Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCXVIII
We’re Saved! ‘Good Government’ Has Humanity’s Back. Part 2.
In the first part of this multi-part Contemplation (see Website Medium Substack) I laid out my reason for examining critically the commonly-held belief that humanity’s major ‘problems’ and/or ‘predicaments’ can be ‘solved’ by governments. Using the Canadian constitutional principle of ‘peace, order, and good government’, I argue that the belief in governing institutions as benevolent problem-solvers is a conditioned one that is masking the true nature of state power and the individuals/families leveraging this to their benefit.
While the Integrationist model of the development of governing institutions is one of voluntary ‘leaders’ working for the collective good (and the one pushed by the world’s ruling ‘elite’), the opposing Conflict model argues that such structures are primarily the result of coercion and exploitation by a small ‘elite’ class manipulating control over resource surpluses to maintain power and wealth hierarchies.
Archaeological evidence challenges the benevolent Integrationist perspective and tends to support the Conflict theory, although a modern synthesis of the two models suggests that what began as systems benefitting everyone in small, local population groups eventually transitioned to large, complex states with entrenched and stratified hierarchies where most benefits accrued amongst a small number of ruling elite. This ruling ‘class/caste’ provided some measure of benefits for the society they were members of but their actions served mostly to maintain their own legitimacy and societal stability so as to not disrupt the status quo wealth and power structures that they greatly benefitted from.
I close Part 1 with a summary of how modern governments maintain these structures and continue to support the ruling elite: manipulation of social narratives; framing of elite self-interest as a public good; creation of a supportive ‘retainer/courtier’ class; use of performative spectacles; redistribution of some benefits in order to mollify the public and leverage this largesse for propaganda purposes; and, narrative management via attempted control of debate, especially in the sociopolitical realm.
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Given the evidence it seems clear that any belief in a benevolent ‘good government’ that can save humanity from the growing number of problems and predicaments it is experiencing (primarily if not entirely due to the limits to growth on a finite planet) is misguided since these institutions are not composed of benevolent ‘managers’ working in the public interest. They are structures that arose from and continue to operate using exploitation and coercion to protect status quo power and wealth hierarchies first and foremost. Societal benefits that flow from these are a secondary phenomenon, at best.
That this is increasingly apparent seems to make little difference to most people and their continuing faith in their governments. And even if one does hold some negative feelings about their government, many (most?) believe that these institutions can be more helpful with just the correct person or party ‘in charge’ and/or a bit of tweaking around the edges.
Integrationists Are Us!
It should be of no surprise to anyone that the elite and their courtiers emphasise the integrative aspects of the world’s sociopolitical systems; nor that the vast majority of a state’s citizens believe in these. One group does so in order to keep the significant benefits they receive from status quo arrangements flowing to them without much in the way of dissent from the masses being exploited. The other does so to keep alive the notion that they have agency in the sociopolitical arena (and thus some control over what’s happening) and to reduce the anxiety-provoking thoughts that cognitive dissonance would create were they to realise that they are being manipulated, constantly, by those ‘s/elected’ to ‘represent’ them, and that these representatives don’t truly have citizen welfare at the core of their being.
The Canadian government’s ‘peace, order, and good government’ constitutional phrase and the philosophical implications it leverages are perfect examples of a ruling elite promoting its legitimacy through the benefits it provides. According to our politicians and bureaucrats the sociopolitical systems are performing as they were intended by solving collective problems and benefitting everyone, and any opposition to the government or dissent to status quo arrangements and its guarantee of ‘order’ are framed as ‘threats’ that must be nullified.
Who gets to define what is ‘order’ or ‘good government’ is rarely if ever questioned. That the phrase and associated terms/words tend to be used when the government is seeking to expand its power or quiet dissent is conveniently overlooked–especially by the legacy media which bills itself as one of the few checks on elite power but is, in fact, owned and operated by the very elite in question here, and thus compromising significantly the ability of the press to act as impartial watchdogs.
Politicians market virtually every policy and action of their government as addressing issues raised by the electorate in a positive and beneficent manner, and these are part and parcel of the never-ending propaganda to help legitimise the systems that exist (the legacy media also being a significant purveyor of this). Sure, some minor adjustments may be necessary but the structures in place are working and serving the masses, and we’re working towards perfecting them.
Examples of nepotism or corruption are one-offs being perpetrated by ‘bad’ individuals and not reflective of the system. Besides, without our benevolent government and its selfless leaders and bureaucrats anarchy would spread everywhere, placing all our wonderful ‘progress’ (which, of course, they’ve helped bring about) at risk; and/or open the door to those evil ‘others’ waiting at the gate.
Growth As the Modern Driver Of ‘Good’ Government
Keeping in mind the discussion above (and in Part 1), it’s important to recognise that beyond the drive to legitimise itself and the wealth and power structures which exist perhaps one of the most prominent ways that a government argues it ‘serves’ the masses in the modern era is via ‘prosperity’ brought to everyone through perpetual economic growth. And this cuts broadly across all political parties regardless of policy and leanings: they all emphasise continuous growth of the economy and the prosperity for all that this will bring–even the so-called environmentally-conscious parties that should know better push endless growth, they simply colour it ‘green’.
Growth of the economy is ever-present in the marketing of the modern government as beneficent for citizens. You can see this everyday be it in the statements made by the opposition and how they will improve everyone’s prosperity via economic growth when in power, or in the pronouncements made by the sitting government after: trade deals following political junkets abroad; almost every new policy, budget, or legislation that is introduced; and, the opening or expansion of businesses. Virtually every statement is about maintaining or expanding ‘growth’; and if it’s not about economic growth, it will certainly stress the significant benefits that will be showered upon the community/region/nation as a result of the growth that they are creating.
That the government diverts money and resources towards ‘benefits’ for society is not in question here. It does (although, whether these ‘benefits’ are actually good for society in the long run is up for debate). But it also passes on a good portion of a society’s ‘wealth’ to the ruling elite through a variety of mechanisms, particularly through its pursuit of the infinite growth chalice. All one has to do is look at the data on wealth concentration to see how things are working out differentially for the ‘elite’ and everyone else as time goes by and greater growth is pursued.
As argued, governments often (if not always) highlight the economic benefits for society of their actions and legislation. It will attract funding. It will improve employment opportunities. It will address poverty and inequality. It will lower the cost of living. It will bring security. It will fix infrastructure deficiencies. It will make housing more affordable. It will assure continued ‘progress’. It will stabalise the economy. It will solve homelessness. It will improve healthcare services. It will clear up our climate change ‘problem’. It will do this and it will do that.
In fact, it will do everything and more, especially take us to the promised land of peace, prosperity, and progress for all! Have faith. It will happen. Any. Moment. Now.
Politicians and the retainer class that supports it repeatedly emphasise and take credit for booming economies while pointing to ‘uncontrollable’ and ‘unforeseeable’ external events during downturns. What the government and its politicians never say or intimate is that what this growth will primarily do is help to enrich the ruling elite. They also never acknowledge the ecological destruction that accompanies this pursuit, or the people who are disenfranchised by it.
And when economies contract/falter and the wealthy and their business ventures are at risk, corporate bail-outs and/or monetary policy ‘tweaks’ seem to be ever-present.
This approach aligns perfectly with the Conflict perspective.
Engineering economic growth for the benefit of all is considered the modern government’s primary function. This is marketed as being for society as a whole but the mechanisms it uses to do this tend to enrich a small fraction of the population at the expense of the rest.
They implement expansionary fiscal policy particularly through tax cuts and government spending. And although most nation’s central banks tend to be viewed as independent in nature, governments strongly influence the monetary policy that these central banks put in place; policy that overwhelmingly benefits the ruling elite.
Since fiat currencies were removed from their connection to precious metals, governments (along with the financial institutions they ‘regulate’) have flooded the world with increasing amounts of credit-/debt-based ‘money’ to help goose growth–estimates are that governments are responsible for about 20% of this ‘money’ growth and financial institutions the remaining 80%.
The vast majority of this money growth is in the form of debt. Government debt. Business debt. Consumer debt. Debt has become viewed as a positive in helping to support economic growth by many but what is not mentioned is that because it is debt-/credit-based ‘money’ that is created, future growth is a must to pay off the interest that accrues on top of the base amount borrowed. So part of the need to push growth is due to the need to have the lenders (private financial institutions) paid back for the loans they made, along with interest.
But this is all okay because just as a benevolent chief would redistribute food during times of scarcity, our modern governments are seen as redistributing wealth through their policies and legislation, where a rising tide lifts all boats.
And, again, what’s not shared is that economic growth is the primary means for those in a society’s ruling class to consolidate wealth and power. Under the mantra of stimulating growth, governments roll back costly regulations, provide tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, and subsidise industries—actions that benefit the ruling elite at the expense of the masses. Governments also do next to nothing to reign in the debt-money creation by private financial institutions; in fact, they tend to encourage this.
Long-term data not only shows that the vast majority of a nation’s ‘wealth’ generation/extraction flows to those at the top of a society’s wealth structures, but that the divide this creates has been growing more quickly for the past 50+ years–a greater and greater amount of wealth has become concentrated in the hands of the few, creating an ever-larger gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’.
That the trends over time correlate highly with fiat currency expansion is probably not coincidental. It was the elite after all who pushed to have private banks take over currency creation and distribution as well as to abrogate the Bretton Woods Agreement that tied the world’s reserve currency to gold and opened the door to infinite fiat currency creation.
The most vocal advocates for growth tend to be a society’s retainer class. Not only does this group’s status and income depend greatly on perpetuation of status quo systems, but the elite rely greatly on this non-elite but privileged group to pump up the volume on the perpetual growth pursuit narrative–it’s imperative that the primary beneficiaries are well hidden behind the curtains so that the masses cannot connect the dots and come to realise how taken advantage by the ruling elite they are.
It also should be no surprise that this pursuit–that is marketed as the best thing since sliced bread for society–allows for the implementation of policies/legislation that might normally raise significant concerns. I see this in my home province of Ontario where the provincial government has recently begun marketing the ‘Ring of Fire’ area where they are heralding a massive expansion of critical mineral mining in undeveloped regions in the north of the province, emphasising the significant economic benefits that will befall the province’s people–what they don’t say is that this venture will not only mostly favour the elite through the wealth that will flow to them but will involve tremendous ecological destruction and a mammoth growth in the dispersal of various toxic wastes and pollutants (to say little about the land use changes, biodiversity loss, and indigenous people’s treaty rights violations that will result).
Additionally, ‘bread and circuses’ diversions are reflected in today’s consumerist culture where the pinnacle of freedom and success for many is one’s ability to acquire more goods. What a fantastic way to forget that one doesn’t have sociopolitical agency, and that systemic inequalities pervade society and are being exacerbated through actions that are being marketed as the exact opposite.
As well, we have the legacy media cheerleading such growth, emphasising for the most part all the talking points of the government and ruling elite. Not really the power-checking impartial watchdogs holding the elite’s feet to the fire that they market themselves as.
Finally, any debate within the sociopolitical realm is managed so as to be strictly within system-supportive boundaries such as how to achieve growth and how to do it to everyone’s benefit. People are directed towards ‘smart’ or ‘green’ growth rather than allowed to raise the perils of the pursuit. There’s no consideration of not chasing growth for such challenges to this most-imperative path are mostly verboten. It’s ‘progress’ and you can’t stop it; it’s human nature after all.
The pursuit of perpetual economic growth–marketed to you mostly by the government and its media mouthpieces, but supported by the entire ruling class–is central to human prosperity and progress we are repeatedly told. We are exposed to stories that anything that disrupts or challenges this quest is horribly wrong and must be vanquished. That infinite growth on a finite planet runs counter to physical reality is ignored or harshly demonised.
The frontline performers present themselves as benevolent servants helping to guide us to a utopian future. We are not told about the negative consequences of their approach (especially for a planet with limited compensatory sinks) but are repeatedly exposed to the benefits for all from it. These are hammered home again and again. Neither are we told or even allowed to contemplate that the story is a myth that helps legitimise the systems that primarily serve the interests of a relatively few ruling elite.
Historical Myths
There have been a number of similar myths throughout human history to help legitimise governing institutions. And they all tend to serve the same fundamental purpose: justify/rationalise/reinforce the power and wealth hierarchies that exist in any large complex society.
Perhaps one of the earliest and most powerful, given it endured for millennia, was the ‘divine right to lead’ or ‘mandate from heaven’. In this story, the ruler (be it Pharaoh or King) was actually a god or descended from gods or given the right to lead by a god, and as such the power wielded was absolute and non-negotiable. To challenge such a rule was to invite disorder and chaos. Obedience was a duty of both a religious and cosmic nature. Resistance was blasphemy.
Prince John: I did not make myself king. God did. King by divine right.
The narrative that most aligns with the Integrationist perspective, however, is that of the ruling class as both a provider and protector; a benevolent ‘managerial’ class that was essential to society and its various organisational requirements but was entirely serving the people. The wealth this group accrued was not due to exploitation but was a necessary cost for managing the collective goods and resources on behalf of the masses. This vital class was also necessary to protect the people from rival tribes and invaders. So tributes and forfeiting certain freedoms during times of ‘crisis’ were a necessary cost to support the armies and ruling authority; without these disorder and chaos would reign. Safety and stability were the benefits provided by the ruling elite.
As empires expanded over time, the stories told had to reflect their needing to rule over diverse and conquered lands. Often it became about bringing law, order, cultural refinement, and/or religion to ‘barbaric/uncivilised’ peoples. The message here by the conquering group was that they were bringing civilisation to ‘backward’ lands. Note that today’s version of this, and often used by the U.S. Empire when it ‘intervenes’ in a nation, is the desire to ‘bring democracy’ to ‘authoritarian’ regimes.
Medieval Europe witnessed the rise of a story about mutual obligation and a god-given social order. A religious and philosophical-backed narrative about a universal and hierarchical structure that began with God and placed all others as subservient right down to animals, and everyone needed to remain in their appropriate place. A ‘great chain of being’ existed and must be heeded. Everyone had their role and social harmony was achieved when they adhered to God’s order.
With the Enlightenment, Scientific Revolution, and rise of capitalism came revolutions against kingly rights and god-created social orders. The ‘right to rule’ transitioned towards ideas of sovereignty and ‘consent of the governed’. The modern state, on behalf of the people, would be charged with providing stability and material prosperity; a logical successor to the ‘provider’ narrative of times past. And economic growth has become the means by which this is accomplished.
Perpetual Economic Growth Meet Finite Planet
It should be self-evident that pursuing the perpetual economic growth chalice on a finite planet is ‘problematic’. Such an obvious impossibility has not halted the attempts, however, or the stories being created to both rationalise/justify and maintain them.
Being masterful in weaving narratives to aid their control levers, the elite will no doubt adapt their tales and policies as the contradiction between their infinite growth imperative and the biogeophysical limits of a finite planet become increasingly obvious and ‘problematic’. In fact, as some argue, we are already beginning to see an increasing tendency towards such shifts as the need for societal ‘control’ grows in the face of various ‘limits to growth’ predicaments and the negative consequences of these expand.
More on the collision between chasing economic growth and our finite planet, as well as how our ruling elite and their ‘benevolent’ governing institutions will likely proceed over the near-term future given this collision in my next Contemplation…
A few recent and relevant posts:
My Constituents Are…Leaving Town
#311: Putting it together, part two | Surplus Energy Economics
#312: A stroll along revolution street | Surplus Energy Economics
The Roman Pattern: How Civilizations Collapse Like Living Systems
“Now Is the Time of Monsters” - Doug Casey’s International Man
Secretive Watchlisting Center Executing NSPM-7
The Patterns of Collapse: From Rome to Today
Limits to Growth was right about collapse – the next wave
Not What We Expected: Why Our Fixes Will Fail
Collapse for the 99% | Luke Kemp – by Rachel Donald
What If Preventing Collapse Isn’t Profitable? – resilience
Signs of Collapse: The Implosion of ‘Europe’ | how to save the world
Chomsky and Robinson: ‘National Interest’ Is a Euphemism
The Globalist Playbook: War By Design, Control By Crisis
Welcome to the Warfare State - International Man
How I Came To Believe That Civilization Is Unsustainable
Powell Just Signaled the End of Quantitative Tightening
Would You Fight To Keep Your Country Together? | how to save the world
The Crisis and Revolution Hidden in Plain Sight
Survey Says We Hate Our Lives - by Matt Orsagh
Rulers Seek to Rule - Doug Casey’s International Man
Ten Million Dukes › American Greatness
What is going to be my standard WARNING/ADVICE going forward and that I have reiterated in various ways before this:
“Only time will tell how this all unfolds but there’s nothing wrong with preparing for the worst by ‘collapsing now to avoid the rush’ and pursuing self-sufficiency. By this I mean removing as many dependencies on the Matrix as is possible and making do, locally. And if one can do this without negative impacts upon our fragile ecosystems or do so while creating more resilient ecosystems, all the better.
Building community (maybe even just household) resilience to as high a level as possible seems prudent given the uncertainties of an unpredictable future. There’s no guarantee it will ensure ‘recovery’ after a significant societal stressor/shock but it should increase the probability of it and that, perhaps, is all we can ‘hope’ for from its pursuit.”
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Attempting a new payment system as I am contemplating shutting down my site in the future (given the ever-increasing costs to keep it running).
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Steve, I’m delighted to meet your Substack account. Birds of a feather sort of thing.
Phenomenal writing. Thanks.