Dear Friends,
It seems to me, history is a list of failed political experiments, some more successful than others, but each failing at some point. Today that rise and fall has accelerated. Each new incarnation, political experiment, collapses faster. Suggesting new experiments eschew the good innovations for the bad. Every try that went well for a time, incorporated some useful innovations, then either innovated themselves to revolution, else stagnated to become the victims of invasion. Fortunately, we have the benefit of all those past failed experiments to look at, and a means to assess which are good, and bad… pragmatism. Sadly, those in the position to innovate in our political experiment are not pragmatic, but idealistic. Believing the proven bad ideas can work… if implemented on a global scale.
Pragmatism can show us what best practices actually are. William James theory of pragmatism is called the quintessential American philosophy. Only in a capitalist culture could such an idea arise. That the optimal means to determine how to get the best outcome, is to mimic the capitalist, weighing the pros and cons, and finding the answer in the balance. Look at past outcomes to proposed actions, not the intention, input or ideals… but weigh the action by the historic outcome. Simple really, and intuitive to people living today… at least in market based cultures. Other cultures have different ways of finding the right action, be it religious, tribal or filial. Which gives us an advantage over past innovators. History…. if we use it. Because pragmatism only works when it is applied pragmatically.
The challenge for every nation that has ever existed, and the reason they have all failed, is keeping the balance between embracing innovation that is good, and restraining the bad… is tricky. The traditional means has been the interplay between conservatives and liberals. Liberals propose an idea, and conservatives poo poo it, until liberals sell them on its value. Then, if it has virtue, it becomes self evident and is incorporated into the culture. As long as both sides play fair this system works pretty well. Obviously, both sides don’t play fair. When conservatives become despotic, a culture stagnates into irrelevance. When liberals are despotic, that culture will run off a cliff, then be shocked as they see the bottom approaching a little too fast. Balance is more important than it appears to the arrogant.
People are people, we all have biases, ids, and are susceptible to temptation. Those who have seized the power to force their innovations on society are prone to egoism as well. Making most experiments failed from the start. Rather than filter through all the past experiments, to winnow the wheat from the chaff, most founders go to the ideas that have yielded the most wealth, luxury and power… to the rulers. Which is an experiment that has been run more than any other… and has always failed catastrophically. The anomalous US founders used a form of pragmatism, to find the best ideas from human history, and create a nation based on them. South Africa used the failed Marxist model, and while the “right” leader, Mandela was alive, it kind of worked. Now it is embracing genocide to right past wrongs.
Our experiment appears to be in its final stages. Torn apart by the elite, so they can create a new culture, society and a world state. Where only one experiment can run at a time. They have not shown themselves to be wise, virtuous or benign, rather… egoistic, power mad and psychopathic. Which leads me to believe, they intend to embrace the failed policies, of the most horrible systems ever devised by pathological men. Then impose those failed ideas on the world, from a seat so high, we look like ants to them. Where their rule is everlasting and final. We’ll see though. The elite today may wield tyrannical power, but that doesn’t mean the house of cards they are building, will be there tomorrow. Imperial card palaces are notoriously unstable. Especially when they are built disregarding best practices.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
