“-something Margaret Thatcher had said in an interview in 1987, in remarks that are often taken as a definition of modern conservatism. “Too many children and people have been given to understand ‘I have a problem, it is the government’s job to cope with it!’” Thatcher said. “They are casting their problems on society, and who is society? There is no such thing!”
“-a declaration made by Reagan in his 1981 inaugural address: “Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” Thatcher and Reagan often conflated the two – to diminish both – but society and government mean different things. Society usually means the private ties of mutual obligation and fellowship that bind together people who have different backgrounds and unequal education, resources and wealth. Government is the public administration of the affairs of people constituted into a body politic as citizens and equals. Society invokes community, government polity.”
“According to the Reagan-Thatcher worldview, there is no such thing as society. There are only families, who look after one another, and individuals, who participate in markets. The idea that government is the solution to people’s problems rests on a mistaken belief in the existence of society. This mistaken belief leads to attempts to solve problems such as ill health with government programmes such as government-funded healthcare, as if these were problems of society, rather than problems of individuals. Government programmes like these will also interfere with the only place where real solutions are to be found, which is the free market.”
Wiki: Jill Lepore has been contributing to The New Yorker since 2005.[15] In the June 23, 2014 issue she criticized the concept of Creative destruction, associated with Austrian-born political economist Joseph Schumpeter.[16] The response of one of those whose work she discusses, fellow Harvard professor Clayton M. Christensen, was that her article was “a criminal act of dishonesty—at Harvard, of all places”.[17]
For Neoliberals, “creative destruction” applied to democracy is just another way to worship Mammon. Almost every day we are being warned, crystal clear warnings, that a proto-fascist right is, without a doubt, going to overturn the next election.
Yet nothing is being done about it.
It is said by historians, “we are all children of Rome.” The defining principle of Roman Empire was “divide and conquer.” What is being used to divide and conquer the American people is obvious- it is a FOMO (a variation of the free rider problem)/NIMBY/ Red-baiting-Firehose of Falsehood. A powerful weapon. Just apply these and other big lies over and over until it disconnects the individual from the truth completely. Then you have divided and can conquer.
And it appears we are about to be conquered.
“The left wants to destroy us…they despise America, they hate America.” So transparently terrifying as the definition of Orwellian.
“-Steve Bannon has targeted the top 20 clerks in the 5 states in which president Trump lost-“. So transparently terrifying as it is a clear unashamed plan to overthrow the government.
“-these are people who are on the move because of the information age… there’s just alot of resentment against what’s perceived as the corporate cultural elite.” So transparently terrifying that the 1 percent think this is going to go their way when it will inevitably turn into the same apocalypse that incinerated Europe when the Fascists came to power.
“The argument on the right is “we on the right” don’t control the media, we don’t control the universities, we don’t control the corporations, we only have a shot at controlling the state.” What is terrifying is how the people we listen to all seem to know what the various terms they are using mean while the rest of us are now completely confused about what is liberalism, democracy, conservatism, etc. Most Americans have been dumbed down and then lied to with propaganda to the extent that we have no clear idea of what the different political and ideological systems actually stand for. And that is dangerous, according to Rachel Maddow…and I believe her.
The Oklahoma National Guard is not going to have to get vaccinated?
SecDef says, “-must follow directions-“. This could be the beginning of something very bad. The Covid variants are very worrying…what if the mortality rate goes up?
When you can’t trust doctors or the supreme court then we are in big trouble: It cannot be stated any clearer than this and we will not be able to say we did not know-
Ice on the Moon 