compared to the life and well-being of a beloved servant, and that he was willing to humble himself before a stranger of a different race, culture, civilization, and religion if by doing so that stranger, reputedly the Son of God, would heal his servant. That passage was not about power and ambition as a motivator of human action; it was about goodness and faith.

Roughcoat said...

That happens to be my favorite passage in the Bible. For reasons that apply to my circumstances.

Gahrie said...

Actually, I'm not sure how that works. When has government done this?

seriously?

OK, I'll play along....Obamacare.

Gahrie said...

Monopolies don't have to use a gun. If they are the only supplier of absolutely necessary goods--life-saving medicine, food, drinking water--they just have to wait for we who need these things who cannot get them elsewhere to come crawling forth to pay whatever is demanded in order get what we need.

The best friend monopolies have is government regulations.....

buwaya said...

" That passage was not about power and ambition as a motivator of human action; it was about goodness and faith."

Surely; however it is a poetic way to illustrate the sort of thing, unworthy though it may be and out of context as you say, that is satisfying and motivating in the possession of power.

buwaya said...

"how silly - pretty much anyone can force you to do anything at the point of a gun"

Quite rarely, in a well ordered society, unless you are or have control of the government.

In a poorly ordered society it is very unlikely except under circumstances where some faction has local control sufficent to force this sort of thing for a limited period. The mark of anarchy is inconsistency.

Titus said...

I have also put on Brian Eno right before a grindr trick arrives. I have found Eno's music is good for nookie. Eno also worked on Frank Ocean's last album, which was a weird duo....but I loved it. Frank Ocean....the song Pink and White-divine

Yea, I have been thinking about bubbles. Most of us live in some sort of bubble or we search for bubbles where we find like minded views-blogs, tv, etc.

Love The Young Pope-but I digress.

I live in Cambridge, MA. A big fucking bubble, but I love it because it is fab and expensive and only certain types can actually live here-elite, wealthy and educated.

And I did something I never did this past weekend. I actually went to the protest in Boston. Well not really, I just lingered around the edges, later in the day, to just observe. That was big for me. I am not into crowds and they were estimates of 175,000 people. Lots of pussyhats. This is someone, who is a major fag, and never attended gay pride because of all the people-and being insecure.

tits
and make it a super day!

tcrosse said...

There was a revolution brewing and we didn’t spot it because we didn’t make it. We expected we were going to be the revolution..

The moment a fauxletarian wakes up from his dreams of socking it to The Man to discover that he is The Man.

Robert Cook said...

"OK, I'll play along....Obamacare."

No one was forced at the point of a gun to obtain Obamacare. Many have not done so. They do, as of last year, suffer a tax penalty, and this is egregious, I grant you. But it is not "the point of a gun." And it has not been compelling enough for the many people who did not and have not sighed up for it.

Robert Cook said...

"Yea, I have been thinking about bubbles. Most of us live in some sort of bubble or we search for bubbles where we find like minded views-blogs, tv, etc."

Robert Anton Wilson described them as "reality tunnels." Philip K. Dick called it idios kosmos (private world), and contrasted with with koinos kosmos, (shared world).

We all live to greater or lesser degrees in our own reality tunnels.

Che Dolf said...

Karen said... His lack of self-awareness is really quite amazing... At the end of the comment you quoted, is still spotting the Marxist view that what we really need is to see the entire society collapse so that the deep thinkers like him and the other elites can swoop in and show us the way.

Karen understands what she read. The people congratulating Eno on his open-mindedness are confused. He doesn't want the Left to pay closer attention to its political opponents because their point of view deserves respectful consideration. He wants the Left to emerge from its bubble so it can better understand and crush the Right.

Iconochasm said...

Robert Cook said...
"there is not an a pharaoh, a Mayan ruler, a Chinese emperor, or a pre-twentieth century European king who wouldn't change places with someone considered to be poor in the United States."

Completely insane.

Whenever I've bother to dig down into the "why" behind this belief, it has always turned out that the progressive in question valued dominating slaves/serfs/servants so highly that they'd rather be able to rape chambermaids than surf the web.

buwaya said...

"They do, as of last year, suffer a tax penalty, and this is egregious, I grant you. But it is not "the point of a gun."

This is not the only problem.
But to expand on the point of a tax penalty, this cannot be avoided, ultimately, unless one is willing to go to prison at the point of a gun, and probably not even then.

Other costs are related to the forced increase in coverage standards for all medical insurance policies even those that employers are required to offer. These have forced up premiums for most people/employers increasing the cost of employment.

buwaya said...

"the progressive in question valued dominating slaves/serfs/servants so highly that they'd rather be able to rape chambermaids than surf the web."

Its not just progressives, and its not just raping chambermaids. Humans are a nasty lot.

Unknown said...

Anything Eno says is worth listening to, regardless of agreeing or disagreeing.

Unknown said...

Anything Eno says is worth listening to, regardless of agreeing or disagreeing.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Robert Cook said...
"[Expletive deleted], you say that and you had successful chemo treatment for leukemia!"

I don't know what your point is, Bad Lieutenant.

1/24/17, 3:16 PM

King Tut or the Emperor Ming didn't have fluorouracil or Gleevec or whatever you were using, did they? No, this crummy excuse for a civilization gave you that.

buwaya said...

If you want to see the effect of Obamacare on Employment Costs (what an employee costs employers) due to changes in mandated coverage, etc.

https://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet?request_action=wh&graph_name=EC_ectbrief

This is change year-on-year on the quarter.
We see that employment costs collapsed 2008-2009 due to fall in wages (employment cost tracked wages and salaries relative stagnation) but in 1Q 2010 the employment costs trend diverged greatly from wages&salaries due in large part to Obamacare mandates, and other regulatory costs as well.

I.e., one reason wages have been stagnant is employment costs other than wages, such as medical insurance, have displaced wages.

sparrow said...

Love "Another Green World" and "Taking Tiger Mountain" and his influence on the Talking heads and Bowie, but his politics, no thanks.

sparrow said...
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sparrow said...
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Robert Cook said...

"King Tut or the Emperor Ming didn't have fluorouracil or Gleevec or whatever you were using, did they? No, this crummy excuse for a civilization gave you that."

I never said this was a crummy excuse for a civilization. I said that our nation's promise of being a self-governing nation, a government of, for, and by the people, has been corrupted and stolen by the parasites of the wealthy class and the power-mongers and war-makers who seek not to represent us or create a just society but to exploit us and impoverish us for their profit. This, of course, has been the perennial problem of all ages and civilizations. We haven't solved it.

Gahrie said...

has been corrupted and stolen by the parasites of the wealthy class and the power-mongers and war-makers who seek not to represent us or create a just society but to exploit us and impoverish us for their profit.

Oh c'mon Cookie...I bet even you couldn't type this without laughing. Exploit us? Impoverish us?

Our nation has produced the greatest amount of wealth for the most amount of people of any nation in history. Our people, including the poor, have a higher standard of living than any other in history, and almost an unimaginable standard of living compared to the worldwide historical norm.

Worldwide, even while the Earth's population is setting all time records, poverty and hunger are at all time lows. One of the biggest contributing factors? Nations replacing the failed ideas of Communism with free market capitalism.

Birkel said...

Skipped the obligatory stupid Leftist nonsense and this thread took eight minutes to read.

Thanks, Robert Cook.

LakeLevel said...

Capitalism explained: I figure out a way to make things that people want, made more cheaply so not only do I get profits, everyone gets something that they want for less money.

Socialism explained: You are making too much money so we are going to disincentive you from making something less expensive for everyone by confiscating your profits and giving it to people who are not contributing because, so we say, fairness, but really because lust for power.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Robert Cook: you know this, but I will say it anyway. Taxes are collected at the point of a gun. Try not paying taxes, and after a while people with guns show up. Government people.

I will grant it can be an annoyingly overused rhetorical crutch for libertarians, but it is both true and a necessary reminder from time to time.

jg said...

I like Eno. He's a talent.

Whatever nonsense mysticism ("actually I'm glad we lost now we'll really change the world") and/or drugs put him in that creative space, bully for him.

Make us some music.

Anonymous said...

When did nationalism become a swear, hate, symbolic of racism word? It has all the s of the phrase "nuclear family" "we make decisions as a family, where mother and father lead and the children follow, and we trust them to play Solomon, Yes families tend to be racially and sexual preference homogenous, with the occasion al missed unit, but no one cares, and it's certainly not forced on them from the outside. "here Suzy" you cut the pie and "Johnny you pick the piece you want. No such justice outside of a very small group. Not clear where that boundary is, but it's certainly not much more than a neighborhood, holding block parties, getting things done, stuff cleaned up, taking care of a sick, injured or new neighbor, including those in mourning and other tragedy, assigning one child to tutor another, gathering together to see an inappropriate or underperforming teacher is dismissed. Brexit is just an attempt to return to this. Nothing racist about it, just self interest in keeping a neighborhood a safe and representative of each families interests.

Robert Cook said...

"Robert Cook: you know this, but I will say it anyway. Taxes are collected at the point of a gun. Try not paying taxes, and after a while people with guns show up. Government people."

But this is not under discussion. An assertion was made that people were made to buy Obamacare at the point of a gun. This is untrue. At worst, people who don't buy in pay a tax penalty. Who has said these people will refuse to pay their taxes or this tax penalty? If the people subject to this penalty were going to get refunds, this will simply reduce the amount of their refund.

Robert Cook said...

"Nations replacing the failed ideas of Communism with free market capitalism" (sic).

There is no such thing as free market capitalism. All economies are controlled by their governments, often at the behest of capital, to insure they benefit, even when the rest of society is devastated by their predation.