I see you as a modern day prophet Mike. You may bristle at the traditional religious association, but I believe you can be a prophet without the religious connotation. You speak truth to power. You speak of the crises that you see in the future which are unfolding now. You go beyond religious boundaries. We are in such dire need of voices such as yours and there are few. I appreciate the clarity with which you speak. Thank you.
I must kindly refuse guru-status, dear Paulette. It would be an intellectual sin for me not to. I hope to pull others up into self-thought, that they need not rely on my error-prone opinions.
Mike, you are the rare individual speaking truth to power. I learn something, or find my concerns much more clearly articulated, with every essay you write.
Thanks Mike, superb as always. I am a paid subscriber to about 20 contributors, half I no longer read. I read you all the time, it’s time for some house cleaning. I will be a paid subscriber soon.
I truly appreciate the originality of your commentaries as about Mafia “grounding “ if that is the term. Not because it’s clever. Because it captures and expresses something that other commentators are not saying. So much of Substack is frankly redundant. (Not all!) Rock on. Ps. You stuck to the point and signed off relatively rapidly. I know you are aware of controversy about your being elliptical or redundant. I prefer resolute conciseness. But I am repeating myself here.
However, I like how the repeated phrasing creates a short chorus as in song composition that serves to create rhythm and emphasize meaning and mood. Maybe better, how stand-up works by calling back for similar reasons.
You know, there's a show that got to this obliquely - The Sopranos. Chase clearly said that we, the people, ourselves, had done plenty of things worse than organized crime - and legally at that. The moguls are just an extreme manifestation of that truth. At the same time, the mafia are vermin.
As safe a place as I ever lived was a mob-run neighborhood in Brooklyn. But the young Italian-American who opened an insurance agency storefront without getting permission first was gunned down in a social club for that transgression (without consequence from the authorities, of course). The bar with the jukebox full of Sinatra was run by the sweetest old man, rumored to have been a real killer earlier in life. Festivals! Pastries! Espresso equal to the best in Italy! An Italian mob would make for a far better administration than the Trump Gang offers. Even a Chinese Tong should be preferred. The older the civilization, the more sophisticated the criminal class. The Trumpists don't even know how to do that right. Maybe it's their genetics?
That is, what you write is a good description of the problem that needs to be solved .
Let’s not go down the road of classifying the problem as unsolvable .
Let’s start with a marginally more optimistic view :
We do not know how to solve this problem.
The probability of solving it by direct frontal attack alone is low — low at least if the solution is to be in place within the planning horizons, and lifetimes, of most people alive today.
That doesn’t mean a direct frontal attack isn’t needed. I see your post as the equivalent of a lone rider riding to the gate of the compound and implanting a lance in the ground. The act can be both symbolic and effective.
But it needs to become a focal point — it needs to unify and become a foundation for a collection of paths of attack.
At the core, I believe we are looking at alternative definitions of individual freedom.
We must reject freedom defined as life without restraint beyond individual appetites.
This is the classic dichotomy between freedom “to” and freedom “from”.
Defining the balance point between the two freedoms is NOT the next step.
We could spend decades arguing over the finer points.
Rather the next step is agreeing that we are currently out of balance.
Your post makes this unbalance clear.
So what can we do about it?
How can we chip away some of the excess weight?
Where, in the world, are our best opportunities?
In what neighborhood?
In what market — global or local?
And throughout, we need to bear in mind that every tyrant (from Caligula in Rome to Putin in Dresden, and Ceauçescu in Romania) fears an angry crowd of citizens bent on breaching the the gate and restoring their rights.
I see you as a modern day prophet Mike. You may bristle at the traditional religious association, but I believe you can be a prophet without the religious connotation. You speak truth to power. You speak of the crises that you see in the future which are unfolding now. You go beyond religious boundaries. We are in such dire need of voices such as yours and there are few. I appreciate the clarity with which you speak. Thank you.
I must kindly refuse guru-status, dear Paulette. It would be an intellectual sin for me not to. I hope to pull others up into self-thought, that they need not rely on my error-prone opinions.
That is fair - thank you. But somehow you are a helpful voice, because you put into words what I feel and believe, but have trouble articulating.
Yes. A human without shame is the most dangerous animal
Yes. Shame is an effective control mechanism that I consider need only be used on pariahs, such as this “nerd reich”.
Mike, you are the rare individual speaking truth to power. I learn something, or find my concerns much more clearly articulated, with every essay you write.
"or find my concerns much more clearly articulated"
Then you recognize, I practice midwifery, not proselytism!
Hmm. Midwifery. Nice.
Facilitating the commons in bringing forth some new movement in thought with ancient materials.
Also, you provide sophisticated validation to what feels incongruent & deeply troubling.
Thanks Mike, superb as always. I am a paid subscriber to about 20 contributors, half I no longer read. I read you all the time, it’s time for some house cleaning. I will be a paid subscriber soon.
Let's make them all Icarus incarnate and melt their wings as they reach for the sun.
Let’s.
I truly appreciate the originality of your commentaries as about Mafia “grounding “ if that is the term. Not because it’s clever. Because it captures and expresses something that other commentators are not saying. So much of Substack is frankly redundant. (Not all!) Rock on. Ps. You stuck to the point and signed off relatively rapidly. I know you are aware of controversy about your being elliptical or redundant. I prefer resolute conciseness. But I am repeating myself here.
I also “prefer resolute conciseness”.
However, I like how the repeated phrasing creates a short chorus as in song composition that serves to create rhythm and emphasize meaning and mood. Maybe better, how stand-up works by calling back for similar reasons.
Very accurate analysis. Very concerning ...
You know, there's a show that got to this obliquely - The Sopranos. Chase clearly said that we, the people, ourselves, had done plenty of things worse than organized crime - and legally at that. The moguls are just an extreme manifestation of that truth. At the same time, the mafia are vermin.
Just made squeamish by some unsolicited advice I had tapped out earlier. Thank you Delete option!
As safe a place as I ever lived was a mob-run neighborhood in Brooklyn. But the young Italian-American who opened an insurance agency storefront without getting permission first was gunned down in a social club for that transgression (without consequence from the authorities, of course). The bar with the jukebox full of Sinatra was run by the sweetest old man, rumored to have been a real killer earlier in life. Festivals! Pastries! Espresso equal to the best in Italy! An Italian mob would make for a far better administration than the Trump Gang offers. Even a Chinese Tong should be preferred. The older the civilization, the more sophisticated the criminal class. The Trumpists don't even know how to do that right. Maybe it's their genetics?
So, Mike … Yup, THAT’S the problem.
That is, what you write is a good description of the problem that needs to be solved .
Let’s not go down the road of classifying the problem as unsolvable .
Let’s start with a marginally more optimistic view :
We do not know how to solve this problem.
The probability of solving it by direct frontal attack alone is low — low at least if the solution is to be in place within the planning horizons, and lifetimes, of most people alive today.
That doesn’t mean a direct frontal attack isn’t needed. I see your post as the equivalent of a lone rider riding to the gate of the compound and implanting a lance in the ground. The act can be both symbolic and effective.
But it needs to become a focal point — it needs to unify and become a foundation for a collection of paths of attack.
At the core, I believe we are looking at alternative definitions of individual freedom.
We must reject freedom defined as life without restraint beyond individual appetites.
This is the classic dichotomy between freedom “to” and freedom “from”.
Defining the balance point between the two freedoms is NOT the next step.
We could spend decades arguing over the finer points.
Rather the next step is agreeing that we are currently out of balance.
Your post makes this unbalance clear.
So what can we do about it?
How can we chip away some of the excess weight?
Where, in the world, are our best opportunities?
In what neighborhood?
In what market — global or local?
And throughout, we need to bear in mind that every tyrant (from Caligula in Rome to Putin in Dresden, and Ceauçescu in Romania) fears an angry crowd of citizens bent on breaching the the gate and restoring their rights.
The time for frontal assault will come.