Simple intellect and a feeling of powerlessness. The flip side of cognitive complexity and feelings of power over one's environment. Yes, that explains a lot about the malaise that plain folks feel today. How do you avoid the malaise? Education (if your brain can utilize it) and independence from the power plays of the polite world, i.e. what Hobbes called Leviathan. And in a world where education, health care and the basic needs of life (shelter, food and, maybe, love) are being priced out of the reach of lots of folks, independence is harder and harder to maintain. Last year, young people were being coached to study STEM to gain control of their lives; this year we are beginning to hear that in the face of change, young people should adjust their sights and become welders or well-paid influencers in order to sustain a sense of control over their environments.
That kind of inchoate rambling thought comes out of Jason's deep dive into conspiracy theories and the people who utilize them to explain the world to themselves and then to others. I want more education on the subject.
I would add that the lack of link to social status is surprising. You would think that status would result in an increased sense of control over events. Maybe not.
Thanks for your notes, Evan, & apologies for taking so long over getting back to you. I have been away the last few days & only just got back. Solid thoughts there about the price - not to mention the value - of independence. Sometimes I’m glad not be be young any more! I’ll post some more on conspiracy theories before long. I find them fascinating.
Jason: I think the book (and recent Netflix documentary) you are interested in is called "Chaos: Charles Manson, The CIA, and the Secret History of the 60s. The book was published by Hatchette and the film assembled by Errol Morris, who has done many deconstructionist docs including the Robert McNamara apologia of years ago. I haven't delved into either.
All I ask in return is a lead to the studies I remember that claim the big bulk of crimes are committed by a small cadre of professional and semi-professional repeat offenders. It's to go with my Mafia project that has new relevance today since it is about organized criminal activity.
I recently ran across a reference to a UN study. It asserts that more than a million people have died in the new century of gang violence and gangland killings. Mexico and Brazil lead the way but the numbers startling, particularly because the West, which has all the money, is the frequent target of cartels, syndicates, organized internet scams and the like. These "organizations," all of which are criminal "conspiracies" (two people or more, many more working together) pick the ripe targets and exploit them.
LCN had the best vertical integration. May still have it in Italy. But the world is full of global criminals who can work remotely or slip in and out of the prime target, the US, to ply their trade. I don't want to make my theory sound too crazy and paranoid but global gangs do operate, often pulling off the most spectacular crime. Aaron Jacklin's compilation of criminology studies is where I got started on the phenomenon.
A friend of mine, a pretty woman raised Catholic but converted to Judaism, comfortable upbringing, finally inherited $20 million. She should be free as a bird yet she currently lives in mortal fear that Trump will round up all Jews, gays and feminists and send them "to the camps." Her fear is almost uncontrollable and she has enormous guilt at the same time about her own fortune. Fear of rejection, fear of abandonment, all seem to be at play. So social status is more ephemeral that I would think, and even financial security is no hedge against scary life. No sense of agency or control. Every human is a puzzle.
Simple intellect and a feeling of powerlessness. The flip side of cognitive complexity and feelings of power over one's environment. Yes, that explains a lot about the malaise that plain folks feel today. How do you avoid the malaise? Education (if your brain can utilize it) and independence from the power plays of the polite world, i.e. what Hobbes called Leviathan. And in a world where education, health care and the basic needs of life (shelter, food and, maybe, love) are being priced out of the reach of lots of folks, independence is harder and harder to maintain. Last year, young people were being coached to study STEM to gain control of their lives; this year we are beginning to hear that in the face of change, young people should adjust their sights and become welders or well-paid influencers in order to sustain a sense of control over their environments.
That kind of inchoate rambling thought comes out of Jason's deep dive into conspiracy theories and the people who utilize them to explain the world to themselves and then to others. I want more education on the subject.
I would add that the lack of link to social status is surprising. You would think that status would result in an increased sense of control over events. Maybe not.
Thanks for your notes, Evan, & apologies for taking so long over getting back to you. I have been away the last few days & only just got back. Solid thoughts there about the price - not to mention the value - of independence. Sometimes I’m glad not be be young any more! I’ll post some more on conspiracy theories before long. I find them fascinating.
Jason: I think the book (and recent Netflix documentary) you are interested in is called "Chaos: Charles Manson, The CIA, and the Secret History of the 60s. The book was published by Hatchette and the film assembled by Errol Morris, who has done many deconstructionist docs including the Robert McNamara apologia of years ago. I haven't delved into either.
All I ask in return is a lead to the studies I remember that claim the big bulk of crimes are committed by a small cadre of professional and semi-professional repeat offenders. It's to go with my Mafia project that has new relevance today since it is about organized criminal activity.
I recently ran across a reference to a UN study. It asserts that more than a million people have died in the new century of gang violence and gangland killings. Mexico and Brazil lead the way but the numbers startling, particularly because the West, which has all the money, is the frequent target of cartels, syndicates, organized internet scams and the like. These "organizations," all of which are criminal "conspiracies" (two people or more, many more working together) pick the ripe targets and exploit them.
LCN had the best vertical integration. May still have it in Italy. But the world is full of global criminals who can work remotely or slip in and out of the prime target, the US, to ply their trade. I don't want to make my theory sound too crazy and paranoid but global gangs do operate, often pulling off the most spectacular crime. Aaron Jacklin's compilation of criminology studies is where I got started on the phenomenon.
elm
A friend of mine, a pretty woman raised Catholic but converted to Judaism, comfortable upbringing, finally inherited $20 million. She should be free as a bird yet she currently lives in mortal fear that Trump will round up all Jews, gays and feminists and send them "to the camps." Her fear is almost uncontrollable and she has enormous guilt at the same time about her own fortune. Fear of rejection, fear of abandonment, all seem to be at play. So social status is more ephemeral that I would think, and even financial security is no hedge against scary life. No sense of agency or control. Every human is a puzzle.