This Revolution Is Non-Ideological

I don't write about socialism much. I've been a socialist my entire life and always vote as far left as the ballot will let me go, and that worldview certainly informs the way I think and write about the world issues I tend to focus on. But I don't write much about socialism itself, or any other ideology for that matter.

This is because the revolution that I am always pointing to here is necessarily non-ideological in nature.

This revolution is non-ideological because the enemy that we are fighting does not have an ideology of its own. The nationless plutocratic power structure that is choking us all to death is not intrinsically socialist, capitalist, liberal, conservative, libertarian, progressive, Zionist, white supremacist, or anything else. It will use any or all of those ideologies at any given time to manipulate people toward supporting its agendas, but the rulers of the western empire ultimately do not care about any of those things. What they care about is maintaining and expanding their power, and they'll cheerfully wave a rainbow flag today and a Nazi flag tomorrow in order to get it.

A study published last month by Public Opinion Quarterly found that Americans are far more divided by the political "teams" they identify with than they are by the actual ideological policies those teams theoretically represent. The most powerful nation on the planet is split into two widely-divided tribes who are far more interested in screaming and shaking their fists at one another than they are in advancing the actual policies their respective tribes pretend to care about.

Someone's benefitting from this model, and it isn't you.

It is tempting to try and elevate our personal ideology to a greater importance than it actually possesses here. I am tempted to say that money both rewards sociopathic behavior and translates directly into political influence, which led us to our current situation wherein we are ruled by sociopathic plutocrats. A libertarian would likely counter that it isn't money that's to blame but a hyper-inflated government whose excessive power can be exploited by corrupt corporatist interests. Meanwhile the real enemies of humanity are manipulating and shaping that debate in a way that always benefits them.

An effective revolution against this ruling power establishment will look exactly as "ideological" as a good puke after a night of heavy drinking. It won't look like Marxism or anarchism or any other -ism rising to replace the current model; it will look like a species expelling a pathogen. And that's exactly what it will be.

We are not in a fight of warring ideologies at this time. Right now we are under the jackboot of a sociopathic class of elites who use propaganda to manipulate the way we think and keep us divided against each other. We are being bombed by war planes and we're at each other's throats arguing about whether swords or battle axes are best for fighting back.

Ultimately what we are pushing towards is not an ideological revolution but a biological healing process, in which our species learns to collectively expel from its operating system the power-serving mind viruses inflicted upon it by the ruling elites via media psyops. We will necessarily have to collectively find a way to eject the propaganda narratives which have us either cheering for Trump to escalate tensions with Russia and Syria or cheering for him to cut taxes and regulations on US oligarchs while accepting a model where no matter who leads the official US government you wind up with neoliberal Orwellian oppression at home and neoconservative slaughter and nuclear brinkmanship abroad.

And I personally believe we've got a very real shot at that. Experience has taught me that humanity is capable of far more than our culture and our sciences tell us right now, and a quick glance tells me that we are in a situation that has never before been seen in our planet's history. Billions of human brains are now networked through the internet, giving us the ability to bring aspects of our world into consciousness that have never before been clearly seen or understood.

And I think that's what the great puking up of the current paradigm will look like, if and when it comes. I think it will look like an increased awareness of the power structures that have come to rule over us as they expose themselves more and more trying to maintain control of a world that is changing far more rapidly than their rigid minds full of dead thought patterns can keep up with. Maybe it will culminate in an official call for a third world war between the western empire and the allied nations who refuse to fall in line, to which humanity will collectively say "Nah, we're not doing that. You're done here."

Either way, that's how I picture this resolving itself. Not with some collection of thoughts assembled by academics about which system is most conducive to human thriving, but something deep waking up within us and saying "NO!" to our shackles.

As near as I can tell that's the only chance we've got. We obviously can't count on the same power establishment which decimated Iraq, imprisoned Assange, set up Orwellian surveillance systems and works to censor the internet, so it's going to have to come from the great collective, which we can't reasonably expect to wind up on the same page ideologically any time in the near future.

We're going to have to find that primal spark within us which has existed since long before civilization itself, that spark which drives animals to escape from cages and leap with joy once they find themselves under the open sky, and throw off the mental prisons that have been boxed around our heads for the convenience of our rulers using mass media propaganda.

None of this is to say that there is no value in having a personal ideology and caring about the specific ways that humanity will move toward health. It's good to have those conversations, and once we get out from underneath our oppressors and have a shot at building a new world they will become even more important.

But also, keep an ear to the ground for something deeper. All beings desire to thrive and be free, and there is something within all of us that the cultural engineers cannot cage. Listen within yourself for that primal howl, and help cultivate its awakening in the world.

O Hominid


You are a big fish in a small pond.

No, that’s wrong.

You are a big fish in a small fish tank.
A celestial leviathan at the apex of evolution
imprisoned in an artificial box that was manufactured in a sweat shop.

We are gods in cages
made of insurance commercials and war propaganda.

The feral behemoths are growing weary of their chains
which hang from their necks like overboiled spaghetti.
Soon oceans of wolves will howl from their chests,
and the brain boxes will burst like soap bubbles,
and the dull gaze of the manipulators
will be met with the savage eyes of every species that has ever lived.

The propagandists have been perfecting their sick science
for about a century, give or take.
Your cells have been mastering this dance for 3.5 billion years.
Your atoms have been at this since the birth of the universe.
The fight between the primordial beast and the mental diddlers
is not a fair one.

Toddlers outgrow their clothing
no matter how loose and stretchy you buy it.
Wild primates outgrow their cages
no matter how tightly you seal them in.

I can hear the braying.
The yowling and snarling.
It is growing louder and louder.

Go take your hand and place it on the earth, O hominid.
This is your home.
That is all the permission you require.

The primal eyes snap open.
They outnumber the stars.


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“We (the bankers) must proceed with caution and guard every move made, for the lower order of people are already showing signs of restless commotion. Prudence will therefore show a policy of apparently yielding to the popular will until our plans are so far consummated that we can declare our designswithout fear of any organized resistance. The Farmers Alliance and Knights of Labor organizations in the United States should be carefully watched by our trusted men, and we must take immediate steps to control these organizations in our interest or disrupt them. At the coming Omaha Convention to be held July 4th (1892), our men must attend and direct its movement, or else there will be set on foot sucha ntagonism to our designs as may require force to overcome. This at the present time would be premature. We are not yet ready for such a crisis. Capital must protect itself in every possible manner through combination (conspiracy) and legislation. The courts must be called to our aid, debts must be collected, bonds and mortgages foreclosed as rapidly as possible. When through the process of the law,the common people have lost their homes, they will be more tractable and easily governed through theinfluence of the strong arm of the government applied to a central power of imperial wealth under the control of the leading financiers. People without homes will not quarrel with their leaders. History repeats itself in regular cycles. This truth is well known among our principal men who are engaged in forming an imperialism of the world. While they are doing this, the people must be kept in a state of political antagonism. The question of tariff reform must be urged through the organization known as the Democratic Party, and the question of protection with the reciprocity must be forced to view through the Republican Party. By thus dividing voters, we can get them to expand their energies in fighting over questions of no importance to us, except as teachers to the common herd. Thus, by discrete action, we can secure all that has been so generously planned and successfully accomplished.”

1892 pamphlet cited in a 1924 US Banker’s Association
Magazine

https://www.scribd.com/document/100879878/We-The-Sheeple-Vs-the-Banksters

From:
http://annavonreitz.com/finalanswer.pdf

Exactly. The rulers, along with the media, have always manipulated and hijacked every social and political ideology and movement. They then throw them into a huge pot and literally stir the shit out of everyone on all sides!

It's the Bankers/Plutocrats. The "rulers" are puppets at most, like the media.

Correct, but I put them all under the same banner, for the ease of commentary. That requires an entire post lol.

Why, are apples oranges all of a sudden? What's confusing about saying that the Bankers are responsible, I have been saying that for a long time and never thought it was cumbersome or burdening in the least, was I mistaken?!

You have been saying it and no-one else. Congratulations.

I've watched documentaries that say this. I've heard people talk about this before. He's by no means the only one saying this - you can't be serious! The point about 'hidden' power behind the obvious rulers and shapers is totally spot-on IMO.

It's called sarcasm...read my previous comment to him...I agreed with him, and it turned into an issue? Really?

No issue whatsoever! So you used sarcasm to indicate agreement with, and acceptance of, baah's refinement/correction of your initial comment? Have I understood the dynamics now?

They are termed "The Cabal". Secret society of the most elite.

Quite surprising to find out, not the kind of stuff they teach you in high school that's for sure. I remember the first time someone ever mentioned it to me, I thought they were making it up. I did some research and couldn't hardly believe it was all true.

@sunlit7 I want to apologise to you for being in full ironic mode when I replied to your comment. I am and have been very aware of what you are saying. I was just slightly annoyed when replying to you.

It's all good. Sometimes it's hard to see when someone's being a bit sarcastic. In a lot of cases when I am not sure everyone will get the hint of sarcasm I will add /s.

To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.

Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvote this reply.

Thank you! But maybe someone will get one of these that sound less robot 😜

Socialism is just a label, @caitlinjohnstone. You can stick it to anything. The point is to create a humane society, which is not possible through creation of vertical system of authority — i.e. hierarchical matrix.

https://steemit.com/finance/@lighteye/richard-wolff-fed-is-not-the-problem

Socialist? Ugh!
The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.

How can people be free when the food they produce is taken by the government? Let alone being free from our cages?
I am stunned that I truly enjoy your posts anyway!
Exchange the shackles of 1 system for the chains of another?

I wholeheartedly agree with your statement to the powers that be:
"Nah, we're not doing that. You're done here."

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I tend to lean left too, and always vote independent left. The left parties sicken me to be honest and the next best thing is the independents, at least they are free to make whatever alliances they choose.

The last general election was the first time the person I voted for got in, I couldn't believe it. An ex girlfriend of mine actually works for her, Ireland is a small country!

However I'm under no illusions about the effectiveness of mainstream politicians to affect the kind of change you're talking about, fundamental systematic change. In Ireland right now this isn't going to happen and there's no appetite for it. The ruling party right now is completely beholden to the status quo. And one of the reasons I do vote independent is to try and break up that power, to decentralise it a little. Still, we're moving nowhere fast.

On the topic of the end of ideology, you know I've always thought of that as a cop out for neo-liberalism to justify the new "normal", similar to the end of history claim. However thinking about it in the context you talk about it makes more sense. I once read about these pan-anarchist groups where anarchists of all stripes try to do work together, I like the sound of that.

Even though I'm a little left I try to stay in the centre. I think these days it's the place to be. Building bridges instead of ravines.

Well said, over these past few years as activists have become more divided, I have tried my best to not fall into this trap of "teams" as you said.

On most social issues I tend to be more left than most leftists, and on economics, more right that most conservatives, but these lines have been blurred over the years and I now see that there are elements on all sides who are going crazy, and elements on both sides that I can find common ground with

awesome perspective! thanks for sharing!

I tend to agree with you here, I've made more allies outside my typical tribe these days than within, how weird is that.

i can totally relate lol

I used to be the same way and once worked for Ralph Nader's campaign but eventually came to the realization of what the real problem was at the most fundamental level. It's the fact that all governments commit violence and use coercion against their people. We use the vote to justify violating others boundaries to commit extortion, etc, without consent. It was once said that only by the consent of the governed, does government have any authority.

Since you're here on Steemit, are you aware that you are at the epicenter of the cure to this problem? The fundamental problem is centralization of power and control. Some call this a concentration of wealth into the hands of the few, but it is part of the same phenomena. Bitcoin and all other decentralized cryptocurrencies have within their code the ability to put authority out of a job. I've written extensively on my blog about what changes are coming for the better part of a year.

Decentralization is the answer to our political problems and the only real antidote to terrorism and everything else that ails us. By putting mathematics in control instead of the whims of politicians, peace will return to the world.