colophon

a cultural sieve for posterity

[ploculus]

Formula for Revolution

I am reading / have read three texts of note lately that I believe, taken together, can serve as a blueprint for how to address the political miasma we find ourselves in. 

1. Out of the Wreckage

2. Doughnut Economics, by Raworth 

3. Rules for Revolutionaries, by ?? 

[ploculus]

Dreaming Higher Dreams

In The Four Agreements, Ruiz talks about the Toltec cosmos, that sees our reality as made up of a series of embedded dreams of which we partake. 

In The Kin of Ata are Waiting for You, ___ talks about a people whose goal it is to dream higher dreams. 

In Sapiens and Homo Deus, Harari talks about how humans live in inter-subjective realities like religion, states, money, etc, that are not fictions per se, but they’re not real either. 

Neoliberalism is one such dream. It is a dark dream of how the world works, and of how people ought to relate to one another. It is exploitative and destructive and it is failing us en masse. It is a nightmare from which we should awaken. 

We must dream a higher dream than neoliberalism. We need to articulate and envision a better world and bring it to fruition, in the same way that the architects of neoliberalism dreamt it into being. The tools are there, and we have better tools now than they had then. 

[fromthemotionpicture]

[julia-loves-bette-davis]

Bette Davis by George Hurrell 〡 The Little Foxes, 1941

[your-lovers-and-drifters]

Bette Davis as Regina Giddens in William Wyler’s The Little Foxes

[bettedavises]

The Little Foxes (1941) // Feud: Bette and Joan (2017)

[ploculus]

[kingjaffejoffer]

[commune-or-nothing]

Why Young Americans Are Giving Up on Capitalism

Should we really be surprised that young people are rejecting the economic status quo?

Imagine that you’re twenty years old. You were born in 1996. You were five years old on 9/11. For as long as you can remember, the United States has been at war.

When you are twelve, in 2008, the global economy collapses. After years of bluster and bravado from President George W. Bush — who encouragedconsumerism as a response to terror — it seems your country was weaker than you thought.

In America, the bottom falls out fast. The adults who take care of you struggle to take care of themselves. Perhaps your parent loses a job. Perhaps your family loses its home.

In 2009, politicians claim the recession is over, but your hardship is not. Wages are stagnant or falling. The costs of health care, child care, and tuition continue to rise exponentially. Full-time jobs turn into contract positions while benefits are slashed. Middle-class jobs are replaced with low-paying service work. The expectations of American life your parents had when you were born — that a “long boom” will bring about unparalleled prosperity — crumble away.

Baby boomers tell you there is a way out: a college education has always been the key to a good job. But that doesn’t seem to happen anymore. The college graduates you know are drowning in student debt, working for minimum wage, or toiling in unpaid internships. Prestigious jobs are increasinglyclustered in cities where rent has tripled or quadrupled in a decade’s time. You cannot afford to move, and you cannot afford to stay. Outside these cities, newly abandoned malls join long abandoned factories. You inhabit a landscape of ruin. There is nothing left for you.

Every now and then, people revolt. When you are fifteen, Occupy Wall Street captivates the nation’s attention, drawing attention to corporate greed and lost opportunity. Within a year, the movement fades, and its members do things like set up “boutique activist consultancies.” When you are seventeen, the Fight for 15 workers movement manages to make higher minimum wage a mainstream proposition, but the solutions politicians pose are incremental. No one seems to grasp the urgency of the crisis. Even President Barack Obama, a liberal Democrat — the type of politician who’s supposed to understand poverty — declares that the economy has recovered.

[kenyatta]

I know stuff like this has been a topic of conversation on my dash for years but this bit was a nice articulation:

Capitalism, in other words, holds less appeal in an era when the invisible hand feels like a death grip. Americans under 20 have had little to no adult experience in a pre-Great Recession economy. Things older generations took for granted — promotions, wages that grow over time, a 40-hour work week, unions, benefits, pensions, mutual loyalty between employers and employees — are increasingly rare.

As a consequence, these basic tenets of American work life, won by labor movements in the early half of the twentieth century, are now deemed “radical.” In this context, Bernie Sanders, whose policies echo those of New Deal Democrats, can be deemed a “socialist” leading a “revolution”. His platform seems revolutionary only because American work life has become so corrupt, and the pursuit of basic stability so insurmountable, that modest ambitions — a salary that covers your bills, the ability to own a home or go to college without enormous debt — are now fantasies or luxuries.

[jihva]

techno shamanism - created by Ananda Gaia aka Robi

[handwerkstatt-handarbeit]

“The Path of the Shaman”

Drawing of an old Ewenken shaman as he accompanies the soul of a relative in the world of the dead: 

1. The abandoned tent of the deceased. 2. Grave platform, objects on the wooden tree that accompany the dead on the “long journey”. 3. Tent of the shaman. 4. The shaman “carries” the body-soul of the dead into the lower world. 5. The mythical tribal river. 6. Larch, the shaman spirit. 7. Diver bird, another shaman spirit showing the way. 8. Shaman drum replacing the boat. 9. Protective shaman spirits. 10.The body soul follows the shaman on his “stretcher”, the raft. 11. Whereabouts of the old women of the clan, the rulers on the way to the lower world. 12. Shaman’s rest area is the Shaman Island in the middle of the path; before that, the shaman stops by the mythical mothers and asks for the way to the world of the dead, then he is a guest of the ruler of the waterway in the lower world. 13. Constriction with cliffs, a trap that the shaman built out of spirits. 14. Last station with the rulers on the way to the lower world, the mother mother. The shaman turns on and calls over the bay to the settlement of the dead relatives, one may seize the body soul of the deceased. 15. Shaman drum boat. 16. Body soul of the relative. 17th victim stag. 18. Diver bird as the spirit companion of the shaman. 19. Bay at the mouth of the mythical tribal river of dead relatives. 20. Settlement of the dead relatives. 21. Place of residence (“menejen”) of the dead of the clan. 22. The female dead sit by the fire. 23. Nine shaman countries where the spirits of the shaman’s ancestors live. 24. Male dead dealing with animals. 25. Fish traps are placed in the river. 26. The mother, who is head of the settlement of the dead, climbs the bluff and sees who is calling on the cliff; When he learns what it is, a man gives a signal to bring the body-soul of the dead to the settlement. 27. A dead man crosses the bay in the boat to fetch the dead relatives who come with the raft. 28. / (28) The spirit helpers of the shaman block access to the lower world. 29th coat of the sacrificial stag. 30. / (30) “Omiruk”, clan repository of the “omi” (souls). 31. “omi” (souls). 32nd side branch of the upper reaches of the mythical tribal river. 33. Trap / Barrier the Shaman builds out of his spirit helpers to deny the disease spirits entry into the “omurik”. 34. / (34) Shaman spirits in bird shape protect the entrance of the “omurik” from the air. - Probably wrong or unsigned numbers: (35.) / 28. Shamanic ghost trout guard the passage to the upper reaches of the mythical tribal river. (36.) / 30. “omi” -fish, which turns into a diving bird and flies from the “mangi” into the “omurik”. 

(Google-translated)

[ploculus]

The Circle: A Symbol for the Global Progressive Movement

I just finished the text Aleister and Adolf a graphic novel by Rushkoff. In it, a reporter goes undercover and joins Crowley’s O.T.O. and witnesses firsthand the “V for Victory” sigil, that Crowley later shares with Churchill and in the novel, wins Britain victory over Hitler. 

It made me think about something that has been stuck in my craw of late, but that I couldn’t quite articulate. In our struggle against the neoliberal elite that is destroying this planet, we lack a coherent symbol. Our struggle is fractured here and there—an economic Jeremiad here, a class analysis there, an injunction against racism here, an environmental spreadsheet there—and all by disparate groups all working on different fronts. And none of it ties into all the others, they’re separate and isolated, and therefore weak. In our quest to give everyone a voice, and acknowledge our own limitations, the Left has become a milquetoast Twitter feed where everyone’s feelings are validated, but no one is galvanized to unite and participate in articulating a coherent vision for the future of our planet. 

While folding laundry earlier today, I listened to an interview with Yanis Varoufakis on the need for a progressive internationalism, which reflected my own thoughts: that the global Left is broken and in pieces. A major thing that could unite us has been staring us in the face this whole time. Naomi Klein touched on it in her book This Changes Everything: global climate change is an unprecedented catastrophe, that requires global coordination and cooperation. The neoliberal nation state cannot solve climate change, because it doesn’t recognize that it’s on a planet with finite resources. This is a major challenge, but it is also the best possible opportunity we could hope for.

The only way for us to move forward is for us to unite across the confines of the nation state, and recognize ourselves as a global class, with a shared interest in a livable, just, prosperous and habitable planet that sustains us all in peace and order. Everything else starts from there. We unify, form a concise platform, make similar demands of our respective governments, and voila: the global Left is back on track. 

But how to realize this global solidarity? Surely the Internet is a formidable tool for global cooperation, communication, and coordination. But movements need symbols as well as theory and strategy, and the one I humbly propose to you, dear reader, is the circle. 

Since I have been ruminating on it, the symbol of the circle has come up repeatedly in my gestalt: in films, in print and advertising, and in quotidian routines of my day. Here are just a few of the examples that have passed in front of my observation:

Heptapod logograms from the film Arrival, that, when learned, give the speaker the ability to experience time all at once.

Enso, a Zen style of painting a simple circle. 

My diary from college with Brian Froud’s rendition of an Ouroboros.

The map of the Hero’s Journey in Joseph Campbell’s myth analysis. 

The ouroboros, an ancient Egyptian symbol of regeneration and rebirth that was worked into Gnosticism and Hermeticism as symbolizing the eternal unity of all things. 

There are many more occurrences of the symbol of the circle in our collective imagination: the network, the web, the Internet, the wheel. Perhaps the one most apt is the zero 0 in binary, that along with 1 is the language of all the computers and servers that govern our digital lives. The zero in this view could be seen as the polar opposite of the neoliberal obsession with self, with "I". It is already at the hidden root of how we all communicate with each other now, coded into all our devices. 

I will think on this more. A following post will propose a specific stylized circle as the image the global progressive Left should adopt, and will talk about some ways to use it. 

[ploculus]

Me Too

I haven’t really stepped up to the plate to comment on the recent “Me Too” social media mass action happening right now, where women who have been harassed, assaulted, or abused use the tag #metoo to demonstrate the extent of sexual violence and intimidation that women experience. 

As a cisgendered white gay male, I’m not sure if I have anything unique or important to add to the conversation, but I will say this. Growing up as a gay kid, it always struck me that the interaction between my straight male and female classmates was somehow artificial, like a choreographed (and irritating) dance. The guys acted tougher and more emotionally blunted, and the girls acted more demure and ditzy than either actually were. From a very young age, I sensed that heterosexuality was a pantomime that required people, even kids my own age, to act in ways contrary to their true natures. 

Now, as an older and wiser person, I realize that there are women and men who are straight identified who are perfectly mature and genuine in their expression of sexuality. That said, I’d wager that nearly every one of them must have arrived there after wading through a sea of broken people: having tried to date abusive men, or having tried to date women who’d been socialized to be sex objects and approached relationships in unhealthy ways. 

The impetus for “Me Too”, in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein scandal going through Hollywood now, is to raise awareness that women are routinely sexually harassed, abused, and assaulted by men. They are brought into sexual situations without their consent, and made to endure unwanted attention at the hands of more powerful men. This is widespread and has, up to now, been taken as simply the way things are. 

I’m really glad to see people speaking out, and to read my friends articulating the importance of moving the very grammar about sexual assault from women as passive object (e.g. “was raped”, “was harassed”, “got pregnant”) to men as active subject (”raped”, “harassed”, “impregnated”). It is not women who simply experience sexual violence, it is men who carry it out. The problem is not with women, it is with straight men who would impose their will on others. They must stop. 

[shaolinbynature]

“Particularly damning is what today’s repeal will mean for marginalized groups, like communities of color, that rely on platforms like the internet to communicate, because traditional outlets do not consider their issues or concerns, worthy of any coverage. It was through social media that the world first heard about Ferguson, Missouri, because legacy news outlets did not consider it important until the hashtag started trending.” -  Mignon Clyburn, FCC Commissioner for Net Neutrality 

[staff]

Today the FCC voted 3-2 to kill the net neutrality rules you helped pass back in 2015

Let’s not kid ourselves: This is a major setback in our fight for a free and open internet. But It’s not the end. Not for us, and we hope not for you. 

Net neutrality is too important to be subject to the whims of any administration. We need legislative action. 

Go to Battle For The Net to get connected directly to your Senators or Representatives. If we work together, we can get it done. Again! 

Here’s more from Commissioner Clyburn this morning:

I am optimistic, that we will look back on today’s vote as an aberration, a temporary deviation from the bipartisan path, that has served us so well. I don’t know whether this plan will be vacated by a court, reversed by Congress, or overturned by a future Commission. But I do believe that its days are numbered. (Verge)

[ishtargates]

Women's Writing of Ancient Mesopotamia (New Book!)

A new book has just been released by Cambridge University Press entitled Women’s Writing of Ancient Mesopotamia An Anthology of the Earliest Female Authors!

It is an anthology of translations from the ancient Near East of various writings by women.  The translations include letters, religious hymns, inscriptions, prophecies, and various other types of texts.  All of them considered some of the earliest examples of writing done by women in history.  The only downside is that the book is quite expensive right, but hopefully that will change in the future and/or a paperback edition will soon follow.

You can purchase it from Cambridge’s site, (even their U.K. site), or on Amazon where the Kindle is somewhat less expensive.

Regardless this is one of the best additions to ancient Near Eastern scholarship in recent years.

~Hasmonean

[sowilo-hedgewolf]

[ploculus]

Holy crap how did I not know Simon E. Davies existed and made incredible infographics about cool stuff that I like? Thanks @sowilo-hedgewolf for blogging this. 

[ploculus]

Toward a Cyborg Shamanism, or Animism for Tech Nerds

The first chapter of Homo Deus by Harari dealt with the gradual development of human religion. Harari’s key insight is that today we have modern equivalents of religions in Humanist secular belief systems such as Communism, Liberalism, and even Fascism. We don’t think of these as religions, if we live within these belief systems they simply seem to us like reality. However, with Harari’s characteristic brilliant wit, he shows us that they are in fact inter-subjective realities that have no more basis in objective fact than pink elephants. They exist because we believe they exist.

The sources he cites talk about the apparent beliefs of hunter gatherer Paleolithic humans, that we can glean from such artifacts as stone tools, settlement patterns, and cave paintings, as well as ethnographies of modern foragers from places like the Siberian arctic or the Brazilian Amazon. For such peoples, everything in their gestalt is alive and, with the help of specially trained experts (shamans) people can communicate with them. So rocks, trees, rivers, bison, reindeer, and lions are all individuals.

Sources Harari cites on Animism include:

Animism: Respecting the Living World, by Harvey

Soul Hunters: Hunting, Animism and Personhood Among the Siberian Yukaghirs, by Willerslev

‘Animism, Personhood and the Nature of Reality: Sami Perspectives’ by Helander-Renvall

Handbook of Contemporary Animism, ed. Harvey

‘Animal Conceptions in Animism and Conservation’, by Praet

‘Animism Revisited: Personhood, Environment, and Relational Epistemology’ by Bird-David

Why is this important? Well, as we approach catastrophic human-caused climate change, that stands ready to wipe out civilization as we know it, it might be worth our while to take a step back from the way we’ve been doing things and examine our underlying beliefs. Maybe the planet isn’t an inanimate rock. Maybe animals and trees aren’t dumb lower beings without consciousness. Maybe there is some lesson we can learn from peoples for whom the whole planet and everything in it was alive and a part of the larger system. Maybe it would do us Liberal Capitalist nations a turn of good to try to see the world as alive, maybe it would teach us some healthy respect for the web we all live in, upon whom we all are interdependent.

Similar yet separate sentiments have been expressed by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in their Gaia Theory:

Gaia and the Evolution of Machines, by Margulis

Gaia, a New Look at Life on Earth, by Lovelock

The Web of Life, by Capra

Margulis’ key insight was that although natural selection is one of the mechanisms of evolution, and that survival of the fittest is indeed a major selective pressure on genes, that at the level of organisms, symbiosis is actually the major mechanism of speciation. The vast majority of new species (protozoa, bacteria, mitochondria) come into existence because two previously separate organisms began to live inside or beside one another. Symbiosis, not competition, is the major mechanism of evolution.

All systems that support life are now in decline. Perhaps now is the time to create a new scientifically-informed inter-subjective reality, something to replace Liberalism. Perhaps now is the time to recognize that humans are not in fact the pinnacle of evolution, nor the most important beings in existence. Perhaps we need to bring back the view of ourselves as part of the larger web. We need a new -ism that takes into account the best of scientific and technological progress, but tempers it with the best of animistic / shamanistic understanding of the world. I don’t know what this looks like but for now I’m calling it cyborg shamanism.