From: Hagbard Celine (hagbard@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Fri Jun 20 1997 - 00:25:40 MDT
Abraham Moses Genen wrote:
> It must first be understood that politics is the art of the possible.
The art of the impossible, if a true art, is merely waiting for the
right artist.
> Is it possible for any individual or small group to influence a large
> political organization for the purpose of bringing about change?
No.
> The answer is yes. You cannot expect change to occur overnight in most
> instances, however. The object in a political organization is to
> influence prevailing opinion by presenting logical, viable alternatives
> to existing policy and ideology.
An entrenched incumbent is buttressed by thousands of dollars of donated
money, money that has his next four (or six) years locked up. This means
that *ANY* ideology represented in government by the tyranny of a
majority (democratic or, at the very worst, despotic) will be conserved
(i.e., will "die hard"). I mean to say that given a system of patronage
and privilege (the control of monetary resources), the pace of change
will be too slow to even call it "change." Whether logical or viable,
new ideas (especially those that are, dare I say, "revolutionary") are
the bane of those people in power. The only way to effect meaningful
change in an established hierarchical system is to usurp the chain of
command, and grab the reins yourself.
EXTROPIANS OF THE WORLD UNITE!
> Frequently, this is an evolutionary activity.
> It's not that easy to change the minds of the people whose primary
> activity is political involvement as an outlet of their daily
> frustrations.
That is, with genuine respect, profound.
> We are not dealing with great intellectuals or academiticians, but
> rather with people who are simply trying to survive in a world they did
> not make.
The brilliance of these people lies not in their product (what
product?), but in their initial choice to "be in control." Power is the
ultimate end of all human societal interaction. I see us here every day
debating how mankind may finally have power over his fate. The notion of
extropy is a power-hungry invention. Dammit, we *CAN* be what we want to
be! This is arrogance, this is claiming power, and this I love.
> Most people are willing to accept change if they understand how it will
> benefit them.
Absolutely and entirely, 110% correct! Information has always been the
key to human societal evolution. But, unfortunately, the more
information one has, the more work one must do to sift out the crap.
(Just do a search with the keyword "government" someday.) I think that
paranoia is a more likely outcome than paradise.
> If all of society re enlightened through continuous education and
> knowledge accumulates, change occurs that much faster.
Education by whose standards and into what ideology? What kind of
knowledge will eventually accumulate? And will it all be crap? IMO, fast
change is revolution. And in the end, there's always someone who winds
up holding the reins. I hope it's you.
> Maybe we can consider the move to Mars next year.
We will consider it. Whether it happens, depends on where the money
goes.
-- Hagbard Celine Not a clerk of the nostalgia of the declining ruling class.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 14:44:30 MST