The utter emptiness of neoliberalism

 

Every time Trump expresses himself, on anything and everything, you get the chilling sweep of neoliberal ego. Trump personifies simplistic vision of a world that exhibits utter emptiness of neoliberalism. The emptiness that has no self-awareness whatsoever and compensates by acquiring and owning more. It is always showtime. The absolute lack of understanding or meaning that has come to define human progress as plunder for profit. Each word Trump utters, each action of his, unabashedly presents the overwhelming sinister shadow of neoliberalism that is ensnaring the world, and was kept hidden in nice sounding semantics of capitalism. Everything about him is crass and crude without him being aware. He is not posing. This is him, an emptiness of consciousness. He became what neoliberal demands from him. His utterings are not his. His emptiness is not his. The more absent is the self-awareness more success he is presented by the system. He is a successful businessman and immensely powerful politician. He is no conman. He is embodiment of neoliberal values and its stellar success. Everywhere in the world such successes are spreading.  

The system creates its own reality, a fantasy for its own survival, and the world starts to simulate this fantasy as reality. Societies are attuned for this fantasy, each human tempered from self into occupation and thoughts that isolate from reality. Possibilities of education is lost in this greed to acquire. Even the concept of money itself fails its value. Each life is then a capital. Earth an unending resource. Every tree obstructing development. Success is a prized commodity. Worst of human impulse is monetized to be branded as successful. Indeed, Worst of human is now the most powerful person. There is no posturing. There is no euphemism. There is no weight of moral or ethics when self is absent. There is no intellect to pause for ideologies or nuanced thinking when the mind is trained for here and now of opportunity. The integration is complete. He is now the container of neoliberalism to enact its unbridled vulgarism.     

Trump, and many like him spread across the world, channelize diabolical greed as enabling politicians, as media actively manufacturing consent, as distracting entertainers, thrive in collective incapacity to point the flaw. He is a growing apparition on collective soul, for this amazing lack of intellect, its inability to acknowledge the horror that is eating the soul of each human. Religion, though espouses morals, too is active facilitator as controllers seek more influence hence suit religion to power matrix. From feudalism to neoliberalism religion remains an active benefactor of all kinds of exploitation. Lacking spiritual quest, the staid system of set pattern, while sustains on juvenile narrations is defined by desperation. Desperation for miracles, for blessing, it creates beggar minds in the garb of followers. The moral self therefore shifts the pliable narration as an excuse for greater good. This greater good is incapacitated to see the worth of a tree but shows concern for forest. Greed by the very meaning is vulgar. While Sensex climbs and reclimbs all time high humanity descends into worst of possibilities. They critically analyze everything except the system they are within. The elephant in the room with gargantuan appetite that is rapidly diminishing chance for life.

The emptiness is not awareness of existential but absence of self. Systems that actively prevent awareness of self or for it to develop to full potential of human. Vibrancy of education is streamlined for market needs, as the system self-perpetuates. Humans are pliable bystanders very soon to be replaced by efficient much more compliant robots. It becomes easy for any devious system or authoritarian figures to take control unchallenged, indeed, the degrading framework adjusts itself as barometer of success. Neoliberal system siding with lowest denominator of religion, as also primal urges, creates compliance and a consensus to define meaning of existence that is amplified and normalized. There is no complexity or awareness of human condition. The world is kept simple. Simplified world has simplistic answers that satisfy all. My god is the almighty designer. There is heaven and hell, or reincarnation. The only complexity in this simplified stupefying assertion one can pose is ‘we don’t know’, and not ‘well that is some bollocks’ and lose our standing as success!

Complexity increases with diversity

 

Abstraction is evolution. Abstraction is complexity searching for the least consuming path in a constant loop with reality. Complexity is nurtured in diversity. Lack of diversity leads to loss of resilience and eventual extinction. Pathogens evolve into a complex killer strain in this diversity soup that attains critical threshold. Certain regions in the world are zoonotic hotspots, where there is more likelihood of pandemic level pernicious pathogens to evolve. Regions with high human density in the vicinity of waterlogging, butchering of various species for consumption in contaminated space, the diversity multiplies when wild species are regular in the menu. This is where life acquires vibrancy to evolve faster and mutate for breakthrough. This abstraction of life is an assertion of the resilience of diversity.           

Similarly, the best of ideas and thoughts are primed in complexity that increases with diversity. Diversity, that brings uniqueness of culture and thoughts, primed in its unique context of deep association with human condition. A uniqueness that presents best of possibilities for individuals from vibrant rich diversity of multiculture. This hybridization of vibrant culture from various regions creates space for complexity that elevates society into egalitarian values that effortlessly assert liberty and freedom and increases possibilities of abstraction into breakthrough ideas and expressions. If the space is overwhelmed by regressive, controlling values and deviant culture, then it reduces to staid people with dead habits and eventual atrophied society. A few centuries back some religions, in the context of time, created vibrant spaces into societies that were closed for centuries. It inspired people to create new ways to express their religiosity. Progress of humanity, whether science or art, was largely confined within this whim. Though humanist spiritual traditions valued secular space, nature was mostly seen as subservient to human logic as mystical creations. It was faith of ignorance that sought security and assurance in an overwhelmingly dangerous mysterious world (barely a century back life expectancy in India was around 27years!). Humanity has evolved tremendously in the last few decades, and therefore what was an inspiring source few centuries back is now restrictive, indeed regressive and warped in ideas trapped in time, and so a source for control and degradation. In the contemporary world religion is like an algae bloom that creates dead zones in the ocean it creates herd as it spreads. The premise of religion contradicts contemporary understanding and is increasingly a trap. It kills progressive thoughts, it restricts our connection with evolving reality, and degrades diversity. Regressive values, primitive thinking and barbaric practices will add to diversity no doubt but it’s a diversity that degrades humanity hence decreases complexity -there is a reason why the world is moving towards the easiness of binary, it weakens society and negates vibrancy of individual. It creates strife and animosity, and opens possibilities for the worst, the revivalist and revisionist, the delusion, the grandeur, seeking assurance of mythical redacted past. It is the nature of primitive societies incapacitated to face the complexities of present to seek fantasy of the past.      

Cohesive societies gave stability to create the foundation for culture to permeate and create uniqueness, but also embedded irrationalities and normalized horrible practices as traditions that went unchecked without outside influence. Throughout human history, it is the regions with high diversity, or meeting points of various cultures, the epicenters for human progress. Diversity creates immense possibilities for differing thoughts to interact and churn in different minds, to be assimilated, abstracted, into paradigm shifting ideas or expressions of art that assert humanity. For this fragile framework to sustain, progressive societies must be vigilant and assert through rigorous constant iteration with contemporary reality, evaluation and consolidation through education, and upgraded with each new insight and understanding. It is these spaces, reflected in virtual space, that humanity's progress is hinged.

Gaming the system

 

"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." Goodhart's Law

This is precisely what education is reduced to, it is no longer about knowledge or creating understanding through awareness instead passing exams. To be fair exams are an important evaluation mechanism to check the progress. But when passing the exam itself becomes raison d’etre of education then it has failed. So is the crave for certificates from ‘prestigious’ colleges and PhDs. If the reason is to gain validation through certificates and tags of prestige rather than the pursuit of knowledge or nurturing deeper insight then it is a sham. An insecure immature society creates such situations where people are desperate for upword mobility and seek validation by whatever means. Standards of evaluation get reduced to markers of status among shallow people. Money and power are also used to seek such status marker for ego satisfaction and social positioning. These mindset thrive in primitive insular societies. Lack of investment in research is reflection of collective consensus as is insane sum on crude crass low calibre entertainment.

When education is valued to pass ‘entrance exam’ it is beginning for worst possibilities wherein it was meant to be joyous search, excitement of connecting to others and wider world. I have come across many people with doctorates in crazy topics that is only meant to get the PhD -essentially gaming the system, there is no genuine interest and the topic of research is altogether forgotten once motive achieved. Imagine the amount of time and investment wasted. Years back I was taking a session at ‘prestigious’ Stella Maris college in Chennai, and was interacting with one of the teachers, who had a doctorate in a topic that was quite interesting with possibilities but really couldn’t pursue it further as a researcher. So, either you game the system or you get trapped in the system. Most of these tags are meant to jostle for higher position, as if having this tag indicates competence in the present occupation -that most likely they may not be and are inflating to posture, and on the contrary it should be a disqualification since it shows lack of sincerity, an opportunist mindset that demeans the idea of education and passion for pursuing knowledge. When you see young people deciding areas of interest for further studies based on prestige hence easy access to money and power then it is failure to understand education, it thrives on beggar minds that evaluate on worthiness based on narrow gain. They are not motivated to learn but to please. If the core of education is reduced to this misplaced crave then it is indication of deep rot in society. It nurtures superficial beings wandering for next opportunity, very soon they detach and money becomes the only motivator, this then leads to slipping into deeper ethical morass. It also reduces complexity that nurture best of minds instead increases possibilities of lazy unthinking binaries and polarizing fixes.

Learning thrives in open minds. Nothing is preconceived as worthless or quantified as waste. Mind expands when not confined and see interconnectedness instead of silos of subjects. Education gives deeper meaning to life. Education is important for human progress, and specialized training creates skills that equips to probe deeper into matter.

                  

Hear the lament

Clouds stomp in

Smear the day in shades of grey

Trembling trees in deafening wheeze of the possessed

See the arrival of tremendous will

Shifting shapes clanging the sky

As if this tilting landscape is new home

For brief lament for all vanishing lives

Pray. Pray.

Offensive cartoons!

 

The intention of political cartoon is to ridicule, insight as caricature, generally to lighten the situation but not reduce the gravity of the matter. They can be offensive, indeed in the context of things they are meant to be offensive, to eviscerate power and entrenched systems. It is freedom of expression that is lynchpin of democratic civilized society. It is expression of freedom and liberty. Vulgar and crude can also be expression, so is what is considered as blasphemous by few. Nothing can be banned. What restrains is collective awareness as also aesthetics. An evolved society will self-edit or else it is ignored by aware population and will not sync with collective sensibilities.

The controversy regarding cartoon of Indian prime minister as snake charmer titled 'sneaky slightly annoying man' in mainstream Norwegian newspaper is interesting. I studied it quite closely. The stereotype of Indian snake charmer (or rope trick) is quite dated cliché, a 19^th century colonial british creation -though not out of context, when we were children, these were quite common in north India. It doesn’t exist now. It seems to continue to exist in western mind. Also, Mr. Modi’s skin is darkened to easily match the Indian stereotype in western mind. Offensive yes but necessarily an expression of political cartoon that should have its place. There though is the issue of asymmetry of power which is meant to belittle the other, mystify the other as exotic so that they are reduced to dehumanized stereotype. It is not meant to give insight or humor but belittle, a stereotype of condescending western gaze. Not that Indians are enlightened or carry heightened aesthetic sensibilities, indeed worse than these are normalized in this part of the world, most significantly in everyday cringe of mainstream entertainment. However western gaze, essentially white western stereotype of other, is embedded in feudal structures and neo-colonial systems that overwhelm and undermine democracy. Anachronistic reverence for feudal institutions nurture mindset of ascriptive delusions. It evaluates and infantilize the other as continuation of historical typecast (dark “sneaky”~“thug” – you see the pattern), incapacitated to have any agency or self awareness, and categorized as it suits and asserted with asymmetry of power. A society claiming to be civilized should’ve self-censored any hint of racism or worked something better but equally offensive! (I am for offensive…institutions of power should be ridiculed). Historical wrong cannot be evaluated from contemporary context, we don’t live in the same world. But if references seek to revive or replicate horrors of past then it must be objected. More than people it is feudal institutions and entrenched systems that need to be eviscerated. More entrenched the idea or institution more is the need for blasphemy. 

 

Reincarnation

And suddenly like a crack on furnace door

History flares out on to the street

From books and myths of religion

Faceless sneers in anonymous space

Crafted legacy in obscured heritage

Interminable tectonic of blessed land

Consciousness snuffed as herd

In their assigned role

Entitled role

The reincarnations

Clash to claim self

In every wound inflicted 

  

Withering moon

You don’t need to look to see

between the unlikely duet

of barbet and flameback in dimming light

a sigh

an intonation of incarnated voices

search evening mist

fireflies light tenebrous brook

stretch synapses in coherent syllables

trace the path of a billion stars

and withering moon

Transactive and Performative binary politics

 

While neoliberal capitalist value system has nurtured and fueled transactive politics the conscientious binary is consolidated as performative politics. The performative posturing that seeks to protect the marginalized as also idealized values that strive for equitable society. This binary is taken to extreme in countries like USA where transactive value finds opportunism in majoritarian backlash against performative posturing that is reduced to parody. Crave for power by elite section is the common factor. These extremes get into tight compartment offering no space for common people’s aspirations and long term consequences that matter while fractures widen. Mutative politics of Trump played the extreme, or else, devious play of politics shifts from transactive to performative as the opportunism presents. 

Check what is happening in Britain -erstwhile colonizer that had embryonic influence on democratic aspirations of many countries across the world, and continues to have significant influence due to its exaggerated post colonial influence and reach. The absolute contempt for common people (the latest being Starmer -Schrodinger's cabbage!) can be traced to feudal values and regressive institutions on which its so-called democracy is built. Performative and transactive politics work on this foundational framework. This unfortunately had debilitating impact on fledgling democracies across the world. Feudal values influence blatant nepotism and wanton corruption, and general disregard for democratic institutions further incapacitated by egalitarian norm’s incapability to percolate into primitive society. Democracy is reduced to performance suffused in predatory transactive values celebrated as success.

Transactive value system consolidate as market professionalism of ruthless objective deal, therefore competence, hence seen as engine of development and prosperity. The lack of complexity easily sides with majoritarianism as opportunism, finds fertile ground for consolidating success with majoritarian right and conservative concerns. Value system primed in market greed locates easiest available pattern for gain. It just has to trigger collective primal fears and grander claims and aspirations mostly based on fiction of religion and exceptionalism of mythical past -carefully constructed exaggerations from redacted history manipulated into contemporary context. Performative value system meanwhile exaggerates the identity of beleaguered to gain traction to represent as egalitarian idealized force -hence align strongly with left or secular socialist concerns. Instead for genuine involvement -that needs long term understanding, the posturing search for easy collective, the performance therefore becomes pernicious with lowest denominator to gain attention. Worst kind of people pose as minority to usurp benefits thus weakening institutions further, as also negating crucial issues like racism, gender and environment. While these historical injustices still embed institutions (as feudal institutions are normalized) and left to fester and used as showcase for empathy, the possibilities of democracy leading to better world is thwarted. With the rise of social media, and with it general superficiality, the binary gets consolidated into extreme, and therefore becomes easy for majoritarian values to consolidate and gain traction. This is happening in democratic societies all across the world. Meanwhile performative idealism is easy to expose, and are viciously reacted upon. The backlash creates worst situation for vulnerable and marginalized. So not only democracies are becoming less vibrant but also alarmingly withering from seams. Transactive values fueled development lack percolation of democracy leading to extreme gap in prosperity and poverty further accentuated by feudal values that nurture corruption, nepotism and exploitation. Performative politics is now a parody that has severely impacted democratic institutions, with it the possibilities for better future. The promise of liberty and freedom stands diminished in binary politics of posturing. Restricting feudal institutions, deconstructing regressive systems, its normalizing through transactive politics, while nurturing grassroot democracy and protecting individual liberty and freedom of expression. Transactive and performative values have short shelf life when reality strikes.

 

  

El nino is shifting for worse

 

Brace up people climate is shifting for worse. Strongest El Nino on record is brewing on the horizon. Human caused climate change is turbocharging it. This looks like shift is cascading in real time. Erratic and extreme weather pattern is set to become a norm. Indian subcontinent is set to face extreme temperature and drought as monsoon weakens- though with increased moisture western coastal region will see increased cumulonimbus formations that cause heavy windy rain in short period. Fragile region of western ghats impacted by deforestation and mining will increase probability of flash floods and landslides as also increased intensity of cyclones along eastern coast. Nature nurtures life but is neutral to human concerns. “If there is mother nature it’s b*tch of a mother!” that’s inimitable Slavoj Zizek -quite popular contemporary philosopher.

Evolving words: choice of words evolves with increasing awareness. Earlier I used to use words like truth now I prefer understanding (hence little change in earlier blog). Another word I stopped preferring is 'hope'. Hope is an irrational emotion associated with irrationality but it goes very well with context of the last poem on pi instead of 'thought'.   

Pi of the matter

Prodding and prodding a plodding eternity*

Pi loops in to anchor

Einstein’s birth, Hawking’s death

To hold heaven and earth

And measure the distance hope can take

Arrange and rearrange the matter

In poached eggs and salted pepper

In time’s eternal presence

Past, Present, Future

And set the sun and rise

* from Szymborska's poem Pi