This is a new political blog...
Do we really need another political blog, you might be asking?
Well perhaps this one is different.
This blog aims not to examine the minutiae of daily democracy in the UK. This blog aims to examine "society". It will examine the thesis that "society" is a "machine". Not a dumb unthinking machine but a thinking, emotional machine. It will discuss the component parts of this machine and how they interact. It will consider political revolutions and why they have failed. It will consider war and poverty and how they arise. It will consider the failings of capitalism and democracy, and how they might be repaired.
The name Deus Ex Machina derives from the Greek "God from the machine". In Greek theatre it refers to the practice of lowering to the stage an actor, representing a god, who would then magically resolve the situation occurring in the drama . I intend to use the term in its most literal sense - a "god" that is derived from the biological machine we know of as "society". It is a metaphor, but nevertheless should help us to understand how complex systems like societies work. It will help us to understand why society does not work the way we would like it to, and it will do so without resorting to class-warfare theory or conspiracy theory.
I am a senior engineer that works with the marketing department of a large European multinational corporation. I have a fascination for "how things work" - including a fascination with how large corporations work and how society works. Many large corporations are the size of towns and even cities. The way they work (or indeed, fail to work) is the way a complete society works in microcosm, especially capitalist society. The psychology and sociology of corporations holds the key to the inner workings of Western society.
Why such a blog and why now? Because the indications are that the society we live in now may be about to undergo seismic change. We will investigate the reasons for this. It may be that the changes that society will undergo are of a similar magnitude to those experienced in the 1930's as a result of the Great Depression. This monumental change resulted in war, and paradigm shifts in the manner in which societies were operated. Is the same about to happen again? Some mainstream commentators such as Matthew Parris and Matthew D'Ancona are becoming uneasy. But there is no-one in a position of influence today that is able to remember the 1930's from first-hand experience.
"Those who do not read and understand history are doomed to repeat it." - Harry Truman
Reading history is the easy part. Understanding it is considerably more difficult. In this blog we will see that "society" deliberately fails to understand history and therefore must inevitably repeat it. And therefore we are very likely to repeat the mistakes of the 1930's, and then the 1940's. "Society" has a mind of its own, beyond the control of the citizens that are its component parts.... but society has a very short memory.
I do not have all the answers, or even all the right questions, but I hope those that read this blog will contribute much of their own experience and knowledge. Hopefully, together we will learn something about our society, and how it controls each and every one of us. We might even understand how it can be changed for the better.
Well perhaps this one is different.
This blog aims not to examine the minutiae of daily democracy in the UK. This blog aims to examine "society". It will examine the thesis that "society" is a "machine". Not a dumb unthinking machine but a thinking, emotional machine. It will discuss the component parts of this machine and how they interact. It will consider political revolutions and why they have failed. It will consider war and poverty and how they arise. It will consider the failings of capitalism and democracy, and how they might be repaired.
The name Deus Ex Machina derives from the Greek "God from the machine". In Greek theatre it refers to the practice of lowering to the stage an actor, representing a god, who would then magically resolve the situation occurring in the drama . I intend to use the term in its most literal sense - a "god" that is derived from the biological machine we know of as "society". It is a metaphor, but nevertheless should help us to understand how complex systems like societies work. It will help us to understand why society does not work the way we would like it to, and it will do so without resorting to class-warfare theory or conspiracy theory.
I am a senior engineer that works with the marketing department of a large European multinational corporation. I have a fascination for "how things work" - including a fascination with how large corporations work and how society works. Many large corporations are the size of towns and even cities. The way they work (or indeed, fail to work) is the way a complete society works in microcosm, especially capitalist society. The psychology and sociology of corporations holds the key to the inner workings of Western society.
Why such a blog and why now? Because the indications are that the society we live in now may be about to undergo seismic change. We will investigate the reasons for this. It may be that the changes that society will undergo are of a similar magnitude to those experienced in the 1930's as a result of the Great Depression. This monumental change resulted in war, and paradigm shifts in the manner in which societies were operated. Is the same about to happen again? Some mainstream commentators such as Matthew Parris and Matthew D'Ancona are becoming uneasy. But there is no-one in a position of influence today that is able to remember the 1930's from first-hand experience.
"Those who do not read and understand history are doomed to repeat it." - Harry Truman
Reading history is the easy part. Understanding it is considerably more difficult. In this blog we will see that "society" deliberately fails to understand history and therefore must inevitably repeat it. And therefore we are very likely to repeat the mistakes of the 1930's, and then the 1940's. "Society" has a mind of its own, beyond the control of the citizens that are its component parts.... but society has a very short memory.
I do not have all the answers, or even all the right questions, but I hope those that read this blog will contribute much of their own experience and knowledge. Hopefully, together we will learn something about our society, and how it controls each and every one of us. We might even understand how it can be changed for the better.
Labels: democracy, deus ex machina, introduction, psychology, society, sociology
posted by Schadenfreude at
14:03
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