Time to switch sides

[Cain]

"We've just heard. Lord Winder is dead. Um. Lord Snapcase is Patrician."
A cheer began among the nearby defenders, and was taken up below. Vimes felt the relief rise. But he wouldn't be Vimes if he just let things lie.
He called out: "So would you like to change ends?"
"Er...sorry?"
"I mean, would your chaps like to have a go at defending the barricade and we can try attacking it?"
Vimes heard laughter from the defenders.
There was a pause. Then the young man said: "Um...why?"
"Because, correct me if I am wrong, we are now the loyal supporters of the official government and you are the rebellious rump of a discredited administration. Am I right?"
- Terry Pratchett, Night Watch



Something rather odd happened about 30 years ago.  So odd, in fact, that it has taken about 25 years for most politically savvy people to catch up on what actually happened.  And the public, well...the public have failed to even realize at all, for the most part.

What event am I speaking of, you wonder?  I'm glad you asked.  I'm talking about the ideal of revolution moving from the left of politics to the right.  Utopian, revolutionary sentiment ceased to be a major factor in mainstream left-wing politics since the 70s, but has been a facet of right-wing politics in America, the UK and (to a much lesser extent) Europe since the 80s.

It was quite amusing, really, when you look at it.  Before, the right was mostly associated with social values, especially political ones.  Then, suddenly, all these capitalist raiders appeared, upsetting the system, declaring they wanted to break down the last vestiges of a stale, old society that did not serve the market.

And that is, in part, what I want to talk about.  This shift in sentiment, especially in relation to us here.

I think it would be fair to say most Discordians are either left-leaning anarchists or liberal/socialists who score highly on anti-authoritarianism.  In general, though there are a few exceptions.  In short, it would be no great distortion of reality to consider most Discordians as belonging to the left wing of political thought.

Now, I know some people here are of the opinion that the USA, the UK and the political systems of the recent, generally decent past, are ones that can be saved or resurrected.  I am, however, not of that opinion.  In fact, I am not sure that saving them is even desirable.  Going by the trends I see, I can fathom much more freedom and opportunity in the near future....but more of that later.  As I was saying, I think the rot is too deep for even the best surgeons to save the patient.  And the best surgeons were long run out of town by cowboys and faith healers.

In such a situation, I believe the best course of action is to precipitate a crisis within the current political climate, one towards which it is heading anyway, and seize the advantages provided by that to carve out one's own fortune and freedom's before anyone else realizes what is happening.  I am not talking of revolution, or even counter-revolution.  I am talking about using the chaos of a revolution to seize one's own future by the throat.  Using currently existing forces and helping them along to their eventual conclusion, where they negate themselves, and then using that void to further yourself in the world.

Of course, the minor problem is that any successful revolution is going to be caused by forces that are ascendant in the right...especially the Neolibertarian and Neoconservative schools of thought.

Some of you undoubtedly will disagree with my assessment, even if not on the grounds of the politics of the western nations being beyond saving.  For example, I can imagine a few people saying "hang on a minute, how can a political philosophy that has brought us unlimited war and an ever increasing government be revolutionary, except by ineptitude?"  Well, I'm glad you asked, since it brings me to one of my key ideas in this, which is capital.

Capital is the key component of the right-wing revolution.  By lifting the restrictions on the flow of capital, the market reaches every corner of the world, affects every interaction.  And as Marx predicts, in doing so, it breaks down ties.  Ties to the state, ties to the family, ties to religion and ties to ideology.

Furthermore, while governments under such political philosophies do grow larger, they also hollow themselves out.  The government eats more than ever, but is weaker too, outsourcing everything it can to private companies.  The government is nothing more than a huge, ravenous husk at this point, with the corporations acting as infesting lifeforms, feeding off their host's apparent and former strength.

The usual right-wing retards often talk about smashing the government, making it as small as possible...and I've decided to help things along somewhat, I think.  I'm no right-winger, not in any sense of the word, but I have no problem with playing one to suit my own, longer term goals.

The world is changing, reverting.  The effect of capital, that I have described above is accurate...but only up to a point. It dissolves loyalty to the state and ideology, but in return brings the promise of holy warriors, neo-mediaevalism, private armies, modern tribes and new pirates.  The concept of the state, with us legally since the Treaty of Westphalia, is being broken on the tide of international finance, and in its place is leaving us with a world that a 10th century European would recognize.  I don't believe such a process is reversible, though it may be cyclical and a new conception of the state will arise in a few hundred years.  But we have to live in the times we are in, not those we wish were now.  And that means seizing a chance among the upheaval that will accompany any transition.

And the right, of course, has its own mirror images of people like us.  That is, to say, people who want to be able to ingest any damn chemical they want, to not have to live by religious dogma and to not have a tyrannical government breathing down their necks every five minutes.  It just so happens these are a small number, who are vastly outnumbered by religious and nationalistic tards, who are hardly original or sophisticated thinkers.  The latter have signed up to the program of the former (which includes this capitalist revolutionary program) mostly without understanding it, and being used merely for their value in creating noise and creating electoral support, but there is always a fear among the revolutionaries that the religious nutters in particular will turn on them, and drown them in a sea of decidedly anti-capitalist and tedious dogma.

And that, I believe, is where we come in. As a group, we are certainly small, but we hit above our own weight.  We already have certain Beltway Libertarian magazines fawning over our irreligion and our knowledge of social interactions, memes, the internet and viral marketing would undoubtedly be useful.  Plus, we are not religious fanatics, or at least not in the Christian sense.  In short, we are people this small, hopelessly outnumbered faction of the right can do business with.

And probably would.  I very much doubt they would give a shit if we wanted to drink, smoke pot and shoot guns all day long, as long as we delivered.  We have the discipline only a shared ethos can provide, but with none of the downsides of normal religious nuttery.  Not only can we do business with them, we would be considered natural allies, able to help keep the religious right at arms length, all the while manipulating them into doing our bidding.  The right may not have many original thinkers, but it has plenty of mindless followers who are far less factional than the left's mindless followers.

In other words, we could have our cake and eat it.  Help bring down the system by forcing it along its current self-destructive course at an ever faster pace.  Mingle with the rich and influential, and possibly even get paid for our devotion towards destroying government.  Be in a position to exercise a level of control over the religious right, while maintaining our antipathy to them, and best of all, securing the necessary resources that will come in useful once the system starts to collapse under its own inconsistencies.  Plus, there is always the fun of playing the role of revolutionary, even if you're doing so with the financial backing of a PAC.

I don't know about anyone else, but the idea at least sounds intriguing to me.

[Adios]

Hmmmm. An alliance. Interesting indeed.

[hunter s.durden]

I don't know about anyone else, but the idea at least sounds intriguing to me.

Agreed.

Penn Gillette comes to mind when you talk about this (both a Subgenius and Libertarian). A large portion of the right-wingers you talk about actually have values on par, just a different vision (charitable organization in lieu of government ones).

I'd also like to see what Mike Gravel is up to nowadays. He jumped ship from the Democrats for the Libertarians. I'm interested in seeing how they receive him.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Count me the fuck in!

Oh and give this venture a snappy title while you're at it.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Sounds like a reasonable proposition Cain, I'm intrigued. Also, which Beltway magazines are fawning? I want Copies!!!

[hunter s.durden]

Srsly. 

http://www.reason.com/news/show/28779.html

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/125934.html

http://www.reason.com/news/show/29229.html

There are probably more, as well.

[LMNO]

This is an interesting idea, Cain.

Get the house of cards to topple that mcuh faster, if I understand you right.

[Golden Applesauce]

So, supposing chaos happens... then what?

All in all, the status quo isn't that bad for me.  I have a steady supply of food, shelter, and health care.  I'm getting a cool education and the internet pipes connect me to anywhere in the world where someone can speak English.

[hunter s.durden]

So, supposing chaos happens... then what?

I have a steady supply of food, shelter, and health care.  I'm getting a cool education and the internet pipes connect me to anywhere in the world where someone can speak English.

We pick up those that don't.

[Golden Applesauce]

So I should break the current world order just so I can share? 

[hunter s.durden]

So I should break the current world order just so I can share? 

No. We will. You do whatever you want.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Hunter, you're like a fkin one man win-orgy tonite







with a fail-convention of an avatar 

[hunter s.durden]

Shut it, or Brokeback goes right back up.

[P3nT4gR4m]

That's a mighty fine avatar you got yoself there pardner

[Daruko]

Sounds cool, but I want more.  Give me more.