Housing Benefit Mythologies
| Malcolm Blackmore |
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Fri 15 Aug 2008, 21:57 Igor, your point of trying to introduce rational, age of enlightenment based information based argument dependent upon cognitive factors that derive from said intellectual, cultural and informationally based paradigms and resultant values ... err, your point in raising them to provoke a discussion in a forum in a locale such as this is what, precisely? Are you unaware of the totemic, iconic and preconfigurative forces dominating or have a secret strategy to unlock such ur-some pre-thought constructs to spark rationality? If so then you've hit the alchemists elixir. So for the rest of this chronically telegraphed comment, each line of which requires at least a page to explicate! My position as an advocate of evolutionary neurobiology/neurochemistry as prefigurative of most/many socio-economic assumptions and "weltaunschaungs" (excuse spelling) for the last 35 years is being increasingly vindicated by research through now-possible research methodologies. So in some political circles I'm not considered the mad behavioural scientist anymore ;) I bring to your attention the discussion of "priming" in urthought processes, in a recent publication causing some ripples in the socio-economic/political world at present: A SHORT COURSE IN BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS If one is to counter priming in this way one has to find "hooks" which bypass the "norm". I've succeeded in doing that a few times since the early 70s, to devastating political effect (ask some ex MPs) but its as much luck and a coincidence of circumstances that allows that to gain momentum as any conscious strategy. As for ur-thoughts and priming, I also bring to people's attention Jared Diamond's book from 2006 or 2007 on why society's CHOOSE to fail. Our global society is manifestly betraying our descendents and is choosing extinction in just the way that the Greenland Vikings or Easter Islanders did. The pointless debate you are trying to raise, which cannot be rationally discussed hereabouts due to the factors I point out, is simply just another confirmation of this collective suicide pact with the planet. A comforting diversion, a cheap shot target for diversion, from the real causes for alarm and, thus far despondency. What causes asylum? How many congolese died for your new mobile phone as the rainforest is flattened and the rare earth metals drenched in blood? How much of your pension is in the corporations buying blood red metals then sold as the latest must have accessory into a drunk and licentious consumerist maelstrom of madness to achieve which capitalist corporations have done their damnedest to break apart the old social cohesions and create - successfully - an atomised, self centred, greedcrazed selfish consumer society? And then find supposed "conservative" voices (in fact through their fracturing of traditions of communal solidarity to create atomised consumers the most radical social movement of all time) having the sheer gall, utter brass neck, to blame the resulting socially broken cultures upon those who were struggling to maintain the old cohesions of such as "working class" organisations in radical politics against the ravenning psychopaths of corporate control ... for a start, as being rooted in the 60's liberal decadence!! Wow, as Hitler said, if you are going to tell a lie make sure its a big one, its more likely to be believed. Modernistic capitalism Had To break social organisations to make isolated consumers to form the global corporate world. And 99% of people sleepwalked straight into the plush lined trap. So, isn't it comforting to have a scapegoat for that which we cause OURSELVES when a tiny fraction of it blows back on us and tinges us around the fringes with some of the human wreckage washed up on our shores? Oh, a final point to the others: have you ever had to skip a country incognito in a hurry and done what was necessary to do so? If not, then shut up. Oh, and the answer is "yes". |