# The End Game



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

The last few moves in the defeat of Representative Government.

This _can_ be discussed calmly, dispassionately, without name calling or other vituperation. After all, it's pretty much a done deal.

Want to take a shot at it?



p.s. My sig is anachronistic.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Thinking about it? A Google search on the New Feudalism could prime your pump. Remember, calm, dispassionate responses only.

Semi-aside: there are echoes of the old "military/industrial complex" there - but the direct relationship seems a bit tenuous to me.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Exciting times as far as I'm concerned... Describing current events as the 'end game' is really on the mark from what I can tell - in a good way. I'll leave it at that in an effort to avoid any 'vituperation'. 

Congratulations hilltroll72 on being the poster at TC that causes me to visit dictionary.com the most.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I don't think we have had a representative government for a long time. It's been a corporate oligarchy for several decades and we either didn't notice or were too distracted by the celebrity meltdown du jour to care.

I am more concerned about the deliberate undermining of education, particularly science education in the US. The uneducated are easier to control and easier to fill with superstitious drivel that quells the indomitable human spirit. But ultimately the undermining will fail. It will never quell _my_ spirit, and there will always be bright inquisitive people who don't buy into the mob psychology and rhetoric of both the far right _and_ far left. Cooler heads prevail.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Weston said:


> [...]
> But ultimately the undermining will fail. It will never quell _my_ spirit, and there will always be bright inquisitive people who don't buy into the mob psychology and rhetoric of both the far right _and_ far left. Cooler heads prevail.


I'm happy to learn of that spirit; but 'ultimately' can be a long time. When can the 'bright, inquisitive people' in Iran and (PR)China expect to prevail?

Losing 'rights and privileges' can be done without effort: :wave: (so long, r's and p's)

Regaining them though :devil: (can be the devil of a chore)


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

Weston said:


> I don't think we have had a representative government for a long time. It's been a corporate oligarchy for several decades and we either didn't notice or were too distracted by the celebrity meltdown du jour to care.
> 
> I am more concerned about the deliberate undermining of education, particularly science education in the US. The uneducated are easier to control and easier to fill with superstitious drivel that quells the indomitable human spirit. But ultimately the undermining will fail. It will never quell _my_ spirit, and there will always be bright inquisitive people who don't buy into the mob psychology and rhetoric of both the far right _and_ far left. Cooler heads prevail.


There are those who have noticed the diminution of representative government but government and the media have tried to hide the knowledge from the masses by distracting them with trivialities as rome did with Bread and Circuses. If you keep them fed and happy they will not notice what is going on. In regards to education, getting rid of the Department of Education and putting it back in the hands of the educators seems the way to go. Perhaps the major distraction are the Political Parties which is why certain of the Founding Fathers opposed the concept as divisive. That has certainly proven to be true.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Weston said:


> I don't think we have had a representative government for a long time. It's been a corporate oligarchy for several decades and we either didn't notice or were too distracted by the celebrity meltdown du jour to care.
> 
> I am more concerned about the deliberate undermining of education, particularly science education in the US. The uneducated are easier to control and easier to fill with superstitious drivel that quells the indomitable human spirit. But ultimately the undermining will fail. It will never quell _my_ spirit, and there will always be bright inquisitive people who don't buy into the mob psychology and rhetoric of both the far right _and_ far left. Cooler heads prevail.


I'm afraid your optimism, although touching, is unfounded. These things often cause irreparable damage. When a whole new generation is lacking in scientific education, that flame you're talking about dies out, and it is very hard to light it up again. Scientist friends of mine (I have numerous since I'm in a science-related field and academic setting) have been complaining bitterly about our shrinking leadership in science, the gutting of the NIH, the dumbing down of the population, and the progressive (although still timid) shift of cutting-edge research to Asian countries.

Our dear representatives and our Supreme Court have been voting/deciding in favor of corporations and against science. As usual, they're being short-sighted - the rich will get richer in the short run, but our lost leadership will hurt us in the end.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

May I suggest a bit more circumlocution in this thread? As an example, _tdc_ may have expressed support for the New Feudalism, but ambiguously enough so that the only response it could provoke is _eh what?_.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Sorry, my circumlocuter is on the blink having suffered a 67% drop in loquacity since I switched from PC to IPad and Android. There's no app for it yet.

I wondered if my optimism might have been covering up a bit of apathy. But what can one do? I can protest through art, but there is so little time for that. And so few venues for it that would not risk my chances of returning to illustration as a career (not that they are high to begin with). Maybe I'm at a point where I should throw caution to the wind.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

I suspect that throwing caution to the wind has beneficial long-term results only in fiction. You may be right in thinking that feudalism, new or old-style, has a long reach and many eyes, and also that _*they*_ are aware that illustration has more power than language to move the populace.

C'mon guys, loosen up a little. When it becomes clear that you can't avoid the steamroller, give the operator the finger.

ut: (or this)


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## Ralfy (Jul 19, 2010)

Ultimately, all sectors of U.S. society--government (including the military), households, corporations (including banks)--will have to decrease borrowing and spending considerably. Income levels will also have to go down and work geared to an export market in order to reverse four decades of trade deficits. But I do not think most will agree to less spending and borrowing, esp. given an economy where 70 pct of activity is based on consumer spending, the same percentage of people work in the service industry, and exporting countries are counting on the U.S. to continue borrowing and spending.


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