Neo-Feudalism: The New Paradigm

a reply to: TrueBrit

What I meant by that is that those of us here on ATS aren't living in the dirt, under a sheet of tin in a diseased mudpit. We can read, we have had education, we have clothing. The percentage of the world that lives in abject poverty without access to running water is mind boggling. That's what I was referring to -- not living in poverty in a modern industrial democracy.

Those that live in 3rd (and worse) world poverty can't possibly help change the world in the ways those of us with the ability to read, write, type and use the internet.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I wanted to share this article on another possible future:

www.theguardian.com...

Network neutrality: key to success

While Rifkin believes the economic revolution is likely to be unstoppable, he warns that it could be distorted if individual countries and corporations succeed in their intensifying battle for control of the internet:

If the old industries can monopolise the pipes, the structure, and destroy network neutrality, then you have global monopolies and Big Brother for sure.

But if we are able to maintain network neutrality, it would mean that any consumer who turns prosumer, with their mobile and their apps, already can begin to feed into this expanded internet of things that’s developing.

People think this is off on the horizon but if I had said in 1989, before the web came, that 25 years later we’d have democratised communication and 40% of the human race would be sending information goods of all kinds to each other, they’d have said that couldn’t happen.

Nonprofit sector to become preeminent

What about the concern that the end of capitalism would lead to chaos? Rifkin believes the gap left by the disappearance of major corporations will be filled by the nonprofit sector.

For anyone who doubts this, Rifkin points to the hundreds of millions of people who are already involved in a vast network of co-operatives around the world:

There’s an institution in our life that we all rely on every day that provides all sorts of goods and services that have nothing to do with profit or government entitlement and without it we couldn’t live and that’s the social commons. There’s millions of organisations that provide healthcare, education, ministering to the poor, culture, arts, sports, recreation, and it goes on and on.

This isn’t considered by economists because it creates social capital which is essential to all three of the internets, but doesn’t create market capital. But as a revenue producer, it’s huge and what’s interesting is it’s growing faster than the GDP in the private market system.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I see what you mean. I would say however that poverty of the sort you are talking about, at least has the merit of killing people quickly, rather than allowing them a great span of years in which to be bloody miserable, tired, and hungry.

As I said though, I completely agree with everything else in your OP. I am greatly concerned though, because even as it is absolutely true that we can make change on our doorstep, spread our ideas in an eye blink, with the whole internet at once if we want, the government of my country, and I would assume others as well, are looking to turn any kind of alternative political thought into grounds for investigation under suspicion of extremism.

The writing is not just on the wall, but engraved into it, in ten foot high letter plate font. Our power to change things is only relative to our ability to operate without oversight or detection, and that is not within our power in the main.

Now, while I remain a free man, I will continue to post as I see fit, I will continue to do as many other things as I can to ensure the future remains fluid, rather than set in stone, and ugly in aspect, but my freedom may not be assured soon, even though I have done nothing wrong. We are living in some of the most dangerous times I could ever have imagined when I was a boy. I knew of the second and first world wars from my grandparents, books, and movies, as well as documentaries and museum trips. Because of what happened back then, I had believed, for a short time, that nothing like it could ever happen on that scale again.

I realised later that of course it could, because absolute power corrupts absolutely, and there is a fair bit of absolute power floating around out there these days, and right now, we are on the cusp of a genocide not of flesh, but of thought. Our very minds will be under attack from every quarter, our intellects targets, rather than assets. We must prepare ourselves to do battle like never before, in cyberspace, on the streets, in our homes and communities. This is not a time for hope, so much as it is a time to arm ourselves with knowledge, and make bastions of our minds against the storm to come. Feudalism whether new or old aside, there is a feud in the offing.

Our only choice is to pick how we fight it.

The Nobles demand you retract you leftist cant.
a reply to: MystikMushroom

We've been sold on the idea that having more "stuff" is the path to happiness.

Take for example the Walmart slogan, "Save money, live better". What they're really saying is you can buy more stuff for less money.

We're all caught up in this industrialist rat race, perpetuated by an artificial resource scarcity. The fact is that we could feed, clothe, provide medical care and automate all the most undesirable tasks on Earth.

The real issues I think are important is the devaluing of the human life, and the anti-community behavior (isolationist, egocentric) that seems to be washing over modern society like a tidal wave. The two are linked together, as the less valued we feel, the more immature we behave and want to gratify our egos.

We surround ourselves with only the things we want to allow into our narrow view of what's acceptable, and toss the rest out as unimportant. We fiercely fight and defend our right to have our own way, regardless of the societal cost.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Very well said! A star and flag for you. It makes me sad to say it but I think we're screwed as a society. I lay a huge amount of the blame on corporations and the media that they control. I've noticed a huge shift in how people act in the last twenty years. People on TV shows have gotten steadily ruder and cruder toward each other. People out in the real world have followed suit. I also blame the stupidity of people themselves for allowing themselves to be influenced. I really don't think there's any help for it and it's just going to go downhill from here.

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass


They say if you put a frog into a pot of water on the stove and slowly raise the heat...the frog will cook himself.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

What I hear you saying is "I just want to make myself happy."

Well, if that is what you 'hear' then you are completely wrong. What I am actually saying is I only am willing to bear responsibility for myself, my family and my local community. I am a simple man who wants to live a simple life free from the tyranny of government and society. I want to be free to love and help those I am surrounded by on a daily basis. I am fine with other people living their lives how they wish and I expect the same freedom.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Freeing yourself from "stuff" is very liberating.

I shocked myself when I found that I had run out of room in my closet, and when I tried to move some of the items to the closet in the guest bedroom, just to find it full as well. I had items I had not worn in years, but were too nice to just toss out. I gathered every item I had not worn in a year, it was tough, because the were items that I liked, and I boxed and bagged it all up. 4 boxes and 6 lawn garbage bags of really nice clothes. Most of it professional wear. I took it to a community advocate in a very property stricken area were they needed the clothes for people they are training for job placement. She was thrilled to receive them because finding appropriate dress for their clients usually takes a large chunk out of their first paychecks. I felt like Santa Claus in July. I am sure it benefited me more than it did anyone else.

My new goal is to declutter, simplify, and gather only what I need and will use. I try to grow from the seeds of foods that I have eaten. I collect more seeds than I use because I have found it is tricky. If you plant too much you still have waste, and every planting doesn't always yeild the same results. Still working on a reproducible and consistent formula.

Cutting back on things and stuff have reduced my income needs. It has allowed me to cut back my hours, so I can enjoy more of life. I am now able to give back to my community with volunteer work hours. It is hard to believe that you can enjoy work that you once didn't, when you are doing it for free.

Look around. Most of us hunters and gatherers have become hoarders. It is not anymore about what we need. We are selling our souls for landfill.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom

We have the capacity to use our amazing technology to free ourselves and break the cycle of the old paradigm.

What most people don't realize (consciously), however, is that all of this technology we praise is a product of the old paradigm against which we tirade. Technology does not exist in a vacuum, and never has. The industries of resource extraction and mass production rely on economic and other forms of social coercion for their very existence.

I think many people are indeed blind (perhaps intentionally) to the fact that technology does not grow on trees. Actually, it depends on the destruction of them and the abuse of the human beings forced (through implicit or explicit slavery) to cut them down.

Just because you don't see the Southeast Asian sweatshop when you buy whatever crap it is you're buying, doesn't mean it isn't there. Just because mass deforestation for the production of goods for US consumers has migrated from North to South America doesn't mean it isn't happening anymore.

And the only way any of it is possible is through the old paradigm of perpetual growth, manifest destiny, etc. If people want to be free of the old paradigm, they have to be willing to give up the "fruits" of that system as well...

...and let's be frank here--very few people are willing to give up anything they perceive of as "theirs" (yet they demand it from everyone else), especially their creature comforts and awesome toys. We have to be willing to put everything this system has ever produced on the chopping block.

Almost no one is willing to do that, therefore we will remain under the thumbs of our feudal lords until we are.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

So what we're seeing is the value of the individual declining. Human beings want to be valued, noticed, wanted and loved -- this is a fundamental part of the human experience. We are allowing corporations and government to tell us that we're not special, we're not important, we don't matter and that we're just tiny insignificant cogs in an infinite machine.

This is the problem: Human beings want to be valued, noticed, wanted and loved. I would ask you to point me to any corporation or government selling the opposite, but I know there isn't any. Every advertisement tells us exactly what we want to hear, but never what we need to. It is these people who vote in who they want. It is these people who make up society.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
We need a system that glorifies the human potential and rewards the creative. We should be holding up creativity and the human experience as ideals, not greed and ego-driven self satisfaction.

We should but we don't.

We are a society the idolizes sports figures that make millions.

We trade most of our precious time on earth for bling and dollars.

We are narcissistic at best, don't believe me spend a few days on Facebook, or other online social exchanges.

We are short termed when it comes to memories on a whole, and have a difficult time seeing the entire picture.

Most are caught up in a rat-race of their own design, and tolerate the day to day doldrums that it brings.

Many people live for some idealistic future that they saw, on TV, Hollywood, or the Jones twisted dream down-the-street.

Most people don't or can't seem to take a moment and just enjoy the things they already have, or already accomplished.

But maybe we do have a chance at peace, but first we must find it within ourselves.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I agree with everything, except the part about population.

We need an empathetic leader who has the basic understanding of the lower class.

When we will elect one? As long as money buys elections those with money will rule the world. They are so far removed from reality, they couldn't empathize if they tried.

And everyone wants to live the lifestyle of the rich and famous, except you, me and 10 other people.

Great OP, I truly believe our species is close to a crossroads where in the next 50-100 years we will either end up being a golden era or something worse than WW2.
I optimistically hope technology will be the game changer that carries us to the golden era of a Star Trek style society where the majority of us prosper.
The evil people who would want to stop technology from benefiting the masses will have to do more drastic and draconian things as the technological ability of the common man increases.

a reply to: Slickinfinity

It's funny you say that -- I clicked back in here to say that I really hope that I live long enough to see the beginning of a golden age dawn for mankind. Realizing the problems we face is just a first step -- but an important one moving forward.

I saw a rant today on Facebook by a woman I know. She's having trouble getting pregnant. Someone at her place of work asked her when she was going to have kids and she lost it. "How can people be so nosy and insensitive!"

Well...that person doesn't know you can't conceive. How is that person supposed to know what's going on?

This is a prime example of the hyper-sensitive, "all about me" mentality we've cultivated. This "bubble" mentality that says I allow only what I agree with into my sphere blocks us, separates us and makes us easier to be controlled.

Maybe the only way to combat this is for everyone to become extremely selfish. If everyone started to fight for the freedoms they wanted this would combat overpopulation as the strong and determined would would be successfull and the rest would die out or fall under their rule. Anarchy could create relative peace. Sure it would only last until huge countries and governments were formed again but thats how it goes. Just a thought

I think the next 25 years are going to be really bad and lots of issues are going to compound and finally reach breaking points and that's where I think technology will be the game changer for better or worse.
The major problems that I see today are; war, greed, nutrition, education and tolerance and if we beat those things then I really see us doing great things.
I am past the point where it worries me though and I will just do what I can to live my life for the better. I also believe most people would prefer to live free and peacefully but at the same time most people won't speak out and that's what needs to change.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Agree with you and especially as the police have been caught up in their promotion of the idea that anyone disagreeing or protesting peacefully against our government is, in their edict and cameron's, a terrorist so subject to anti-terrorism laws. I suspect cameron simply hopes that because he hardly ever delivers on what he says he will but simply wants a nice ride for the rich here, there will be a lot more people seeing through him and his mates osborne and boris's jolly Ha Ha! motivations for protecting their buddies and companies where they invest their multi millions.

Most people I know are contented with what they need in order to pay their way, bring up their kids, enjoy the odd holiday although those are in short supply for most, and have decent paying work to keep them occupied. Surely its more an American idea of having lots and lots of stuff, simply look at their tv programmes, one blaring instance is the average kiddy's bedroom and the paraphanelia in it, its luxurious compared to what most kids here ask for. (unless you have the except-type kid of course).

The UK currently seems totally unstable with so much X or part-time contract work and people continually arriving here which means a surplus of cheap workers but a shortage of infrastructure to support their influx is biting hard and prices for everything is going through the roof, especially essentials let alone luxuiries.

Lower wages mean lower tax revenue, the whole set up is an anathema to producing a society's needs for stability and happiness only stress with lesser and lesser facilities to heal any of this situation. I suspect we will come to break point because no one seems to have the inclination to stop what is ultimately going to grind us to a halt despite cameron's and the police's efforts to tell people we re terrorists if we don't accept our situation.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: MystikMushroom

I agree with nearly everything you have said. Nearly.

The part I would like to scrutinise, is the section where you refer to the membership here, suggesting that it is also removed from the hard realities of living in this world.

Although it is true that we all have access to the internet, and by extension, this site, it is not entirely legitimate to suggest that we are all disconnected from the harsh conditions that people live under. I am not a man of means, and am looking forward to nothing but struggle for the rest of my days. Struggling to give my son a better start than I got, struggling to keep my head near the surface, let alone above the water in a financial sense, struggling to keep the fragile bonds which bind our business together from snapping under the strain, and by so doing keep a roof over my head.

There is no comfort in my future, no certainty of calm, no end in sight to the constant battle to maintain the pretty damned pathetic state of affairs which is my life. No savings, no mobility, no wage worth a damn, all despite working hard and working well. There is nothing about my life which says far from struggle, close to comfort. I am, we, my family are never far from the edge, and it is only a balance of skills, grit, determination, and on occasion raw fury that gets us through the day. But we make it, and keep making it.

I doubt very much that I am the only member around here who far from being removed from the hardships of life, has not only experienced them himself, but strives every day, hard as hard can be, to maintain at a level other than the worst they have ever seen, ever lived. I am not in the top five or ten percent of anything, not anything at all.

First world problems...

I think that was his point, right? You can afford to have a son. "A" son. Not 10, because half of them may not make it past age 5. You have a business, this is because you are privileged. It may be hard work, of course, but you have had opportunities, that billions of others across the planet will never even get sight of.

And you have a roof over your head.

If you think you are not in the top 5% globally, you are delusional.