This blog will remain operational for the time being, but all new posts will be posted primarily at this location:
https://questionall.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Categorization of States
ALL STATES, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and are either republics or principalities.
- Niccolo Machiavelli
There is a succession process in state development. Authority is never constant; it is always evolving, tending to consolidate itself, assuming it is left alone to do so. It is the natural tendency of those who are greatly privileged and powerful over others to seek to widen that inequality. They do this primarily on the basis of two factors that perpetuate the other: fear, and greed. More specifically, these are fears of losing what one has (and thus a fear of everyone else), and lust for more goods (and thus a greed that disregards others). These are, not coincidentally, the two forces that drive the market; in addition, they are diametrically opposed to the human virtues of community, selflessness, and loving compassion. Politics and economy are inextricably intertwined in this way; one influences the other, pulling the other one upon the path it has set its sights upon. Thus we may only create a truly compassionate society by removing all major competitive forces from both the economy and politics of the system. We have not done so, and so we all suffer the consequences. Some more, and more obviously, than others.
But excuse me, I disregard the main point of this entry. Namely, I wish to disclose my views on the progression of state development, and how that relates to the overall progress of history and our potential future within the context of the veganarchs' social revolution.
First, there was the Lockean "State of Nature", so to speak. Individual pre-hominids scurrying around, acting roughly independently without a really cohesive means of organization.
Primitive humanity began to organize itself shortly after acquiring sufficient cognitive and communicative skills, creating small communities across the world. This is far before the agricultural revolution. Such societies live in perpetual scarcity, constantly under environmental pressures, and so they move around frequently, often in tune with the seasonal climatic changes of their area(s). These are "Hunter-Gatherer" groups. Individuals likely have little degree of autonomy from their group, because they are collectively oppressed by their harsh environment. Sexual division of labor is simply a matter of necessity and expedience.
Next, there is the advent of Tribes. Somewhere along the line, community pressures started to become more apparent. Groups became somewhat larger. One's tribe was one's extended family, and it became custom to mate and marry outside of it due to the political benefits thereof. This lead to further subordination and subjugation of women, and the establishment of a true, recognizable patriarchy. Authority became centralized in dominant adult males. People experimented with domestication, in some areas, and groups tended to stay in one area for a season or two, rather than weeks or months.
Then there interposed the Agricultural Revolution. This was crucial to the development of human society, for it allowed for the creation of centralized authority, cities, and large populations. Humanity became less enslaved to Nature, and more to the newly created State. The advent of larger populations and cities created a society in which community culture became more helpful
Now we get to the "good" part: Human Civilization.
First you have Oligarchic Theocracies. These are very striated societies, divided strictly into several castes: Monarch, Priests, Soldiers, Merchants, Farmer Peasants, and Slaves, in that rough order. Sometimes Merchants would be demoted, for social purposes, to just above the slaves; however, their power usually compensated for this. The reason for this situation is that the Merchants and the Priest-Monarch complex-that is, the Middle Class and Aristocracy-are constantly, throughout all of history, interlocked in a struggle for power, control, and domination. The Aristocracy always inherits its power; the Middle Class will usually be found taking it. This struggle is a primary source for the creation of social energy, which, under the right circumstances, may reach a threshold level that will catalyze major social upheavals and changes. The Middle Class will always win out, because they hold the reigns of the economy as society grows and prospers; the Aristocracy rarely has the capability or the will to invest in any economic situation beyond agriculture and rural landowning. Also, the Aristocracy often will fight itself, in the form of conflicts between kings, nobles, and clergy. This "first phase" of society is what I term the First Aristocracy. It includes all Monarchies, Early-Era Theocracies, and Aristocracies, and ends about 1789-1865 in Europe and the US, with the French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Revolutions of 1848, and the Civil War.
After awhile, the Merchants rose to power. Inevitably, the old land-holding aristocracy loses power, and is replaced by the capital-owning Upper-Middle Class. The aristocracy, over time, becomes basically irrelevant, merging with the Upper-Middle Class to form a new, temporarily stable Ruling Class. Because of the domination of all aspects of the economy, politics, and societal thought enjoyed by this 2nd Iteration of the Ruling Class, there is likely to be no further iteration of the Ruling Class once the society has reached this point, unless there are significant complications. This stage is called Corporate Oligarchy.
And that's where we are today, in the Developed World.
"But wait!", you might say, "I live in a Democracy!". No, you don't. There isn't a real democracy anywhere in the world. Societies certainly possess democratic or socialist elements and trappings, but that is all they are: superficial appearances meant to distract people from the fact that they are nothing more than well-paid serfs. Let me show you the actual class structure of the world:
- The Ruling Class: A blend of Upper-Middle and Aristocratic classes, these people make all the decisions that are important to a society. They control all the corporations, and thus the Media, and thus what people think: which makes directly controlling the electoral process irrelevant and actually counter-productive, as it may spark a revolution. They control the government, because they control who gets elected, and set up measures to ensure their sole control over the political sphere . They also control the corporate workplace, which is essentially a dictatorship, where they enjoy absolute control over most everything anybody does. And in addition, they run all the religious establishments as well, further controlling what the vast majority of people think.
- The Middle Class: This is composed of all the people employed in the non-decision-making, yet still high-ranking, parts of the service sector: Lawyers, Doctors, Mainstream Artists, and others. They have somewhat expendable personal monetary resources, so they are often also Investors and Consumers. They often own their own practices and businesses. They are the main engine of consumption that keeps that end of the modern-day Capitalist system going. Recently they are being thinned out by the Ruling Class's intentional and unintentional actions; this will have severe economic-political consequences for society as a whole, as the mortal wounding of the Middle Class will render it very unstable in short order.
- The Lower-Middle Class: This is composed of Clerks, Teachers and Professors, and anyone else who works in a white-collar situation but doesn't have much money. They are almost always employed to someone else, and are also consumers, but to a significantly lesser degree. Not all have their own houses. They have lesser means than their Middle-Class proper "cousins", and generally have to work harder, longer, and in more menial positions. They are generally non-unionized, with the notable exception of a large portion of the Teachers and Professors. They are the well-paid serfs.
- The Working-Class: Unionized Laborers, Farmers, and whoever else who still works with their hands in the manufacturing or agricultural sectors are the people in this class. They always work for someone else, and are given only a moderate degree of self-management. They used to be, back in the late 1800s, the driving force behind social change. Since Post-Industrialization in the Developed World, they have shrunken and become irrelevant in far too many aspects. They are also well-paid serfs, and actually often have it "better" than the Lower-MC due to their unionized situation.
- The Underclass: Non-Unionized Laborers, the Welfare-Dependant, and all the rest of this society's downtrodden compose the final class. They are beaten down, kept from organizing, frightened with insecurity, and put under the worst kind of oppression. There is much revolutionary potential here, but they must be motivated and organized and spoken to. This is difficult to accomplish in much of a successful manner. They are the worst-treated serfs, their jobs being anywhere from having to resort to criminal activity, scratch by a living on the very margins, or work in slavery-like conditions.
In "Developing" Nations, the situation is more or less similar, except that the "intermediary classes" are much smaller in proportion to the Underclass. This is where post-industrial "developed nations", or rather their corporate owners, have shipped their manufacturing jobs to.
But the story does not end here.
We are currently reaching the end of this Second Phase of human society, or the Second Aristocracy. The current system is simply unsustainable. The Middle Class is being squeezed all around the world like never before, and it is indeed collapsing, particularly in the US. The Ruling Class is aggrandizing itself too quickly, too far, and the economy is suffering for it: e.g., the current economic crisis and "financial bailout". What is to come is a grand swell of opposition from a disenfranchised former middle class and a newly angered Working and Underclass, one that will determine the fate of the society for the next phase of its development. Moreover, the wasteful short-sightedness of the current system has caused irrevocable alterations to the climate through its damage to the environment, which will cause massive upheavals around the world as feudal financial systems also come crashing down.
Amidst the chaos, the Veganarchists must assert themselves and take control of the situation, before people like neo-Stalins, neo-Maos, neo-Hitlers, or neo-conservative totalitarians of all stripes and colors get their hands on the reigns of this great new people power, and use it to create an insane, destructive, unsustainable, and inhumane "new" society. We, Veganarchists, need to educate people on what constitutes a good society, on alternative models to things like capitalism, nation-states, and even organized religion, and why they need to be implemented now. There can be no time for compromise, or casual reform: nothing will suffice but a full, all-out push to fix society, on all fronts, immediately. We have the opportunity to do such things right now, with the mindless anger of the Tea Party Movement in the US being hopelessly wasted on nationalism, racism, blind angered bigotry, and useless, regurgitated old talking points of conservative politics. These people in particular must be targeted for intelligent dialogue: they are crucial to saving our planet.
Throughout all your efforts, remember that the name of the Third Phase is up to each and all of us. We're counting on you.
- Niccolo Machiavelli
There is a succession process in state development. Authority is never constant; it is always evolving, tending to consolidate itself, assuming it is left alone to do so. It is the natural tendency of those who are greatly privileged and powerful over others to seek to widen that inequality. They do this primarily on the basis of two factors that perpetuate the other: fear, and greed. More specifically, these are fears of losing what one has (and thus a fear of everyone else), and lust for more goods (and thus a greed that disregards others). These are, not coincidentally, the two forces that drive the market; in addition, they are diametrically opposed to the human virtues of community, selflessness, and loving compassion. Politics and economy are inextricably intertwined in this way; one influences the other, pulling the other one upon the path it has set its sights upon. Thus we may only create a truly compassionate society by removing all major competitive forces from both the economy and politics of the system. We have not done so, and so we all suffer the consequences. Some more, and more obviously, than others.
But excuse me, I disregard the main point of this entry. Namely, I wish to disclose my views on the progression of state development, and how that relates to the overall progress of history and our potential future within the context of the veganarchs' social revolution.
First, there was the Lockean "State of Nature", so to speak. Individual pre-hominids scurrying around, acting roughly independently without a really cohesive means of organization.
Primitive humanity began to organize itself shortly after acquiring sufficient cognitive and communicative skills, creating small communities across the world. This is far before the agricultural revolution. Such societies live in perpetual scarcity, constantly under environmental pressures, and so they move around frequently, often in tune with the seasonal climatic changes of their area(s). These are "Hunter-Gatherer" groups. Individuals likely have little degree of autonomy from their group, because they are collectively oppressed by their harsh environment. Sexual division of labor is simply a matter of necessity and expedience.
Next, there is the advent of Tribes. Somewhere along the line, community pressures started to become more apparent. Groups became somewhat larger. One's tribe was one's extended family, and it became custom to mate and marry outside of it due to the political benefits thereof. This lead to further subordination and subjugation of women, and the establishment of a true, recognizable patriarchy. Authority became centralized in dominant adult males. People experimented with domestication, in some areas, and groups tended to stay in one area for a season or two, rather than weeks or months.
Then there interposed the Agricultural Revolution. This was crucial to the development of human society, for it allowed for the creation of centralized authority, cities, and large populations. Humanity became less enslaved to Nature, and more to the newly created State. The advent of larger populations and cities created a society in which community culture became more helpful
Now we get to the "good" part: Human Civilization.
First you have Oligarchic Theocracies. These are very striated societies, divided strictly into several castes: Monarch, Priests, Soldiers, Merchants, Farmer Peasants, and Slaves, in that rough order. Sometimes Merchants would be demoted, for social purposes, to just above the slaves; however, their power usually compensated for this. The reason for this situation is that the Merchants and the Priest-Monarch complex-that is, the Middle Class and Aristocracy-are constantly, throughout all of history, interlocked in a struggle for power, control, and domination. The Aristocracy always inherits its power; the Middle Class will usually be found taking it. This struggle is a primary source for the creation of social energy, which, under the right circumstances, may reach a threshold level that will catalyze major social upheavals and changes. The Middle Class will always win out, because they hold the reigns of the economy as society grows and prospers; the Aristocracy rarely has the capability or the will to invest in any economic situation beyond agriculture and rural landowning. Also, the Aristocracy often will fight itself, in the form of conflicts between kings, nobles, and clergy. This "first phase" of society is what I term the First Aristocracy. It includes all Monarchies, Early-Era Theocracies, and Aristocracies, and ends about 1789-1865 in Europe and the US, with the French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Revolutions of 1848, and the Civil War.
After awhile, the Merchants rose to power. Inevitably, the old land-holding aristocracy loses power, and is replaced by the capital-owning Upper-Middle Class. The aristocracy, over time, becomes basically irrelevant, merging with the Upper-Middle Class to form a new, temporarily stable Ruling Class. Because of the domination of all aspects of the economy, politics, and societal thought enjoyed by this 2nd Iteration of the Ruling Class, there is likely to be no further iteration of the Ruling Class once the society has reached this point, unless there are significant complications. This stage is called Corporate Oligarchy.
And that's where we are today, in the Developed World.
"But wait!", you might say, "I live in a Democracy!". No, you don't. There isn't a real democracy anywhere in the world. Societies certainly possess democratic or socialist elements and trappings, but that is all they are: superficial appearances meant to distract people from the fact that they are nothing more than well-paid serfs. Let me show you the actual class structure of the world:
- The Ruling Class: A blend of Upper-Middle and Aristocratic classes, these people make all the decisions that are important to a society. They control all the corporations, and thus the Media, and thus what people think: which makes directly controlling the electoral process irrelevant and actually counter-productive, as it may spark a revolution. They control the government, because they control who gets elected, and set up measures to ensure their sole control over the political sphere . They also control the corporate workplace, which is essentially a dictatorship, where they enjoy absolute control over most everything anybody does. And in addition, they run all the religious establishments as well, further controlling what the vast majority of people think.
- The Middle Class: This is composed of all the people employed in the non-decision-making, yet still high-ranking, parts of the service sector: Lawyers, Doctors, Mainstream Artists, and others. They have somewhat expendable personal monetary resources, so they are often also Investors and Consumers. They often own their own practices and businesses. They are the main engine of consumption that keeps that end of the modern-day Capitalist system going. Recently they are being thinned out by the Ruling Class's intentional and unintentional actions; this will have severe economic-political consequences for society as a whole, as the mortal wounding of the Middle Class will render it very unstable in short order.
- The Lower-Middle Class: This is composed of Clerks, Teachers and Professors, and anyone else who works in a white-collar situation but doesn't have much money. They are almost always employed to someone else, and are also consumers, but to a significantly lesser degree. Not all have their own houses. They have lesser means than their Middle-Class proper "cousins", and generally have to work harder, longer, and in more menial positions. They are generally non-unionized, with the notable exception of a large portion of the Teachers and Professors. They are the well-paid serfs.
- The Working-Class: Unionized Laborers, Farmers, and whoever else who still works with their hands in the manufacturing or agricultural sectors are the people in this class. They always work for someone else, and are given only a moderate degree of self-management. They used to be, back in the late 1800s, the driving force behind social change. Since Post-Industrialization in the Developed World, they have shrunken and become irrelevant in far too many aspects. They are also well-paid serfs, and actually often have it "better" than the Lower-MC due to their unionized situation.
- The Underclass: Non-Unionized Laborers, the Welfare-Dependant, and all the rest of this society's downtrodden compose the final class. They are beaten down, kept from organizing, frightened with insecurity, and put under the worst kind of oppression. There is much revolutionary potential here, but they must be motivated and organized and spoken to. This is difficult to accomplish in much of a successful manner. They are the worst-treated serfs, their jobs being anywhere from having to resort to criminal activity, scratch by a living on the very margins, or work in slavery-like conditions.
In "Developing" Nations, the situation is more or less similar, except that the "intermediary classes" are much smaller in proportion to the Underclass. This is where post-industrial "developed nations", or rather their corporate owners, have shipped their manufacturing jobs to.
But the story does not end here.
We are currently reaching the end of this Second Phase of human society, or the Second Aristocracy. The current system is simply unsustainable. The Middle Class is being squeezed all around the world like never before, and it is indeed collapsing, particularly in the US. The Ruling Class is aggrandizing itself too quickly, too far, and the economy is suffering for it: e.g., the current economic crisis and "financial bailout". What is to come is a grand swell of opposition from a disenfranchised former middle class and a newly angered Working and Underclass, one that will determine the fate of the society for the next phase of its development. Moreover, the wasteful short-sightedness of the current system has caused irrevocable alterations to the climate through its damage to the environment, which will cause massive upheavals around the world as feudal financial systems also come crashing down.
Amidst the chaos, the Veganarchists must assert themselves and take control of the situation, before people like neo-Stalins, neo-Maos, neo-Hitlers, or neo-conservative totalitarians of all stripes and colors get their hands on the reigns of this great new people power, and use it to create an insane, destructive, unsustainable, and inhumane "new" society. We, Veganarchists, need to educate people on what constitutes a good society, on alternative models to things like capitalism, nation-states, and even organized religion, and why they need to be implemented now. There can be no time for compromise, or casual reform: nothing will suffice but a full, all-out push to fix society, on all fronts, immediately. We have the opportunity to do such things right now, with the mindless anger of the Tea Party Movement in the US being hopelessly wasted on nationalism, racism, blind angered bigotry, and useless, regurgitated old talking points of conservative politics. These people in particular must be targeted for intelligent dialogue: they are crucial to saving our planet.
Throughout all your efforts, remember that the name of the Third Phase is up to each and all of us. We're counting on you.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Veganarchist Values, Morals, Tenets
Values and Morals are the priorities one puts upon life. It is a person's general direction, and consequently can function as the collective measure of the true worth of a society. Beyond technology, wealth, and power, there is what those are all used for; and that intent of an individual or a group is what is most important, in the end.
When someone is born into a society, they generally adopt and adhere to the general values and morals of that society. Throughout human history, the idea of having two sets of moral or values was seen by the Establishment, particularly the Church (and State, when they were united) as being a direct threat to its existence. Though times are more tolerant at present, at least superficially, in a very real way this was a correct assessment. This multiculturalism and allowance for free thought allows one, in theory anyone, to free oneself from the shackles of thought control.
Still, uncommon willpower and time to discern the situation of society and this that of the of slavery within our own value systems is required; this greatly impedes the great impoverished masses from realizing this, or being able to act upon it, being weighted down with the load of labor and subsistence life, and also due to their often de-facto imposed isolation from the wider world. Ironically, it is generally up to people of wealth, power, and relative leisure to catalyze social change. However, the Upper Class is usually so inundated with propaganda and pleasure that they usually do not want to, or know how, to work for revolutionary change, with some notable exceptions; and even if they do, they are usually the moderating influences on such revolutionary activity. So this leaves one group: the middle, given just enough to be free, but not enough to be serfs once more. Generally, it has been people in the upper-lower to upper-middle classes in developed countries that has produced meaningful revolutionary leadership; generally people that actually, comparative to most, appear to benefit from the Establishment's system. It is from this group that I come, and from this group that I think will come the leaders of Veganarchism: those people with the opportunity to help others understand, with the revolutionary capital, so to speak, to "invest" in a revolution which will create a better future for all; even the now poorest of the poor, to the richest of the ruling class.
Those who dissent from the mainstream are varied: one of these groups, however small, is composed of the Veganarchist movement. Parts of this ideology are shared and practiced by a lot of people; it's just that only a few that recognize their connection, and practice all of them.
The central tenets of Veganarchism are as follows:
When someone is born into a society, they generally adopt and adhere to the general values and morals of that society. Throughout human history, the idea of having two sets of moral or values was seen by the Establishment, particularly the Church (and State, when they were united) as being a direct threat to its existence. Though times are more tolerant at present, at least superficially, in a very real way this was a correct assessment. This multiculturalism and allowance for free thought allows one, in theory anyone, to free oneself from the shackles of thought control.
Still, uncommon willpower and time to discern the situation of society and this that of the of slavery within our own value systems is required; this greatly impedes the great impoverished masses from realizing this, or being able to act upon it, being weighted down with the load of labor and subsistence life, and also due to their often de-facto imposed isolation from the wider world. Ironically, it is generally up to people of wealth, power, and relative leisure to catalyze social change. However, the Upper Class is usually so inundated with propaganda and pleasure that they usually do not want to, or know how, to work for revolutionary change, with some notable exceptions; and even if they do, they are usually the moderating influences on such revolutionary activity. So this leaves one group: the middle, given just enough to be free, but not enough to be serfs once more. Generally, it has been people in the upper-lower to upper-middle classes in developed countries that has produced meaningful revolutionary leadership; generally people that actually, comparative to most, appear to benefit from the Establishment's system. It is from this group that I come, and from this group that I think will come the leaders of Veganarchism: those people with the opportunity to help others understand, with the revolutionary capital, so to speak, to "invest" in a revolution which will create a better future for all; even the now poorest of the poor, to the richest of the ruling class.
Those who dissent from the mainstream are varied: one of these groups, however small, is composed of the Veganarchist movement. Parts of this ideology are shared and practiced by a lot of people; it's just that only a few that recognize their connection, and practice all of them.
The central tenets of Veganarchism are as follows:
- There is an Establishment which is a parasite upon Humanity, having corrupted its society so as to keep it from evolving to a more humane, progressive, and advanced state.
- This Establishment is the dominant force in human society, and maintains homeostasis and thus its existence by maintaining the status quo, whatever the cost to humanity, by manipulating all people to its agenda of self-preservation.
- This Establishment must be destroyed, and can only be done so by the simple act of people recognizing the previous two tenets, and working to make a new society free of this parasite. The Establishment is already losing ground gradually due to a general trend towards higher technology and (most importantly) the application of such higher technologies towards the furtherment of a more humane society.
- The Establishment and Humanity cannot coexist for much longer. The Establishment must be destroyed soon, for we are reaching a point of no return for our society in many aspects, amongst them environmental and technological: we must find a way to reorganize society that will permit us to have a reasonable chance at our continued existence as a species without destroying ourselves.
The Central Values of Veganarchist adherents are as follows:
- Veganarchists are engaged in a Five-Part Struggle against the Establishment: Political, Economic, Egalitarian, Environmental, and Belief. Others are engaged in less comprehensive struggles, or none at all, and should be "upgraded" to the Five-Part Struggle. All Humanity is our potential ally, and we work for even the benefit of our self-proclaimed opponents.
- Veganarchists practice universal love and forgiveness for all people; retribution is not an option, no matter how heinous an individual or a group's crimes. All people deserve to be put upon the path of righteousness, however much we may dislike them personally, or their choices morally.
- Veganarchists, accordingly, do not commit violence, whenever it can be avoided, against any sentient being. A cow, a horse, a dog, and even the tiniest insect are innocent; . We don't walk around trying not step on bacteria; but if something has a brain to feel its own demise, it should certainly be spared if reasonably possible. Certainly a Veganarchist would never support the mass organized killing of human beings in wars, or animals in factory farms; they are appalling injustices.
- Veganarchists maintain their beliefs, even when it is hard to keep from not dissenting. Never keep your mouth bound shut; only maintain a kind tone and peaceful intent. Individualism and confrontation do not mean anger and violence.
- Veganarchists try to keep from falling into despair over the subject of how backward the world may seem to them. Depression leads to anger, anger leads to violence. In addition, it drives others away from looking at the philosophy. We try to keep an upbeat, optimistic, and positive tone to our thoughts and words as much as possible.
- Veganarchists want to have fun. This is, I think, the most important tenet. We aren't a bunch of armchair revolutionaries idly hypothesizing about the inevitable proletariat revolt of retribution against the ruling class, that we will never live to see: on the contrary, we want to participate in a revolution in how we think about others, and how we run our world. We want to love, and be loved, we want to see the whole world mature, we want to live our lives, we want to be a creative factor of this new world we're going to create. And we want, most of all, for you to join us of your own volition. We want you to choose love over hate, individuality over obedience, empathy over callous ignorance, and become a stronger, healthier, happier, more loved and loving human being, an adult worthy of inheriting with us what is an all too childish world.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Spreading Veganarchism
Some will say we, the Veganarchists, will spread like a virus. Like a disease we will corrupt the minds of the gullible and weak-minded, but will eventually be stamped out by the good forces of strong will and emotional knee-jerk reactionary stagnation.
In reality, we are not the disease. We are the cure.
We are the cure for a dying cancer patient in all of us, of all of us. We are the antidote for all the ills of society, and we are evolving faster than the disease is. For we are movement, to the old stagnation; we are the education to the old ignorance. And we are the collective to the old selfish.
We do not corrupt minds; we enlighten them. Unlike the Establishment which will seek to, and already does so effortlessly, demonize or ridicule us, we do not impose our views on others. We convince them, through reasoned debate, rational argument, constructive criticism. We teach those who are not privileged to understand the world as we do, and listen to what they, the students, have to say. We teach them peer-to-peer, with humility and patience. And, eventually, they understand.
And when they understand, we arm them. Not with guns or knives, but with words and insight: things far more dangerous, profound, and capable.
And they will seek out new students, to teach them what they have learned. And so on.
And so the world shall change dramatically. Through kindness and commonality, humility and humanity. All for one, one being all.
In reality, we are not the disease. We are the cure.
We are the cure for a dying cancer patient in all of us, of all of us. We are the antidote for all the ills of society, and we are evolving faster than the disease is. For we are movement, to the old stagnation; we are the education to the old ignorance. And we are the collective to the old selfish.
We do not corrupt minds; we enlighten them. Unlike the Establishment which will seek to, and already does so effortlessly, demonize or ridicule us, we do not impose our views on others. We convince them, through reasoned debate, rational argument, constructive criticism. We teach those who are not privileged to understand the world as we do, and listen to what they, the students, have to say. We teach them peer-to-peer, with humility and patience. And, eventually, they understand.
And when they understand, we arm them. Not with guns or knives, but with words and insight: things far more dangerous, profound, and capable.
And they will seek out new students, to teach them what they have learned. And so on.
And so the world shall change dramatically. Through kindness and commonality, humility and humanity. All for one, one being all.
Veganarchist Manifesto
Veganarchism.
What does this word mean? It means to be able to see clearly through the illusions and around the distractions that society has erected against its constituents. The Establishment might be regarded as a being unto its own, separate from the humans which make it up; it makes surprising attempts to survive against the inevitable waves of change and societal progression. In general, its attempts consist of stopping individuals from realizing the Truth. The Truth is that there is a struggle between their current societal Establishment and the Emergent philosophy, and that they are far better off supporting Emergence, which is Societal Progression.
Thus, it means to understand Unity of Struggle. Unity of Struggle is the understanding that the progressive cause has many fronts of struggle, many conflicts all ongoing simultaneously, and the reason progressive causes have been held off for so long is twofold. First, that people do not understand the struggle and are manipulated by the powerful Establishment into detracting from progressive causes that would benefit them and the whole society. Second, that these progressive causes do not largely unite and make a coordinated educational and advocacy effort on all fronts simultaneously. This division is fostered by the Establishment to keep the. However, bit by bit, Society has been progressing since the European Renaissance of the 1500s. Unfortunately, Establishment practices have simultaneously moved from undesirable to wildly unsustainable.
It means to understand the Establishment. The Establishment is not a conspiracy of the elite, or any individuals plotting total world domination. The Establishment is a separate entity from any human being; it is the tendency for human society to work against itself and preserve the status quo policies, practices, and worldviews, personified. It is a result of the "societal glue" of human conformism magnified to problematic levels by lack of education and awareness, combined with artificial Establishment interference.
Finally, it is to understand that societal understanding and progression is not a fixed goal. It is constantly evolving, changing to look for "the next big thing", so to speak. What I believe to be what we should strive for on the very fringe of societal struggle will, with any luck, be the reality of a future generation's world; and they will strive for further societal development that we cannot even imagine.
Is Veganarchism a worthy cause?
Yes, it is. Through planning, the awareness of Veganarchism will lead to a better world for all through Emergent philosophy's planned societal progression. Everyone will be freer, more involved in society, happier, and healthier, all by many degrees, when my personal understanding of Veganarchism is implemented.
But what is it?
Veganarchism is a philosophy of universal community of all human beings, compassion for all living things, and global solidarity against the Establishment. A few key ideas punctuate this:
How, then, may Veganarchism's ideals be implemented?
What we need is an Intellectual Assault on all fronts. We need Debate Warriors to teach and reeducated indoctrinated Establishment slaves, and turn them into an army of organized, rebellious, free-thinking radicals. To do that, we need Freedom of Association and Freedom of Speech. The Internet is the best place for free-association, debate, and organization at this point; we must defended its independence and autonomy from the Establishment at all costs. It is our greatest asset. In a broader sense, we should defend these aforementioned two freedoms with all our strength. Without them, our movements become deeply inhibited and even completely ineffectual.
The Decentralization of the Veganarchist Movement is our greatest asset and detriment. It would be prudent to use beneficial aspects of both centralized and decentralized models, whilst discarding whatever negative attributes we can from both. An excellent term for the concept I am extrapolating towards is a "Leaderless Resistance". Look it up.
The Establishment is akin to a Hydra. There is a necessity for constant refutation and struggle by as many people as possible, and the relatively simultaneous defeat of all heads at once. We cannot simply postpone one struggle until another generation; History has shown us that our time is running short. We must end this current Establishment in all its forms and end this phase of Emergent Struggle with a conscious refutation of this incarnation of the Establishment.
We live in a profound generation. We may well be the last generation of this Establishment Phase; whether we choose to move into a new age of Emergence, or completely collapse upon our outdated institutions is up for debate. To quote a favorite literary character, "We will all soon have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy,". Our comfortable childhoods, our free rides will soon end quite abruptly. We can take the reigns of responsibility for our society, or watch our Establishment slave master run all of us off the cliff, into the abyss, never to return.
What does this word mean? It means to be able to see clearly through the illusions and around the distractions that society has erected against its constituents. The Establishment might be regarded as a being unto its own, separate from the humans which make it up; it makes surprising attempts to survive against the inevitable waves of change and societal progression. In general, its attempts consist of stopping individuals from realizing the Truth. The Truth is that there is a struggle between their current societal Establishment and the Emergent philosophy, and that they are far better off supporting Emergence, which is Societal Progression.
Thus, it means to understand Unity of Struggle. Unity of Struggle is the understanding that the progressive cause has many fronts of struggle, many conflicts all ongoing simultaneously, and the reason progressive causes have been held off for so long is twofold. First, that people do not understand the struggle and are manipulated by the powerful Establishment into detracting from progressive causes that would benefit them and the whole society. Second, that these progressive causes do not largely unite and make a coordinated educational and advocacy effort on all fronts simultaneously. This division is fostered by the Establishment to keep the. However, bit by bit, Society has been progressing since the European Renaissance of the 1500s. Unfortunately, Establishment practices have simultaneously moved from undesirable to wildly unsustainable.
It means to understand the Establishment. The Establishment is not a conspiracy of the elite, or any individuals plotting total world domination. The Establishment is a separate entity from any human being; it is the tendency for human society to work against itself and preserve the status quo policies, practices, and worldviews, personified. It is a result of the "societal glue" of human conformism magnified to problematic levels by lack of education and awareness, combined with artificial Establishment interference.
Finally, it is to understand that societal understanding and progression is not a fixed goal. It is constantly evolving, changing to look for "the next big thing", so to speak. What I believe to be what we should strive for on the very fringe of societal struggle will, with any luck, be the reality of a future generation's world; and they will strive for further societal development that we cannot even imagine.
Is Veganarchism a worthy cause?
Yes, it is. Through planning, the awareness of Veganarchism will lead to a better world for all through Emergent philosophy's planned societal progression. Everyone will be freer, more involved in society, happier, and healthier, all by many degrees, when my personal understanding of Veganarchism is implemented.
But what is it?
Veganarchism is a philosophy of universal community of all human beings, compassion for all living things, and global solidarity against the Establishment. A few key ideas punctuate this:
- Unity of Five-Fold Struggle: Political, Economic, Egalitarian, Environmental, Belief. Veganarchists know these by heart: they are the Five Arenas of Struggle, all of which are interconnected. All areas of our ailing society are ill, and all deserve attention. To go into depth about why this is, would demand a book: one that I'm writing right now.
- Universal Love: It may sound "hippie", or "cliche", but that does not mean it is a stupid thing. Love everyone, forgive everything, and work to make the world a better place. Let go of all your attachments but the ones you really ought to treasure, and build new love with new people every day. Live to harbor no hate, no disdain, no despair. Life is too short.
- Speak Up, Out, Forward: Never keep silent when injustice is being committed. However, never hurt another being if you can help it: As a Veganarchist, you work for every person, every animal that can think or feel. You do not wish vengance, only virtue. Similarly, keep your tongue as kind and civil as is possible, to everyone. Educate firmly, but politely.
How, then, may Veganarchism's ideals be implemented?
What we need is an Intellectual Assault on all fronts. We need Debate Warriors to teach and reeducated indoctrinated Establishment slaves, and turn them into an army of organized, rebellious, free-thinking radicals. To do that, we need Freedom of Association and Freedom of Speech. The Internet is the best place for free-association, debate, and organization at this point; we must defended its independence and autonomy from the Establishment at all costs. It is our greatest asset. In a broader sense, we should defend these aforementioned two freedoms with all our strength. Without them, our movements become deeply inhibited and even completely ineffectual.
The Decentralization of the Veganarchist Movement is our greatest asset and detriment. It would be prudent to use beneficial aspects of both centralized and decentralized models, whilst discarding whatever negative attributes we can from both. An excellent term for the concept I am extrapolating towards is a "Leaderless Resistance". Look it up.
The Establishment is akin to a Hydra. There is a necessity for constant refutation and struggle by as many people as possible, and the relatively simultaneous defeat of all heads at once. We cannot simply postpone one struggle until another generation; History has shown us that our time is running short. We must end this current Establishment in all its forms and end this phase of Emergent Struggle with a conscious refutation of this incarnation of the Establishment.
We live in a profound generation. We may well be the last generation of this Establishment Phase; whether we choose to move into a new age of Emergence, or completely collapse upon our outdated institutions is up for debate. To quote a favorite literary character, "We will all soon have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy,". Our comfortable childhoods, our free rides will soon end quite abruptly. We can take the reigns of responsibility for our society, or watch our Establishment slave master run all of us off the cliff, into the abyss, never to return.
The Tragedy of Nonconformism
It is extremely hard to run an effective counter-culture that will progress society from a design standpoint.
The main issue is that people are social animals. They tend to bind themselves to a movement; this is the "social glue" that allows societies to exist and function. However, it also stops critical thinking, as there is little incentive for people to think for themselves in such a situation, except in circumstances where their established worldview is completely and obviously refuted. Even then, some, often religious or political fundamentalists, will refuse to rethink their viewpoints.
This is how an Establishment system assimilates counter-cultures; it takes the minority, sweeps them into one "scene" (the punk scene, for example) or "party" (the Democratic party, for instance), and invariably ends up controlling that group. This is usually accomplished through corrupting or installing leaders of that group (bands or politicians), and using them to manipulate their sway over the group mentality and collective actions of the group at large to take what could be an effective means of societal progression into an excellent distraction from actual progressive causes or efforts, a lure for the well-meaning and unwary progressives towards a comfortable, unchallenging, and unproductive worldview. Before anyone realizes what's happened, it's simply indistinguishable in essential characteristics from the establishment.
In addition, a peculiar mechanic that seems almost stolen from ecosystem biology takes effect. In that science, it has been found that only 10% of energy in a lower level of a food chain is passed to the immediate higher level. Essentially, there is a law of exponentially (ten-fold, to be specific) diminishing returns when it comes to passing resources (energy, in this case) from prey to predator.
In our situation at hand, this can be applied to explain the lack of "counter-counter-cultures"; reactionaries to the rebellion. It should be assumed that for all the self-identified members of a particular counter-culture, an exponentially tinier minority will be knowledgeable about and refuse to be part of both the mainstream and counter-culture.
Generally, the people who do rebuke the rebellion and the mainstream will be either Apathists or Unionists. An Apathist will be completely indifferent to the struggles around them despite being moderately aware of them and potentially their unified nature. Rarer are the Unionists, who recognize the unity of all, or at least several, areas of struggle. Even rarer than the Unionists are the Veganarchists, who recognize the unity of all struggles.
What does it mean to be a Veganarchist? It means to have, first and foremost, lucidity. It means to take charge of your own ability to see through all the illusions and distract-tactics of the establishment to realize the broadness of the progressive struggle. This gives you strength, for without illusions the Establishment Society is weak and at a newly Progressive Humanity's mercy and service, as is right and natural and, unfortunately, as it has never been.
The conflicts you see as a Veganarchist are as follows.
First, the general conflict between Centralization and Decentralization. There is a balance that must be struck here, with egalitarian and democratic ideals being achieved simultaneously by complementing, instead of infringing upon, each other. This is the ages-old balance between "civil rights" and "majority rule"; in another sense, it is between anarchy and ochlocracy; and in other, it is between individualism and fascism.
Second, that equally broad struggle between Establishmentarianism and Emergence. There is a general struggle between comfortable stagnation and societal progression. Establishments rule the world today, and we see their effects in needless death and misery across the world, most obviously in physical terms but also in mental and psychological trauma that affects practically every single human being that is part of present-day society. While this provides excellent material for Salinger novels, it makes for poor societal planning and the mass execution of a great crime against humanity: wasting lives.
Third, those all of the battlefields on which this war is waged. This means all of these: the Political, the Economic, the Religious, the Sexual, the Egalitarian, and the Environmental struggles. The Political struggle is one for democratic participation in society by all able human beings, equally; it is complemented by the Egalitarian struggle. The Economic struggle is one of bringing freedom from labor and equality in abundance to all human beings, and to a similar extent non-human animals. The Religious struggle is one of throwing off the harmful yoke of Theism, which is constantly an endorsement of the lie of a benevolent chauvanistic absolute dictatorship. This is a superstition that holds society back from the inevitable progress propelling it forward not unlike a dog being hung by a collar by a cruel human master; it will kill us if we do not release ourselves from the hand that chokes us. Perhaps at one time, the master was necessary to provide guidance in morality and a comforting, petting hand. But now there is absolutely no reason society cannot function on its own guidance, and every individual discover a far more fulfilling solace in the love of their community and scientific understanding of the universe.
The next struggle is the Sexual struggle. This is that of providing sexual equality and liberty to every adult human being, regardless of sexual inclination or gender. This comes from an understanding that what happens between consenting adults is no business of society at large, and in fact should be supported, if anything. This is related heavily to the Egalitarian struggle. The Egalitarian struggle is the struggle for the equality and freedom of all animal beings, in particular humans. The Sexual struggle is a subdivision thereof, and it is heavily related to the Political struggle. The Environmental struggle is that of maintaining a sustainable human society in terms of both internal societal dynamics and externally in terms of functioning without conflict in the greater biosphere.
The task of the Veganarchist is vast. And, because of the seeming impossible nature of their mission, many who would otherwise understand the struggle are Apathists instead, dissuaded by this. Even among the Veganarchists, extremely few have created or understood a remotely complete model of a new society and formulated or understood a plan on how to achieve that.
Fortunately, you're talking to one right now.
The main issue is that people are social animals. They tend to bind themselves to a movement; this is the "social glue" that allows societies to exist and function. However, it also stops critical thinking, as there is little incentive for people to think for themselves in such a situation, except in circumstances where their established worldview is completely and obviously refuted. Even then, some, often religious or political fundamentalists, will refuse to rethink their viewpoints.
This is how an Establishment system assimilates counter-cultures; it takes the minority, sweeps them into one "scene" (the punk scene, for example) or "party" (the Democratic party, for instance), and invariably ends up controlling that group. This is usually accomplished through corrupting or installing leaders of that group (bands or politicians), and using them to manipulate their sway over the group mentality and collective actions of the group at large to take what could be an effective means of societal progression into an excellent distraction from actual progressive causes or efforts, a lure for the well-meaning and unwary progressives towards a comfortable, unchallenging, and unproductive worldview. Before anyone realizes what's happened, it's simply indistinguishable in essential characteristics from the establishment.
In addition, a peculiar mechanic that seems almost stolen from ecosystem biology takes effect. In that science, it has been found that only 10% of energy in a lower level of a food chain is passed to the immediate higher level. Essentially, there is a law of exponentially (ten-fold, to be specific) diminishing returns when it comes to passing resources (energy, in this case) from prey to predator.
In our situation at hand, this can be applied to explain the lack of "counter-counter-cultures"; reactionaries to the rebellion. It should be assumed that for all the self-identified members of a particular counter-culture, an exponentially tinier minority will be knowledgeable about and refuse to be part of both the mainstream and counter-culture.
Generally, the people who do rebuke the rebellion and the mainstream will be either Apathists or Unionists. An Apathist will be completely indifferent to the struggles around them despite being moderately aware of them and potentially their unified nature. Rarer are the Unionists, who recognize the unity of all, or at least several, areas of struggle. Even rarer than the Unionists are the Veganarchists, who recognize the unity of all struggles.
What does it mean to be a Veganarchist? It means to have, first and foremost, lucidity. It means to take charge of your own ability to see through all the illusions and distract-tactics of the establishment to realize the broadness of the progressive struggle. This gives you strength, for without illusions the Establishment Society is weak and at a newly Progressive Humanity's mercy and service, as is right and natural and, unfortunately, as it has never been.
The conflicts you see as a Veganarchist are as follows.
First, the general conflict between Centralization and Decentralization. There is a balance that must be struck here, with egalitarian and democratic ideals being achieved simultaneously by complementing, instead of infringing upon, each other. This is the ages-old balance between "civil rights" and "majority rule"; in another sense, it is between anarchy and ochlocracy; and in other, it is between individualism and fascism.
Second, that equally broad struggle between Establishmentarianism and Emergence. There is a general struggle between comfortable stagnation and societal progression. Establishments rule the world today, and we see their effects in needless death and misery across the world, most obviously in physical terms but also in mental and psychological trauma that affects practically every single human being that is part of present-day society. While this provides excellent material for Salinger novels, it makes for poor societal planning and the mass execution of a great crime against humanity: wasting lives.
Third, those all of the battlefields on which this war is waged. This means all of these: the Political, the Economic, the Religious, the Sexual, the Egalitarian, and the Environmental struggles. The Political struggle is one for democratic participation in society by all able human beings, equally; it is complemented by the Egalitarian struggle. The Economic struggle is one of bringing freedom from labor and equality in abundance to all human beings, and to a similar extent non-human animals. The Religious struggle is one of throwing off the harmful yoke of Theism, which is constantly an endorsement of the lie of a benevolent chauvanistic absolute dictatorship. This is a superstition that holds society back from the inevitable progress propelling it forward not unlike a dog being hung by a collar by a cruel human master; it will kill us if we do not release ourselves from the hand that chokes us. Perhaps at one time, the master was necessary to provide guidance in morality and a comforting, petting hand. But now there is absolutely no reason society cannot function on its own guidance, and every individual discover a far more fulfilling solace in the love of their community and scientific understanding of the universe.
The next struggle is the Sexual struggle. This is that of providing sexual equality and liberty to every adult human being, regardless of sexual inclination or gender. This comes from an understanding that what happens between consenting adults is no business of society at large, and in fact should be supported, if anything. This is related heavily to the Egalitarian struggle. The Egalitarian struggle is the struggle for the equality and freedom of all animal beings, in particular humans. The Sexual struggle is a subdivision thereof, and it is heavily related to the Political struggle. The Environmental struggle is that of maintaining a sustainable human society in terms of both internal societal dynamics and externally in terms of functioning without conflict in the greater biosphere.
The task of the Veganarchist is vast. And, because of the seeming impossible nature of their mission, many who would otherwise understand the struggle are Apathists instead, dissuaded by this. Even among the Veganarchists, extremely few have created or understood a remotely complete model of a new society and formulated or understood a plan on how to achieve that.
Fortunately, you're talking to one right now.
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