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American Oligarchy — 8 Comments

  1. Yes, I’ve watched Chris Martenson’s Crash Course and I thought it was quite good.

    I never gave the Fed a whole lot of thought until my friend started railing about it and then I did a bit of research. Yes, the Fed favors the elite, just as every institution in this country does. But what is the alternative? Have you looked at the links listed under the category of Money? There are some interesting ideas there, but none that are terribly practical unless a surge of interest in the ideas manifests itself. Unlike the ever-optimistic Socialists, I don’t think that the day when the working class will defeat the bourgeois will ever arrive.

    One other thing about the Fed: very, very few of those who call for the abolition of the Fed realize that every country in the world has a central bank. Even Islamic countries. In a complex society, there has to be an institution that maintains the value of fiat money (and gold can be fiat money also – there is nothing that prevents its debasement) and ensures that the monetary supply keeps up with population growth. Now, we may very well disagree with the policies of the Fed, but that is an entirely different thing than calling for its abolition. People who call for the abolition of the Fed are crackpots, pure and simple. Scratch them hard enough and you will find lots and lots of conspiracy theories bubbling beneath the surface.

  2. It took me years of research to reach the conclusion that the Fed was structured to serve only a small portion of the populace. As someone who was more indoctrinated than most as the result of a Finance/Real Estate education and career, I simply could not wrap my mind around something that was always taken for granted. Have you watched Chris Martenson’s Crash Course?

  3. I think that Peter Joseph (producer) of the Zeitgeist Series has hit the high points on the causes of our imminent demise. If we don’t alter the system — including abandoning the Fed — we will be unable to get through the bottleneck with some semblance of grace.

    Re: details

    Over the years, the description of my method of “saving the world” has evolved and a review of my site will likely be confusing. While it involves a new form of property rights, radical education system, and other things that would be considered radical by the general population, all of the components individually exist today. You have to envision an integration of the Jesuit system (vow of poverty for leadership and campuses) and Steve Case’s http://exclusiveresorts.com (shared ownership of property) and http://zipcar.com (shared use of cars). Life can be simple.

    • My introduction to the Zeitgeist Series was via the Addendum and I thought it was rather simplistic in its view of the world. What particularly offended me was the idea that debt is created by fractional reserve banking. No, debt is created by human beings in their incessant desire for oneupsmanship and the “need” for the latest toy. The idea of getting rid of the Fed bothers me because what are the alternatives? The most common one is that the State should issue currency so that the evil bankers are put out of business. What, pray tell, guarantees that the State will do a better job than the Fed? I’m supposed to put my faith in politicians?? I don’t doubt that the components for a decent standard of living exists, but the stumbling block is the stupidity of the human race. How else do you explain people consistently, election after election, voting against their best interests? The people of Wisconsin are finding out the consequences of being stupid, right now, aren’t they?

  4. I first came across the term “indulgences” when researching carbon offsets back when they became the rage. A British eco think tank came up with the analogy. It can be used as a way to frame many contemporary schemes…

    We have a chance — albeit narrow — to make some progress once collapse is well under way. Right now, most are still in denial and refuse to consider an alternate way of life. Bread and circuses rule. I’m of the mind that we can re-structure and live much better but have not had any luck with selling my fairly detailed ideas. It seems that it is easier to grab attention with productions like the Zeitgeist series.

    Thanks for the Morris Berman link. I’ve read most of his stuff and been to his blog before, but had not been there in a while…

    • I have a good friend who thinks very highly of the Zeitgeist series. I watched the first episode and thought it was a bunch of crap. My friend also thinks that the Federal Reserve and fractional reserve banking should be abolished. I’m not keen on either of those, but if that is the goal, then there should be a long transition period. But that isn’t going to happen. I’ll have to go to your web site to read about your “fairly detailed ideas”. I’m not surprised that you haven’t had any luck selling them – I’m working on a post about how ideas backfire. Denial is a powerful emotion and it will take a real crisis to change the direction of our culture.

  5. As someone who opted out of the Professional Tier, but yet has regular exposure to this group, this rings true for me. This is a group that is not interested in hearing about Peak Oil, etc. Eventually the hard times many are experiencing these days will trickle up to this group. But until that time, they can be expected to go along their merry ways. This is a group that buys their “indulgences” through charitable giving. They are led in this effort by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

    • Wow, Matt, you really nailed it with the comment on indulgences. Not being Catholic, I never thought of it that way, but you are exactly right. Any ideas on what it would take to get everyone back in the same row boat?

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