Sunday, December 2, 2012

Chance Favors the Connected Mind



Today’s title comes from the last statement of the following video Where Good Ideas Come From.


The video is a summary of Steven Johnson’s book by the same name.

I highlight Johnson’s work because he offers a positive perspective on American culture.  He believes we are still progressing and changing in positive ways.  His newest book is Future Perfect.  There he outlines a world of connected people striving to solve problems collaboratively.  A 3 hour discussion is here. 

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/308085-1

Johnson is a breath of fresh air compared to Chris Hedges or Morris Berman.  Those two continue to tell a tale of American decline and collapse.  Our culture is dying--run and hide, or become a “prepper.” These guys provide good critiques of our culture; I don't think their forecasts follow from their data.

American culture is going to survive.  It will be reborn as something stronger and more powerful than it currently is.  To get there, the death of a status quo has to occur.  And, I think it is the oligarchs of finance who will take the brunt of this change, precisely because it was they who created this secular crisis.  Thus, it will be “those people” who eventually will be sacrificed to solve the problem.  It won’t be easy or pretty, maybe involving WW3. 

There will be a new America when it is over. The centralized banking structure will collapse.  It will be replaced by a decentralized one based on similar principles as discussed by Johnson in Future Perfect.

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