Living in transition times

Living in the Transition Times

 We are not living in the End Times as some cultists would assure us, or those, along with a significant number of American politicians believe- ‘the rapture’ but neither are we living in normal times. Ah, you say, no times are ‘normal’. Well, I am going to put forward the case that there are transition times and there are times in which human activity achieves a kind homeostasis, and these times differ significantly.

People have argued since the beginning of time that the past was golden, or even silver and the present was but tarnished metal. People have argued that the end times were upon them; they have also delighted in announcing revolutions and new beginnings. So what on earth can calling the year 2020 ono as ‘transition time’ achieve?

First some defining traits of a transition time. It is a time par excellence in which the normal human desire for family, education, meaningful work and nutritious food is disrupted. It is time when immemorial trust in mysterious and invisible and benign forces is suspended and replaced with fear and perplexity in the face of nature. It is a time in which leadership positions are occupied by people of inferior calibre, in terms of wisdom rather than energy, to those lower down a group or organisation.

But beyond all these symptoms, it is a time of complete and utter polarisation in almost every area of endeavour. Every vote returns a 50/50 verdict. Every politician hovers around the 50% approval mark. Nothing is clear cut. Nothing final or agreed. 

What causes this polarisation of belief? Complexity, or, more directly, a too great reliance on left brain tools at the expense of right brain ones. The left brain knows nothing. It handles the inputs that the right brain (in either conscious or unconscious mode) gives it. Or it deals with the pressures exerted by the society and the world it lives in. It reacts. When we don’t know we oscillate between poles. We remain undecided. Or we smother indecision and plump for something that has emotional, nostalgic or nominally ‘rational’ appeal. And as with any coin toss, over time it randomises out as a 50-50 result. Those cultures that are less traditional, more ‘open’, more litigious, more in thrall to techno-solutions and the wonders of science and at the same time less authoritarian are those that are the most polarised. The reason the next stage after the transition times is authoritarian government – expect that the world over in the next fifty to a hundred years – is that the ONLY left brain solution to polarisation is an authoritarian response. Those in authority will then focus solely on staying in power and will therefore sponsor any social effort which aids this. Look to the margin for how the centre will change- the new models are China, Brazil, India, Turkey, Egypt- strong authoritarian cultures that may or may not utilise conservative religion. Authoritarian consumerism is their preferred philosophy rather than authoritarian terror or war- but they will not shy away from using extreme measures to put down any form or resistance. This is what we will all be living through eventually.

This has to do with the initial democratising effect of the left brain- which resulted in the increasing democracy of the west- up to the point where ALL traditional structures are swept away. Traditional structures take account of left and right brain co-operation. They are inevitably less ‘efficient’ in the obvious short term than a non-traditional left brain solution. So they get swept away. It happened first in the United States as there was less traditional structure (imported from the old country, easily undermined by techno-progress) in place. But it is happening to a greater or lesser extent everywhere.

So the mechanism is: increasing left brain dominance which leads to great questioning of tradition which goes past the point of logic to a sort of demented obsession (in the questioning of gender and other socio-biological norms and of course the extreme opposition to these different lifestyles) to complete polarisation in every area to authoritarian upsurge. Once this new authoritarianism takes hold it will seek to control all areas of the mass media. The internet will become a national project again. Those in authority will not be especially benign but neither will they be inherently paranoid about their own people. Facial recognition software, implanted chips for higher level workers, continuous monitoring of conversation for keyword ‘violations’ will lead to an efficient authoritarian control without the need of a bloated secret police. Indeed monitoring and control will be seen as integral to any project, built in, not an extra. There will be no need for an army of informants as occurred in Stasi-Germany, we will inform on ourselves through our encouraged use of technological objects- every transaction, car journey, phone conversation will be monitored.

But since authoritarianism breeds corruption- it has to- the seeds of the authoritarian’s downfall are already being sown just as he or she establishes their omnipotent rule. This leads to a hybrid form which will spread over most of the planet- gangster rule- rule of the strong and wealthy who use corrupt means to maintain power. Gangster rule needs money to buy influence. Without wealth it loses out to ideological forces- fundamentalist religious forces usually. These forces wage war which impoverishes everyone and then a new authoritarian takes over. Democracy as we know it is a function of left brain automatic questioning of everything, a curious balance between news speed and country size, combined with wealth generated by religion backed industriousness. This is now a thing of the past. We have drained off the ‘stored capital’ of all the great religions. They now serve only to inspire fundamentalist obsession.

Once people start predicting the end of democracy it starts to happen.

There will be protest, there will be an even great silent majority who resent such control and seek to outmanoeuvre it by refusing to use technology. Over time this refusal to engage with the means of surveillance will result in optional implantation of bio-chips in the populace. Would this ever become a legal requirement of citizenship? I suspect only in a very few places. Those who object will move to countries that are more chaotic and therefore more traditional and less beholden to technology and law enforcement. There will be a migration of ‘quality’ (ie. people with a higher truth instinct) people to the margins, a regeneration, and maybe, over time, the establishment of wise rule.

Perhaps in 200 years time.

But right now we are living in the transition times. We are heading towards even greater levels of polarisation. Countries will split, authoritarians will take over. A very negative, pessimistic and superficial message will be beamed out over everyone throughout all mainstream media and educational outlets. Indeed very few organisations will be immune from these negative trends. Mental illness and suicide will sky rocket as a result of people trusting the mainstream and then being defrauded by it.

The key way to survive and indeed thrive in the transition times is understanding that the mainstream does NOT have your best interests at heart. IT is intent on dominating all areas and surviving as an entity. YOU will be fodder for that. Your children will be fodder for that.

On the other hand if you drop out entirely you run the risk of becoming so isolated you cannot function as a human being. You will need to be in the world but not of the world.