Damn straight my brave and wise sister. I’m reading Stephen Kotkin’s biography of Stalin, and nothing is more destructive and burdening than trying to control the actions of an entire nation, let alone the world. People who desire this power are destined to collapse under the weight of their own incompetence. One of the problems with our current form of crony-capitalism is that the rich aren’t forced to reckon with the weight of their own idiocy. Have a great day and keep up the tremendous work. ❤️
Haven’t you ever wondered why anti-communists like Kotkin get uplifted in this system, much like the billionaires Caitlin is talking about? Meanwhile, why have you never heard of Domenico Losurdo, one of the greatest marxist historians, like Parenti? He wrote an awesome book about Stalin that I highly recommend.
Notice how ppl keep mentioning "gulag" all the time, while GITMO is STILL functional..?
This is exactly how Propaganda works..
***
Nowadays, the US has that huge PRIVATE Prison Industrial Complex, which is a modern form of slavery..
For example, the "UNICOR" Corp., being part of the Military Industrial Complex, has more than 150 private prison factories. In 2021, the inmates' hourly wage there was between $0.23 and $1.15, while the minimal wage of a "free" American was $7.25.
How? Thanks to that nice little exclusion in the 13th Amendment that basically equates prisoners and slaves..
The largest private prison companies in the U.S. are GEO Group and CoreCivic. These two companies collectively manage over half of the private prison contracts in the United States with combined revenues of $3.5 billion in 2015.
Yes ChatterX, Why do they keep on talking about gulags when their GITMO is a functioning torture chamber. And they have stolen it from Cuba. If the UN wasn't just an extension of US foreign policy from its inception, it should have got it back for Cuba.
Propaganda works because people are conditioned enough to believe in false narratives.
It is an extremely well-researched and well-written book set in three volumes, that is the reason. It’s over 2,100 pages. I don’t care about Communist or Capitalist interpretations; I’ve read Marx and I’ve read Thomas Sowell. I would never say Communism can’t work, but I’m doubtful. I believe in a hybridized economy that is well-regulated, because when regulations are stripped, we end up with what we have now.
I read that Stalin in Russia is being re asessed to the extents that many memorial statues to him are rising in many places in Russia but not for remembering the 'good old days' in the USSR.
2. Western sovietology is one incestuous circle jerk in the service of empire.
3. You can’t abstract Stalin from the class war, nor can you abstract the books about him from the ideological class war. There are those who write for the empire (Kotkin) and there are those who write for the people (Losurdo).
And to be honest, I do not think there is a system that we cannot turn into a monstrosity through its interactions with our vices and flaws. Stating that China is simply a Communist country underplays the steps they have taken in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
China has implemented capitalistic practices as well. That is what has made their economy so powerful. But they also have universal healthcare and other socialized practices which I admire. It’s not as simple as you state it to be. Communism and Capitalism grew with each other. Think of it in terms of Hegel’s dialectic, they exist in relation to each other. Even the US is a hybridized economy, but they have gutted regulations and the rich are not forced to reckon with their poor decision making. I disagree with you, but I hope you have a great day.
China has a mixed economy, but that’s not the point. You can have all kinds of feudal, capitalist or whatever practices in one country. It’s not feudalISM just because there are feudalists. And it’s not capitalISM just because there are capitalists. The question is which class is in charge. This Chinese capitalist explains it quite nicely:
Goalpost fallacy. Capitalism is failing, that is evident, but shifting the definition of success in an argument is a sign of a flawed argument structure. China will no doubt overtake us (that is, if we don’t die in nuclear holocaust) but you should learn about logical fallacies.
It was you who set the goal. In my view, communism is “not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality [will] have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of things.” (Marx)
You’re basically talking with yourself (resp. your projections of me in your head).
That’s a fancy way of stating that you cannot stick to an argument structure predicated upon the Initial foundations of a proposition. There are over 200 logical fallacies and by continuing to argue with you I’m sure I would read many more. Always with the moral high ground with you possessed ideologues; you are so sure of yourself, as if your notions and your implementations would be indefatigable, that is what makes you dangerous.
I also find it kind of sad that through your statements, you imply that anyone who doesn’t think like you (not communistic) is seen as an enemy to be devalued. Carl Jung spoke of ideology being the disease of the twentieth century, and it has certainly continued into the twenty-first century. Communist or Capitalist—people propagate these ideas, and we can make a monstrosity out of any system of governance or grand organizational set of ideas.
No shit. When I am thinking about these terrible horrible people who run the world and have No concern for anyone but themselves and their bank accounts……….. I am always thankful not to be one of them.
“The only way to be sure that when you are on your deathbed you can look back and know you spent your time here in a right and admirable way.”
Thank you for articulating this so well. This exact thought has been going through my mind lately.
Whenever I feel that we are powerless to effect any meaningful and just change, I go back to this thought and, deep inside, I feel peaceful, content and perhaps a little stronger.
For sure this will get us through. The Palestinians have taught us so much about faith. Praising their god no matter the conditions and understanding that our god/gods are not the ones making hell here. It is mankind. Which is such a stupid word. When so many are not kind at all.
Thank you..for the beautifully expressed essay...am sad to hear of Mr. Parent's passing. My well-read Dad introduced me to his work decades ago. Thank you, too, for the gentle reminder of what a well-lived life looks like....pursuing, no matter the obstacles, the goal of doing whatever we can to improve the quality and dignity of all....the common good.
Maybe Billionairehood could be handled like political office. You accumulate a billion, (because nobody earns a billion), and after four years you get to keep, say, 10%, and the rest goes back into the pot. Oh, and you get a badge.
I wish I didn't know who Muskrat, Bizarros, and Gatz are! But I sure am glad that I do know who Michael Parenti is and I have no need to become a cursed billionaire. I've never been happier than when I finally gave up the struggle to "get ahead" in this capitalist dystopia. When I stand up for others who are being oppressed, I feel hopeful that the world will eventually turn out all right.
I'm sure there are many others out there who feel the same way tonight in Minneapolis.
Thanks. I believe it’s more the case that bad people gain power vs good or well intentioned people became corrupt due to having power. Which situation is more prevalent? I’ll read your links. Thanks again.
Then you have an incomplete understanding of how power works. Again, read the above book (or check out the links).
You can disagree all you want (just as flat-earthers disagree that the world is spherical), but without evidence (i.e. research, studies, etc.), it just becomes an uninformed (and incomplete) opinion.
Michael Parenti, RIP. I've read and respected Michael for decades. So sorry the world has lost his voice. He's left a son, Christian, who is doing good work as well.
One of the comments somewhere in my many subscriptions, maybe it was yours? referenced a very good word for what we are living in: pathocracy. Having a correct diagnosis can help plan a correct path to recovery.
People all over the world admired his work. Was talking to a friend in the east where he was greatly admired. They may know the billionaire psychopaths here in the west but Parenti is remembered far and wide and respected and admired. For his work and his teachings not for his hoarding of wealth. He’s the opposite of the fascists in charge and will not be forgotten
If life is a one way trip to oblivion, and you think you're nothing more than an accidental mechanical biological robot - that soon can be replicated by AI driven machines - there does seem to be some basis for the twisted logic to get what you can now, because there will be no tomorrow (for you).
If you are not responsible for being born, and are not responsible for the state of the world as it is, in a universe you had no idea existed before you were born, and will have no idea existed after you die - there does seem to be this twisted logic a billionaire might live by, because there is no tomorrow (for you).
If you are on a one way road leading to nowhere - how motivated can you feel to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? If outrageous fortune visits those you have loved, and makes you a victim for life to the melancholy you feel because of deep human loss, and a sense that life becomes cheap by acts beyond anyone's control - from car accidents, or fatal falls from cliffs, or incurable diseases before one even becomes an adolescent - or you happen to be born in GAZA - eight years ago ... how motivating is it to you to struggle in this perpetual darkness? How much sympathy can you muster for the devil?
What happens when you no longer believe you have a human soul?
You have so we'll expressed the truth of the ages. It should be taught by parents to their children. Because government school will never admit to it.
Frederick Bastiat wrote 'The Law'. " When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in society, they create, for themselves A legal system that authorizes it, and a moral code that glorifies it "!
I say- When men and women hire themselves out to act as enforcers or collectors for the violent, coercive state, for a share of the loot, then all decent men and women should look on them with revulsion and loathing. For if they are with them, they are against us as all government at every level is parasitic.
Which is what Minnesota's are doing now and rightly so, because the worst if the worst have descended into their daily lives and are killing fir the fun of it. Where did these men come from anyway?
If I had a billions I'd use it for a counter army to protect people wherever these thugs turn up. An army that is always ready to go wherever that lot are. They would be armed, but first use tazers to stop them harming a civillian and manacles to keep them from escaping. Maybe have a nice prison hidden away somewhere hard to find, because one lets a prospective killer go free.
I think that your path would lead to a tyranny not much different. Better to just not allow any form of central government that had any power to grow into a secretive bureaucracy of any kind. Tiny and transparent.
All that means is that power seekers would set up private alternative power structures, sort of like medieval europe.
Power is the problem, and there is no way to make it just go away. Even if you do not use power or its possibilities, there are others who will, and you may not like what those others do with that power.
Yes that has always been the way of Humans. Might doesn't make it Right. But the stronger, more devious, and those willing to do anything for power always do, as it is unfortunately human nature. Competition for scarce resources and all that entails.
Love you Caitlin for speaking straight from your heart. Plumbing the core of our dystopia.
"We are ruled by the most dysfunctional members of our species. The most wounded, neurotic and sociopathic among us. The least wise, caring and insightful".
A better world will never be possible if there is no mass uprising culminating in a world revolution.
More important than ever! The work that the Hind Rajab Foundation is doing to track down and bring Israeli criminals to justice is one that is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable. Let us hope they will also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.
My reading of this fantastic song is that it's a self-aware and self-deprecating understanding of the arrogance and drive in young artists who sacrifice everything for their art.
Damn straight my brave and wise sister. I’m reading Stephen Kotkin’s biography of Stalin, and nothing is more destructive and burdening than trying to control the actions of an entire nation, let alone the world. People who desire this power are destined to collapse under the weight of their own incompetence. One of the problems with our current form of crony-capitalism is that the rich aren’t forced to reckon with the weight of their own idiocy. Have a great day and keep up the tremendous work. ❤️
Haven’t you ever wondered why anti-communists like Kotkin get uplifted in this system, much like the billionaires Caitlin is talking about? Meanwhile, why have you never heard of Domenico Losurdo, one of the greatest marxist historians, like Parenti? He wrote an awesome book about Stalin that I highly recommend.
Notice how ppl keep mentioning "gulag" all the time, while GITMO is STILL functional..?
This is exactly how Propaganda works..
***
Nowadays, the US has that huge PRIVATE Prison Industrial Complex, which is a modern form of slavery..
For example, the "UNICOR" Corp., being part of the Military Industrial Complex, has more than 150 private prison factories. In 2021, the inmates' hourly wage there was between $0.23 and $1.15, while the minimal wage of a "free" American was $7.25.
How? Thanks to that nice little exclusion in the 13th Amendment that basically equates prisoners and slaves..
The largest private prison companies in the U.S. are GEO Group and CoreCivic. These two companies collectively manage over half of the private prison contracts in the United States with combined revenues of $3.5 billion in 2015.
***
youtu.be/NhPOrkGbpxk?t=393
Yes ChatterX, Why do they keep on talking about gulags when their GITMO is a functioning torture chamber. And they have stolen it from Cuba. If the UN wasn't just an extension of US foreign policy from its inception, it should have got it back for Cuba.
Propaganda works because people are conditioned enough to believe in false narratives.
U.S. & Co keep voting to defend Nazism at United Nations, 2021:
youtube.com/watch?v=6RFKuzpNlSE
It is an extremely well-researched and well-written book set in three volumes, that is the reason. It’s over 2,100 pages. I don’t care about Communist or Capitalist interpretations; I’ve read Marx and I’ve read Thomas Sowell. I would never say Communism can’t work, but I’m doubtful. I believe in a hybridized economy that is well-regulated, because when regulations are stripped, we end up with what we have now.
100%!! Also Losurdeo’s Western Marxism, and Grover Furr’s Krushchev Lied.
I read that Stalin in Russia is being re asessed to the extents that many memorial statues to him are rising in many places in Russia but not for remembering the 'good old days' in the USSR.
1. Communism is winning (see China).
2. Western sovietology is one incestuous circle jerk in the service of empire.
3. You can’t abstract Stalin from the class war, nor can you abstract the books about him from the ideological class war. There are those who write for the empire (Kotkin) and there are those who write for the people (Losurdo).
And to be honest, I do not think there is a system that we cannot turn into a monstrosity through its interactions with our vices and flaws. Stating that China is simply a Communist country underplays the steps they have taken in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
China has implemented capitalistic practices as well. That is what has made their economy so powerful. But they also have universal healthcare and other socialized practices which I admire. It’s not as simple as you state it to be. Communism and Capitalism grew with each other. Think of it in terms of Hegel’s dialectic, they exist in relation to each other. Even the US is a hybridized economy, but they have gutted regulations and the rich are not forced to reckon with their poor decision making. I disagree with you, but I hope you have a great day.
China has a mixed economy, but that’s not the point. You can have all kinds of feudal, capitalist or whatever practices in one country. It’s not feudalISM just because there are feudalists. And it’s not capitalISM just because there are capitalists. The question is which class is in charge. This Chinese capitalist explains it quite nicely:
https://x.com/afshinrattansi/status/1927284780674028008?s=46&t=PSSwuLKd6IEOBjXkypyhRg
Goalpost fallacy. Capitalism is failing, that is evident, but shifting the definition of success in an argument is a sign of a flawed argument structure. China will no doubt overtake us (that is, if we don’t die in nuclear holocaust) but you should learn about logical fallacies.
It was you who set the goal. In my view, communism is “not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality [will] have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of things.” (Marx)
You’re basically talking with yourself (resp. your projections of me in your head).
That’s a fancy way of stating that you cannot stick to an argument structure predicated upon the Initial foundations of a proposition. There are over 200 logical fallacies and by continuing to argue with you I’m sure I would read many more. Always with the moral high ground with you possessed ideologues; you are so sure of yourself, as if your notions and your implementations would be indefatigable, that is what makes you dangerous.
I also find it kind of sad that through your statements, you imply that anyone who doesn’t think like you (not communistic) is seen as an enemy to be devalued. Carl Jung spoke of ideology being the disease of the twentieth century, and it has certainly continued into the twenty-first century. Communist or Capitalist—people propagate these ideas, and we can make a monstrosity out of any system of governance or grand organizational set of ideas.
https://substack.com/@rachidcarroumlarbi/note/c-206846098?r=1x5ir1&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web
No shit. When I am thinking about these terrible horrible people who run the world and have No concern for anyone but themselves and their bank accounts……….. I am always thankful not to be one of them.
“The only way to be sure that when you are on your deathbed you can look back and know you spent your time here in a right and admirable way.”
Thank you for articulating this so well. This exact thought has been going through my mind lately.
Whenever I feel that we are powerless to effect any meaningful and just change, I go back to this thought and, deep inside, I feel peaceful, content and perhaps a little stronger.
For sure this will get us through. The Palestinians have taught us so much about faith. Praising their god no matter the conditions and understanding that our god/gods are not the ones making hell here. It is mankind. Which is such a stupid word. When so many are not kind at all.
Thank you..for the beautifully expressed essay...am sad to hear of Mr. Parent's passing. My well-read Dad introduced me to his work decades ago. Thank you, too, for the gentle reminder of what a well-lived life looks like....pursuing, no matter the obstacles, the goal of doing whatever we can to improve the quality and dignity of all....the common good.
Maybe Billionairehood could be handled like political office. You accumulate a billion, (because nobody earns a billion), and after four years you get to keep, say, 10%, and the rest goes back into the pot. Oh, and you get a badge.
No war but the class war!
Exactly.
Remember, MLK did not do a BLACK people's march against the war in Vietnam, he did the POOR people's march.
And that's when they killed him.
***
"When the rich make war, it’s the poor that die."
– Jean-Paul Sartre
“War is a disease, like typhoid” (ref. #JesseWelles)
Thanks Caitlin for memorializing Michael Parenti. He was among the best of us!
EVIL Elon.......PURE EVIL!
I wish I didn't know who Muskrat, Bizarros, and Gatz are! But I sure am glad that I do know who Michael Parenti is and I have no need to become a cursed billionaire. I've never been happier than when I finally gave up the struggle to "get ahead" in this capitalist dystopia. When I stand up for others who are being oppressed, I feel hopeful that the world will eventually turn out all right.
I'm sure there are many others out there who feel the same way tonight in Minneapolis.
Rest in power, Alex.
1789
Power does not corrupt, as the saying goes. People that were already corrupt seek and achieve power.
Not true. It is BOTH - power corrupts and corruptible people are attracted MORE (than others) to power.
Haven't you heard of Lord Acton's phrase "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" ?
Check this book out if you have the time: "Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us" by Brian Klass (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59220130-corruptible)
AND/OR this YouTube video->Why do we get the wrong leaders? Brian Klaas at Science and Cocktails (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Oab42VZRE) and "Why psychopaths rise to power | Brian Klaas" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpyIZ4DGIK8)
Of course I heard. It’s what I was referring to. I disagree with him fundamentally
Thanks. I believe it’s more the case that bad people gain power vs good or well intentioned people became corrupt due to having power. Which situation is more prevalent? I’ll read your links. Thanks again.
The book I suggested attempts to answer the following questions ->
(1) Do worse people get power?
(2) Does power make people worse?
(3) Why do we let people control us who clearly have no business being in control?
(4) How can we ensure that incorruptible people get into power and wield it justly?
I highly recommend the book (for everyone). I definitely learned a lot from it.
Then you have an incomplete understanding of how power works. Again, read the above book (or check out the links).
You can disagree all you want (just as flat-earthers disagree that the world is spherical), but without evidence (i.e. research, studies, etc.), it just becomes an uninformed (and incomplete) opinion.
I believe that was a quote from a review, not Michael himself.
Please cross post to upscrolled
I did! They're having trouble with all the traffic right now, but I'll be active there.
Will boost and encourage other too
Michael Parenti, RIP. I've read and respected Michael for decades. So sorry the world has lost his voice. He's left a son, Christian, who is doing good work as well.
One of the comments somewhere in my many subscriptions, maybe it was yours? referenced a very good word for what we are living in: pathocracy. Having a correct diagnosis can help plan a correct path to recovery.
People all over the world admired his work. Was talking to a friend in the east where he was greatly admired. They may know the billionaire psychopaths here in the west but Parenti is remembered far and wide and respected and admired. For his work and his teachings not for his hoarding of wealth. He’s the opposite of the fascists in charge and will not be forgotten
If life is a one way trip to oblivion, and you think you're nothing more than an accidental mechanical biological robot - that soon can be replicated by AI driven machines - there does seem to be some basis for the twisted logic to get what you can now, because there will be no tomorrow (for you).
If you are not responsible for being born, and are not responsible for the state of the world as it is, in a universe you had no idea existed before you were born, and will have no idea existed after you die - there does seem to be this twisted logic a billionaire might live by, because there is no tomorrow (for you).
If you are on a one way road leading to nowhere - how motivated can you feel to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? If outrageous fortune visits those you have loved, and makes you a victim for life to the melancholy you feel because of deep human loss, and a sense that life becomes cheap by acts beyond anyone's control - from car accidents, or fatal falls from cliffs, or incurable diseases before one even becomes an adolescent - or you happen to be born in GAZA - eight years ago ... how motivating is it to you to struggle in this perpetual darkness? How much sympathy can you muster for the devil?
What happens when you no longer believe you have a human soul?
You have so we'll expressed the truth of the ages. It should be taught by parents to their children. Because government school will never admit to it.
Frederick Bastiat wrote 'The Law'. " When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in society, they create, for themselves A legal system that authorizes it, and a moral code that glorifies it "!
I say- When men and women hire themselves out to act as enforcers or collectors for the violent, coercive state, for a share of the loot, then all decent men and women should look on them with revulsion and loathing. For if they are with them, they are against us as all government at every level is parasitic.
Which is what Minnesota's are doing now and rightly so, because the worst if the worst have descended into their daily lives and are killing fir the fun of it. Where did these men come from anyway?
If I had a billions I'd use it for a counter army to protect people wherever these thugs turn up. An army that is always ready to go wherever that lot are. They would be armed, but first use tazers to stop them harming a civillian and manacles to keep them from escaping. Maybe have a nice prison hidden away somewhere hard to find, because one lets a prospective killer go free.
I think that your path would lead to a tyranny not much different. Better to just not allow any form of central government that had any power to grow into a secretive bureaucracy of any kind. Tiny and transparent.
All that means is that power seekers would set up private alternative power structures, sort of like medieval europe.
Power is the problem, and there is no way to make it just go away. Even if you do not use power or its possibilities, there are others who will, and you may not like what those others do with that power.
Yes that has always been the way of Humans. Might doesn't make it Right. But the stronger, more devious, and those willing to do anything for power always do, as it is unfortunately human nature. Competition for scarce resources and all that entails.
Sometimes the only thing certain people understand is for them to get what they are giving out.
I did not say it would be a government.
Why I love you : )
Love you Caitlin for speaking straight from your heart. Plumbing the core of our dystopia.
"We are ruled by the most dysfunctional members of our species. The most wounded, neurotic and sociopathic among us. The least wise, caring and insightful".
A better world will never be possible if there is no mass uprising culminating in a world revolution.
All that eventually would happen is that a different set of tyrants would come to replace the current crew of tyrants.
That may be so, Feral Finster. But what's the solution? To go on under the same set of tyrants....
There is no solution. Only temporary expedients.
More important than ever! The work that the Hind Rajab Foundation is doing to track down and bring Israeli criminals to justice is one that is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable. Let us hope they will also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.
Find out what they’re doing here:
https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org
The least we can do is donate to help them:
Support the Hind Rajab Foundation
https://donate.stripe.com/cN228hbY5g7jaM84gg
Thank you for the reminder. We are all Palestinian now.
Au contraire, mes amie! “Everybody wants to rule the world” (#TearsForFears - 1985).
Love the song, but never agreed with the message!
My reading of this fantastic song is that it's a self-aware and self-deprecating understanding of the arrogance and drive in young artists who sacrifice everything for their art.
Pretti Good
We ain’t close to perfect
It ain’t #NEARLY great
but we’re Allah #US working at it
Cuz we want it Pretti Good
Dissent’s the best patriotism
Jefferson told us that
So when the liars lie to #US
We ain’t takin’ that
The Trojan Horse weren’t no real gift
When you’re fooled defeat’s your fate
When the Liars are the Intelligence
We’re suckered, and that ain’t great.
War’s a disease like typhoid
#WeThePeople don’t like that
The Liars say We were attacked
“Remember the Maine” and all that.
But they can’t fool ALL(ah) #US people,
Not ALLah #US ALLah the Time
In Time things turn out Pretti Good
When #WeThePeople step outta their LI(n)ES.
We ain’t close to perfect
It ain’t #NEARLY great
but we’re All(ah) #US working at it
Cuz we want it Pretti Good.
We want it Pretti Good.
We want it Pretti Good.
#Ty4Reading
In Solidarity,
LewALincolnWelge.com
#CREATORS (Conspiracy Realist Educator Activist Truther Organizer Reader Socializer) Independent candidate for Florida’s statehouse, district 22.