Funny thing. I feel like I died and went to heaven on Oct 5.
Hopefully, starting Jan 20, we stop being a banana republic. Hopefully, political partisans stop practicing lawfare. Hopefully the general public looks back at the Mueller boondoggle, the two pointless impeachments, the Hunter laptop denial, the shameful persecution of Trump over things that don't even raise an eyebrow when others do it, and the pardoning of Hunter for anything he ever did in the last eleven years, and realize that we have been flat-out lied to and manipulated for decades.
Some, of course, will remain in denial. Some feel threatened at looking down the throat of reality. Some would rather believe a ridiculous lie than face the truth. But those people are being increasingly ignored, as they should be.
I liked that table. I recognized all of the former and only half of the latter. Good riddance.
This twinges my muscle memory on the concept of Character... Empire calls the individual OUT of themselves into something greater. A participation.
Douthat's case for decline into decadence probably touches on this (I only listened to interviews; I wasn't compelled to read it yet) But this focus on the individual is so culturally prevalent. Our entire lens is so focused inward that we've forgotten we were once defined by how we interacted outward.
I don't know if there are any true historical parallels either... even in Rome, there were still Romans... fealty to Caesar, something corporate and communal. The messaging today is completely devoid of that, so long as the almighty dollar is achievable. (Wolf of Wallstreet anyone?)
Maybe that's the draw I feel to socialism, the disparities of dollar acquisition in our country give us something to rally around.
Alas a mob is not a community and that's usually where socialism goes to... pushing for reforms and falling into another set of human failings.
Liked the essay overall but not sure about that list, considering most items on the left side still exist and are more influential than their counterparts on the right side.
I'm not sure if I buy into a post empire concept. How elections work is from us hoping towards the future. Idk how many ppl took dei and the adjacent views and structures to be on the election but obviously a lot on the republican side did. In any case it's not so much a repudiation as a grown and moving past sorta thing even if consciously it was taken as a repudiation. Biden was elected in 2020. Even if that was to just test to see if the hyperpoliticalization would stop there was an adjacency that was accepted (over other things).
Ig it depends on what you imagine America to be. Like post Jefferson it's been more can-do attitude of the regular every day American. Before that it was about being an enlightenment gentleman and from that you get can-do (think Benjamin Franklin with his reasoning vs any cowboy, Forrest Gump or Napoleon Dynamite (as the millennial American)). There really was a split between federalists and democratic-republicans so I think it's easy to say to just ignore that for the post Jefferson democratic-republican driven romantic narrative. In any case you see some narratives coming up already. The silicon valley narrative is very American can-do with a smattering of the reasoning. That's a viable and preexisting narrative and tbf it has expanded into politics. So I'm not sure what post empire is supposed to ontologically be but we can say what an American is continually and immediately going forward and we can sort of look at the dei stuff which was an alien aberration (I really think historians are going to scratch their heads here. Without neoliberalism it simply would not be possible nor make any possible sense for that to have happened).
There are other major narratives (in the sense as corresponding to existing universal values obviously not pomo) which are growing and developing over everything past the DC narrative which is in a pretty bad position along with the uni narrative. Universities really don't have much room as narrative makers like they can't really get into politics and they certainly aren't equipped to take on silicon valley technology or r&d or whatever and they've really had several hiccups and the technological dispersion of education etc has already at least made them people you can step aside from.
In any case I think we should be looking for the narratives in terms of their universal values and how those correspond to our vision of what American values are. Given the failure of neoliberal institutions it's become a fact that by enlightenment reason that we do not have access to neutral, global institutions. Whenever that becomes accepted we need an anchor for what America is. And hopefully dei gets their institutions replaced sooner than later but it'll happen with one of these narratives. I'm not sure I buy a silicon valley educational narrative outside the internet or whichever.
The other option is denial the empire is over, which is what Russia has been doing under Putin and failing harder, China is busy not interrupting the mistake that is Putin, and will pick up the pieces. ---- A sure sign of empire and imperialism is not knowing where your borders are and having to go all military on your neighbour's ass.
The recent failure of Brexit is another example of an empire failing rather than fading out, and to think it nearly did fade, the spasm or hiccough of brexit was the last gasp of the gammon fools going all prissy on their neighbour's arse.
The common theme is is that we fail to police narcissism and psychopathy in our leaders. Imperialism is a type of psychopathy writ large. But like the poor, empires are always with us.
The Brexit? Russia? Thinking either of those things are failures is empire-era thinking. It's the Economist version of the world (include the decades old motif "yeah, China is beating us everywhere, but they're in real trouble anyday now"), which nobody except the true believers takes seriously anymore.
If anything was wrong with Brexit is that it was half-heartedly enforced by politicians who didn't believe in it and had no vision - the usual bureucrats globalists that brought the country to the whole mess pre-Brexit.
The EU - even Germany, its top player, has it much worse than post-Brexit Britain, it's not even funny. If the UK took even more advantage of Brexit opportunities, and also if they didn't make the same stupid mistakes with Covid shutdown but followed a Sweden model, they'd be much more better now.
Brexit was a harkening after a failed empire. Empire-era thinking is not restricted to empires failing or not (an empire failing does not mean empires will disappear, and I suspect, like the poor they are always with us, at least it spirit, to which your point refers.) As an anarchist I would like imperialistic one-nation-one-god-one-leader-one-oneness would go away but simply pointing out the economics of the situation/s someplace was not my point in using the word failure, please read it in that frame and not some whataboutism about something I was not talking about, thanks . The brexit failure was a failure of spirit to come to terms with the posssible fact that empires are always with us (at least in spirit) and what to do about it. That empires never know where their borders are etc etc etc and that they always become narcissistic hell holes when we do not police narcissist who both gain power in contexts they prefer, and who then set up systems to suit themselves (they will call it loyalty rather systems though). And hello from Tasmania.
I am reminded of the unraveling of the Roman Empire and its memory fading into obscurity. Latin once was the language of prestige and power and now is essentially a dead language.
“ I wonder if now is not in fact the time to start imagining what lies beyond the concepts of empire — lies elsewhere, and speaks in a different tongue altogether …”
In our post-empire hubris we imagine the future to resemble the past. “Hail to the new boss, just like the old boss…” while sarcastically comforting, may not be an option any longer.
Yes I can relate to Empire and Post Empire. So much can be learned from the history of dominant empires including our own British Empire. The problem lies in the inability for post empires to realise that they need to adjust to a lesser role but one in which the pride in country, innovation and in educational and living standards can still exist.
Former imperial powers are the guy who peaked in high school who sits in the bar telling everyone repeatedly about that one season of semi-professional football.
Funny thing. I feel like I died and went to heaven on Oct 5.
Hopefully, starting Jan 20, we stop being a banana republic. Hopefully, political partisans stop practicing lawfare. Hopefully the general public looks back at the Mueller boondoggle, the two pointless impeachments, the Hunter laptop denial, the shameful persecution of Trump over things that don't even raise an eyebrow when others do it, and the pardoning of Hunter for anything he ever did in the last eleven years, and realize that we have been flat-out lied to and manipulated for decades.
Some, of course, will remain in denial. Some feel threatened at looking down the throat of reality. Some would rather believe a ridiculous lie than face the truth. But those people are being increasingly ignored, as they should be.
I liked that table. I recognized all of the former and only half of the latter. Good riddance.
This twinges my muscle memory on the concept of Character... Empire calls the individual OUT of themselves into something greater. A participation.
Douthat's case for decline into decadence probably touches on this (I only listened to interviews; I wasn't compelled to read it yet) But this focus on the individual is so culturally prevalent. Our entire lens is so focused inward that we've forgotten we were once defined by how we interacted outward.
I don't know if there are any true historical parallels either... even in Rome, there were still Romans... fealty to Caesar, something corporate and communal. The messaging today is completely devoid of that, so long as the almighty dollar is achievable. (Wolf of Wallstreet anyone?)
Maybe that's the draw I feel to socialism, the disparities of dollar acquisition in our country give us something to rally around.
Alas a mob is not a community and that's usually where socialism goes to... pushing for reforms and falling into another set of human failings.
Jesus, come soon!
Happy Advent everyone.
Liked the essay overall but not sure about that list, considering most items on the left side still exist and are more influential than their counterparts on the right side.
Empires “fade” not “fall.”
I'm not sure if I buy into a post empire concept. How elections work is from us hoping towards the future. Idk how many ppl took dei and the adjacent views and structures to be on the election but obviously a lot on the republican side did. In any case it's not so much a repudiation as a grown and moving past sorta thing even if consciously it was taken as a repudiation. Biden was elected in 2020. Even if that was to just test to see if the hyperpoliticalization would stop there was an adjacency that was accepted (over other things).
Ig it depends on what you imagine America to be. Like post Jefferson it's been more can-do attitude of the regular every day American. Before that it was about being an enlightenment gentleman and from that you get can-do (think Benjamin Franklin with his reasoning vs any cowboy, Forrest Gump or Napoleon Dynamite (as the millennial American)). There really was a split between federalists and democratic-republicans so I think it's easy to say to just ignore that for the post Jefferson democratic-republican driven romantic narrative. In any case you see some narratives coming up already. The silicon valley narrative is very American can-do with a smattering of the reasoning. That's a viable and preexisting narrative and tbf it has expanded into politics. So I'm not sure what post empire is supposed to ontologically be but we can say what an American is continually and immediately going forward and we can sort of look at the dei stuff which was an alien aberration (I really think historians are going to scratch their heads here. Without neoliberalism it simply would not be possible nor make any possible sense for that to have happened).
There are other major narratives (in the sense as corresponding to existing universal values obviously not pomo) which are growing and developing over everything past the DC narrative which is in a pretty bad position along with the uni narrative. Universities really don't have much room as narrative makers like they can't really get into politics and they certainly aren't equipped to take on silicon valley technology or r&d or whatever and they've really had several hiccups and the technological dispersion of education etc has already at least made them people you can step aside from.
In any case I think we should be looking for the narratives in terms of their universal values and how those correspond to our vision of what American values are. Given the failure of neoliberal institutions it's become a fact that by enlightenment reason that we do not have access to neutral, global institutions. Whenever that becomes accepted we need an anchor for what America is. And hopefully dei gets their institutions replaced sooner than later but it'll happen with one of these narratives. I'm not sure I buy a silicon valley educational narrative outside the internet or whichever.
The other option is denial the empire is over, which is what Russia has been doing under Putin and failing harder, China is busy not interrupting the mistake that is Putin, and will pick up the pieces. ---- A sure sign of empire and imperialism is not knowing where your borders are and having to go all military on your neighbour's ass.
The recent failure of Brexit is another example of an empire failing rather than fading out, and to think it nearly did fade, the spasm or hiccough of brexit was the last gasp of the gammon fools going all prissy on their neighbour's arse.
The common theme is is that we fail to police narcissism and psychopathy in our leaders. Imperialism is a type of psychopathy writ large. But like the poor, empires are always with us.
The Brexit? Russia? Thinking either of those things are failures is empire-era thinking. It's the Economist version of the world (include the decades old motif "yeah, China is beating us everywhere, but they're in real trouble anyday now"), which nobody except the true believers takes seriously anymore.
If anything was wrong with Brexit is that it was half-heartedly enforced by politicians who didn't believe in it and had no vision - the usual bureucrats globalists that brought the country to the whole mess pre-Brexit.
The EU - even Germany, its top player, has it much worse than post-Brexit Britain, it's not even funny. If the UK took even more advantage of Brexit opportunities, and also if they didn't make the same stupid mistakes with Covid shutdown but followed a Sweden model, they'd be much more better now.
Brexit was a harkening after a failed empire. Empire-era thinking is not restricted to empires failing or not (an empire failing does not mean empires will disappear, and I suspect, like the poor they are always with us, at least it spirit, to which your point refers.) As an anarchist I would like imperialistic one-nation-one-god-one-leader-one-oneness would go away but simply pointing out the economics of the situation/s someplace was not my point in using the word failure, please read it in that frame and not some whataboutism about something I was not talking about, thanks . The brexit failure was a failure of spirit to come to terms with the posssible fact that empires are always with us (at least in spirit) and what to do about it. That empires never know where their borders are etc etc etc and that they always become narcissistic hell holes when we do not police narcissist who both gain power in contexts they prefer, and who then set up systems to suit themselves (they will call it loyalty rather systems though). And hello from Tasmania.
I am reminded of the unraveling of the Roman Empire and its memory fading into obscurity. Latin once was the language of prestige and power and now is essentially a dead language.
“ I wonder if now is not in fact the time to start imagining what lies beyond the concepts of empire — lies elsewhere, and speaks in a different tongue altogether …”
In our post-empire hubris we imagine the future to resemble the past. “Hail to the new boss, just like the old boss…” while sarcastically comforting, may not be an option any longer.
Yes I can relate to Empire and Post Empire. So much can be learned from the history of dominant empires including our own British Empire. The problem lies in the inability for post empires to realise that they need to adjust to a lesser role but one in which the pride in country, innovation and in educational and living standards can still exist.
Former imperial powers are the guy who peaked in high school who sits in the bar telling everyone repeatedly about that one season of semi-professional football.
Only with genocide.
I think Daniel Immerwahr would want to have some words with Easton Ellis: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/how-to-hide-an-empire-9781473545335