DUDE IS SAYING WHAT WE ARE SAYING - THANK YOU: Arthur Demarest: When there is pressure for leaders to respond to problems or crises, they often simply intensify their efforts in their particular defined sphere of activity – even if that’s not relevant to the real problem. To do otherwise requires taking on entrenched practices and asserting power in areas where it often will not be well received. And leaders tend to see major crises more as ***threats to their own position rather than as systemic challenges for the societies that they govern or the institutions that they manage.*** Frenzied grand constructions, wars and great rituals are among the common responses of ancient leaders to crises. These demonstrate powerful responses by the leaders (enhancing their threatened hold on power), but almost never really address the problems themselves. A cynic might characterize the giant U.S. stimulus bill of 2009 as such an effort. “The possible signs of a coming collapse are the same as the greatest strengths of Western civilization.” Leaders may recognize that they are not addressing the real problems, but they rationalize their actions with the argument that they must first politically survive in order to later address the hard problems and sacrifices. Of course, they usually don’t ever actually get around to addressing the fundamental problems later, either because they don’t make it through the initial crisis or because, even later, they are not willing to risk sacrificing their own position (or “career”) with needed measures that usually require tough sacrifices by the population. pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/indiana-jones-collapsed-cultures-western-civilization-bubble/ Ted Fischer: You are currently excavating the Classic May
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 21:04:17 +0000
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