The Decline in Civil Liberties
Today's world operates on the principle that everything we once held to be certain - our laws, our professions, our government - has been exposed as fraudulent. Nowadays we are all caught up in an endless exercise of chasing the top spots with little regard for decorum or morality. This image of the world is not new, in fact it has a great deal in common with the apocalyptic vision described by Thomas Hobbes. He called it the Leviathan.
Our own Leviathan differs from Hobbes' creation insofar as it is not a natural state brought about by the inevitable decline of the world before the forces of nature, but rather a state brought about by means of the oppressive matrix under which we live. We have become a civilisation of consumers, constrained by our own narcissistic inward-looking outlook.
Now that narcissism has taken hold in this way, life has become a series of zero-sum games each with only two possible outcomes. Either we will be winners or we will be losers. If the previous order may be called the realm of community, of looking out for our neighbours, today's world is one of adversarial competitive interests. Everyone is looking out for him or herself, and any sense of mutual responsibility and mutual benefit is now dismissed as a thing of the past. The only way to win in the game of life is to get one over on the competition be doing unto them before they do unto us. Unlike in Hobbes' vision, however, today's competitors are all salesmen, each trained to hide his blatant self-interest beneath a veil of lies and deceit. Everyone presents themselves as likable for the benefit of others and of keeping up appearances, while on the inside they are plotting against one another with a feverish constancy. This way of living has produced a world in which only the most superficial forms of human relationships can be maintained. Social interaction becomes a tool for manipulation, rather than a way to escape from it.
A case in point is that of the investment bankers whose machinations led to the artificial inflation of the sub-prime bubble. Despite their self-serving philosophy, these individuals deluded themselves that they were acting out of pure motives to the benefit of not only themselves but their families, their professions and the society of which they were a part. It would be easy to dismiss the bankers as monstrous, but the reality is that they are a product of their environment, corrupted by the system and trained to conform to the vices perpetuated by our society. They are the winners in the great Game, and we, the losers, are equally culpable for having let them get away with it.
Our society is made up of greedy, self-interested consumers whose relationships towards one anther are superficial at best. Given this, it is hardly surprising that the consumption bubble has grown so large as we fall over to consume the products of a thriving economy before our neighbour has the chance. Not caring what effect this consumption may have on others or on the environment, we rush out to buy the latest gadgets, the newest brands of clothes. Within this narcissistic matrix, no one is trustworthy, meaning that every individual is left to fend for himself. In circumstances like these, how could any organised group emerge to threaten the status quo? Defiance gives way to compliance as everyone conforms for fear of being excluded. To this extent, it is capitalism itself which has achieved what communism and fascism sought and failed - a society which can be controlled, which can be managed, without any fear of unrest or reprisal from within. Over time, the government is free to break down our freedoms and strip us of our civil liberties without fear of anything stronger than a token protest from the people. With a little care and the passage of time, it is even possible to accomplish this and for the majority not even to notice.
The Patriot Act, which the Republican administration in the United States passed into law following the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in 2001, is an example of this gradual erosion of our rights as citizens. Internment without a fair hearing or trial of any suspect deemed a threat to national security was introduced under this law. The language was deliberately vague - a suspect need only be accused of "terrorism" to be held indefinitely - and the term "terrorism" could potentially be used to mean almost anything. Opposing this measure becomes hard without allowing yourself to be seen as soft on terror, and calling for a narrower definition of what is meant by "terrorism" will have much the same effect.
The problem extends to all political parties, and it is neither a left nor a right wing phenomenon. Although politicians of different parties will lend their own gloss to the theme of terrorism, they end up acting in a way which is consistent with that of their class. The only way we can escape from this dangerous cycle of restrictive legislation is to unite together with one voice and reject it. If that were to happen we might finally begin to reassert control over our own nation.
Our own Leviathan differs from Hobbes' creation insofar as it is not a natural state brought about by the inevitable decline of the world before the forces of nature, but rather a state brought about by means of the oppressive matrix under which we live. We have become a civilisation of consumers, constrained by our own narcissistic inward-looking outlook.
Now that narcissism has taken hold in this way, life has become a series of zero-sum games each with only two possible outcomes. Either we will be winners or we will be losers. If the previous order may be called the realm of community, of looking out for our neighbours, today's world is one of adversarial competitive interests. Everyone is looking out for him or herself, and any sense of mutual responsibility and mutual benefit is now dismissed as a thing of the past. The only way to win in the game of life is to get one over on the competition be doing unto them before they do unto us. Unlike in Hobbes' vision, however, today's competitors are all salesmen, each trained to hide his blatant self-interest beneath a veil of lies and deceit. Everyone presents themselves as likable for the benefit of others and of keeping up appearances, while on the inside they are plotting against one another with a feverish constancy. This way of living has produced a world in which only the most superficial forms of human relationships can be maintained. Social interaction becomes a tool for manipulation, rather than a way to escape from it.
A case in point is that of the investment bankers whose machinations led to the artificial inflation of the sub-prime bubble. Despite their self-serving philosophy, these individuals deluded themselves that they were acting out of pure motives to the benefit of not only themselves but their families, their professions and the society of which they were a part. It would be easy to dismiss the bankers as monstrous, but the reality is that they are a product of their environment, corrupted by the system and trained to conform to the vices perpetuated by our society. They are the winners in the great Game, and we, the losers, are equally culpable for having let them get away with it.
Our society is made up of greedy, self-interested consumers whose relationships towards one anther are superficial at best. Given this, it is hardly surprising that the consumption bubble has grown so large as we fall over to consume the products of a thriving economy before our neighbour has the chance. Not caring what effect this consumption may have on others or on the environment, we rush out to buy the latest gadgets, the newest brands of clothes. Within this narcissistic matrix, no one is trustworthy, meaning that every individual is left to fend for himself. In circumstances like these, how could any organised group emerge to threaten the status quo? Defiance gives way to compliance as everyone conforms for fear of being excluded. To this extent, it is capitalism itself which has achieved what communism and fascism sought and failed - a society which can be controlled, which can be managed, without any fear of unrest or reprisal from within. Over time, the government is free to break down our freedoms and strip us of our civil liberties without fear of anything stronger than a token protest from the people. With a little care and the passage of time, it is even possible to accomplish this and for the majority not even to notice.
The Patriot Act, which the Republican administration in the United States passed into law following the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in 2001, is an example of this gradual erosion of our rights as citizens. Internment without a fair hearing or trial of any suspect deemed a threat to national security was introduced under this law. The language was deliberately vague - a suspect need only be accused of "terrorism" to be held indefinitely - and the term "terrorism" could potentially be used to mean almost anything. Opposing this measure becomes hard without allowing yourself to be seen as soft on terror, and calling for a narrower definition of what is meant by "terrorism" will have much the same effect.
The problem extends to all political parties, and it is neither a left nor a right wing phenomenon. Although politicians of different parties will lend their own gloss to the theme of terrorism, they end up acting in a way which is consistent with that of their class. The only way we can escape from this dangerous cycle of restrictive legislation is to unite together with one voice and reject it. If that were to happen we might finally begin to reassert control over our own nation.
About the Author:
John Berling Hardy exposes the mind control we're exposed to as a society. For more of his writings please visit www.playingtheplayers.com
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