The Swedish Advent Calendar 1-12

A generic Advent Calendar usually consists of 24 windows with a secret content to be revealed each day until Christmas Day. The theme of this year’s Swedish calendar [1] is power through magic. Each window gives a clue to how magic is weaved. Like the song in the first window, the calendar starts in a humoristic flair, then touches on the big structures of power which hold societies together in its current order, and then gets dead serious when it unearths abuse in recent history, where it is least expected.

This obscure mosaic ends in spectacular fashion as the author is forced to explain his work to the Swedish police after they try to break in to his apartment.

Window 1. The Lie Factory.

Bordering the ruins of the old mechanical workshop of Kockums, the news-factory of the
Swedish state television SVT is located. Field studies at the state channel’s panoptic open-plan office, reveal instances of Ironic Satanism and a variation of an archaic Steve Jobs-cult. A revolt of sorts in this subculture. Evidence attached.

Song of the day: When the Lie Factory is on Fire by Cornelis Vreeswijk (1980)

About the song: Vreeswijk is widely regarded as one of the all-time great in the Swedish singer-songwriter tradition. The unique rhymes would be lost in translation but the title is self-explanatory – When the Lie Factory is on Fire. The song is about a series of hilarious banalities in the press, in a crescendo, until the song suddenly gets serious – loosely translated:

When the lie factory is on fire, we sure can talk of a crisis. Censorship gets short-circuited, gets itself behind bars (…) truth gets locked up & gets no release, then the firemen are switched for the police. When the lie factory is on fire.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6EH6n0P8ky7SZzmZMH8dsu?si=2bhMxa-OQVOkDYA8pxcYgQ

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_calendar

Window 2. TV2. Whatever your opinions may be about the old propaganda organ, it feels like the present is still unable to catch up to this magical vignette.

Background: Sweden only had two state-owned TV channels most of the 80’s. Children were not exposed to great variety of violent Anime but had access to classics like ‘Linus on the Line’ [1]. A derogative for these channels is DDR-TV, a term which is associated with the term DDR-Sweden, commonly attributed to celebrities Filip and Fredrik [2]. This was before Sweden reinvented its identity, and Swedes became known as the most individualistic people on planet earth [3].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Linea_(TV_series)
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filip_Hammar_and_Fredrik_Wikingsson
[3] See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Values_Survey

Window 3. Once Upon a Time there was a Social Democrat, an International and a Bellman.

As we all know, the International turned out to be a utopia about 100 years ago as it did not to stop workers from slaughtering each other instead of uniting against those who ordered the slaughter in the name of the nation. The Social Democrats are not even members for the sake of symbolism anymore. Nowadays they seem to raise their fists against beggars and the right to strike, rather than to fight the powers that be or national chauvinism.

The court-jester Bellman sounded like some kind of revolutionary back in the 18th century compared to the current chairman of the biggest ‘labour party’. When kids are sent to clean the overused reputational commons of the nation, then the words of the bard sound more honest than the Internationale without an International. After having been threatened in a foreign country due to alleged interference with its domestic affairs, Bellman replied exactly as Löfven would not have done if told to shut up by Trump or some oil-baron while singing the Internationale.
Loosely translated to a perhaps more modern English:

No monarch in the world is strong enough in his land
To forbid my hand,
To play my harp,
Plang-plong plenge pling,
As long there is a string,
Play

Background: The Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, chairman of the Social Democrats (Sweden’s largest labour party) has used a hard-line rhetoric against the disadvantaged in society over the years. He has spoken up against beggars and passed anti-labour laws while remaining silent about the immense tax cuts for the privileged. Meanwhile, citizens are forced to pay taxes to finance (so called) public service, run by private companies, allowed to make profits. In this system, the costs are public, and the profits private, literally. Predictably, the quality of a number of services has deteriorated due to cost-savings and underfunding, thus upsetting parts of the constituency. After a series of labour conflicts over wages and work conditions in the so called public sector, restrictions on the right to strike were passed.

Labour Day is still a tradition but the ranks grew markedly thinner after aforementioned system was implemented during the 90’s. You are still able to discern a few senior Social Democrats sing the Internationale 1st of May.

‘Once upon a time there was X, and Y, and a Bellman’ is a generic introduction to Bellman jokes, usually about how the bard ridicules or tricks people of other nationalities.

Window 4. The Ironic Hipster is not Compatible with all Economic Formations.

On account of how The Mandalorian paid a generous tribute to Shogun Assassin/Wolf with Cub in its opening episodes, it is fitting to reflect on the role of the knight errant in film and giant footnotes. The series showcases the thread between the Samurai and spaghetti western – transitions from the Dark Ages after the Roman Empire, to the Middle Ages after the Galactic Empire.

In depictions such as the aforementioned, Jojimbo or Zatoichi, the knight errant is a calculating survivor with principles, at least a thief’s honour. The moral is that in spite of the toughness, and the tampering with principles, they are nevertheless the moral superiors of the sick world they explore. Even the most humble peasant may overwhelm the lone master with the acquired sneakiness necessary to survive an ordinary nine-to-five life. This narrative is not without an historical-materialistic touch. The wandering knight manages to preserve traces of morality just because of his role as an outcast.

It is here this depiction is reconciled with the mad Don Quijote, who otherwise is the antithesis – a Chancie stuck in the Middle Ages who should cut his beard and get a job. Even if I am of the opinion that the former has more to offer than the latter, the latter has inspired one of the longest and most intriguing footnotes in the history of social science – explaining quite a bit of the things I have discussed so far.

Here is the part of the footnote were Marx replies to critique and manages to summarize one of the most influential theories in the history of humankind:

I seize this opportunity of shortly answering an objection taken by a German paper in America, to my work, “Zur Kritik der Pol. Oekonomie, 1859.” In the estimation of that paper, my view that each special mode of production and the social relations corresponding to it, in short, that the economic structure of society, is the real basis on which the juridical and political superstructure is raised and to which definite social forms of thought correspond; that the mode of production determines the character of the social, political, and intellectual life generally, all this is very true for our own times, in which material interests preponderate, but not for the middle ages, in which Catholicism, nor for Athens and Rome, where politics, reigned supreme. In the first place it strikes one as an odd thing for anyone to suppose that these well-worn phrases about the Middle Ages and the ancient world are unknown to anyone else. This much, however, is clear, that the Middle Ages could not live on Catholicism, nor the ancient world on politics. On the contrary, it is the mode in which they gained a livelihood that explains why here politics, and there Catholicism, played the chief part. For the rest, it requires but a slight acquaintance with the history of the Roman republic, for example, to be aware that its secret history is the history of its landed property. On the other hand, Don Quixote long ago paid the penalty for wrongly imagining that knight errantry was compatible with all economic forms of society.

Easter Egg of the Future Past: – The Previous Paragraph is:
Truly comical is M. Bastiat, who imagines that the ancient Greeks and Romans lived by plunder alone. But when people plunder for centuries, there must always be something at hand for them to seize; the objects of plunder must be continually reproduced. It would thus appear that even Greeks and Romans had some process of production, consequently, an economy, which just as much constituted the material basis of their world, as bourgeois economy constitutes that of our modern world. Or perhaps Bastiat means, that a mode of production based on slavery is based on a system of plunder. In that case he treads on dangerous ground. If a giant thinker like Aristotle erred in his appreciation of slave labour, why should a dwarf economist like Bastiat be right in his appreciation of wage labour?

Source: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch01.htm#S3c

Window 5. The Five Rings of the Sword Master.

After having survived at least 60 duels, Miyamoto Musashi (born ~ 1580) wrote a legendary book. The book reflects a mentality hardened by constant struggle, by a man with a conspicuously low tolerance for bullshit. The author almost comes out as an Atheist when he advices to ‘respect the gods but not count on their aid’. His influence on the movies mentioned in the previous window cannot be overestimated. The masterless knight exposes corruption one sword cut at the time against the obedient lackeys of power. These spineless sadistic lapdogs are however only loyal when they have a clear upper hand. Otherwise they are forced to hire someone who is not domesticated either, often an inverted version of the hero.

The genre encompasses a number of trendsetting strategic gold nuggets. For example, the samurai is not likely to be scorned if he happens to cut down a sneaking messenger. The Samurai acts openly and is contacted by those with exaggerated but mixed signals such as the bard or the more subtle Geisha. When the Samurai tries to act as a Ninja, whole buildings are blown apart or people are slayed in the middle of the street.

 
Window 6. Homosexuality.

It is hazardous to write an Advent Calendar to begin with, especially if you happen to be single and somewhat underestimated. A good alternative to mandatory castration. Especially if you are an immigrant of non-European descent who devotes window 6 to homosexuality, the very day Sheike, the leader of the infamous Swedish spanking sect, drops dead. I will avoid subtle comments about Captain Skirts’ riding school that I just reflected on in terms of metrics.

In spite of the circumstances, I want to express my appreciation to all of those who respect their neighbours to the extent that they do not jump to conclusions about their sexuality after how they fit a 19th-century cliché about male animals.

I also want to ensure the world around that I will continue to bridle the impulse to incinerate those who think I am some sort of hater just because I do not always exaggerate my appreciation for ordinary values and statements which at most are shockingly decent.

Video of the day: Bill Hicks 1993.

Background: Captain Skirt/Dress was Police Chief and lauded as a champion for feminism. Turns out that he was a sexual sadist and a rapist. If it was disloyalty or something else which induced his persecution is unclear to me at the moment. Today he runs a riding school for girls with a conspicuous absence of public outrage. Mandatory sterilisation has otherwise been an inseparable part of the Swedish modernity project to maintain ‘genetic hygiene’, targeting groups considered as weak or deviant.

Window 7. The Kalashnikov of Social Science.

Apparently it is Chomsky’s birthday. I usually try remain ignorant about the person behind the work but because the man is considered to be cited in a comparable extent to the bible and Plato, it is rather difficult to avoid all trivia.
If there is something about his personal qualities which I can comment on, then it is those imprinted in his work. Besides productivity, his most impressive signature is the self-sacrificing style in his analysis of society. Theoretical acrobatics and rhetoric are kept to a minimum in favour of the monstrous force exerted through facts that methodically breaks down establishment dogma. As an MMA-fighter he would have been the Olympic-wrestler type – devoid of flashy moves but brutally effective.

Beyond the scientific accuracy, there is a constant vigilance towards strategic considerations and an awareness about his legacy. A finesse in this regard is his prudence towards mechanical theoretical constructs. Personally, I find that discussion overrated and rather unnecessary to ponder, for theoretical reasons. In his case, I believe that it also is about an uneasiness against the doctrinaire. He would turn in his grave if a hierarchical dogmatic cult beat future Chomsky-curious with the Chomsky-stick to paraphrase the Bakunin quote he likes to use.
His and Ed Hermans’s Propagana Model is characterized by the aforementioned efficiency. A Kalashnikov of the social sciences. A name which I suspect would annoy him tremendously, also due to the aforementioned reasons. As some kind of compensation, I would like to mention a piquant detail that can make his stock rise in Sweden. The man never answered the questions I submitted. Chomsky is well-known for his generosity in that regard. I have to assume my tone was not appealing to him. If it was for theoretical reasons, then the old man is welcome to discuss them with me whenever!

Below, an extraordinary performance by the birthday child.

Window 8. The meaning of Greta Thunberg’s Flying Visit to Chile.

People have made a name for themselves lately by philosophizing about the coming climate catastrophe’s inevitability and its inequality aspects in thick books. Two very interesting perspectives indeed. I summarized this discussion in a minimal matrix at the beginning of the 21st century, I even made a version as part of some random coursework. The reason that I have not have bothered anyone with it is mainly twofold. 1) I think it is rational to remain optimistic even when reason reveals difficult problems 2) I assume that some natural scientist with a hangover said the same thing at some coffee break at least 50 years earlier. One of the most interesting aspects of this subject is that it is the scientists who have warned about the catastrophic implications of environmental pollution for decades. As usual, media has an enormous responsibility for not giving their voices more space before it was too late. Among other things, the warnings from experts were equated with the ordinary opinions of the average lobby-scripted pundit.

One additional reason for my unobtrusive approach is that I was completely wrong at the turn of the century. Two drunk quasi-hippies argued that time was running out back then, whereas I argued a naïve technological optimism that is championed in the press to this very day. After a couple of weeks it became clear to me that I had been completely wrong, and I reformulated my stance in cost-benefit terms. Similarly to how the welfare state developed to deal with externalities of an excessively unequal income distribution (e.g. illnesses, crimes, revolts etc. related to relative deprivation), society would in the future come to adapt to the 2nd cost in terms of depreciation of natural assets, pollution-related deceases, mass migration, war etc. The ugly side of the analogy is that imperialism and unbridgeable inequalities deter cooperation – benefits and losses are experienced locally but are accumulated globally until a threshold is reached. The threshold associated with the welfare state was revolution, in the latter, a drastic interruption in evolution – mass extinction.

When I joke about kids cleaning up the reputational commons rather than the biological one, it is because these thoughts indicate that a revolution is needed. Not all species are adapted to deal with creeping changes which suddenly leap out to claim their prey, especially when they come in the form of epidemics. We need to overcome our human limitations through a new system which works for the survival of the species instead of channelling resources to the few.

What Greta Thunberg merely grazed in Chile (as the little incarnation of the evolution of the world spirit she is), is the following familiar pattern: [Successful class struggle in the periphery*»» Control of a bigger share of the world’s total assets »» An increase in the living standard of the periphery] »»Higher ‘prices’ in the core»» Intensified class conflicts in the core. This is the reason why the elites in Europe and North America support Guaido in Venezuela but not Morales in Bolivia. They want to choke the revolt within the brackets. This dynamic may otherwise give an opening to save the environment by stopping the overconsumption of the upper class and start to plan the economy in line with a realistic model which does not rely on the exploitation of the majority of the world population and the devastation of the environment. In other words, democratic control of the companies that sponsored Thunberg’s trip to America.

*Of course people will as usual rationalize their experiences in other terms. The middle class in Chile is for instance constantly trying to distance itself from the ‘communists’ from 73 (a term commonly used to scare and divide).

Window 9. What Nine Macaroni can say about the Climate Crisis and the Excuses.

In the mid 00’s I used to live at the politically correct fraternity of Smålands. In several regards a splendid one. In addition, in spite of its reputation, there were few or no drug raids under my stay. Something that definitely did not work very well was the preservation of public spaces in the dorms. There were some panoptic enclaves which were tidy and clean but chaos lurked in every corner.

In one exceptionally open-hearted, smoke-impregnated den, there was always party going on – everyone was welcomed. Only that the guests left mountains of dirty dishes, with periodical promises to do the washing-up in the near future. When new people moved in, some sort of proclamation started and we had a meeting. I assuredly took care of my dishes but had not done the vestibule lately – that I happened to share with one of the persons who seemed to lead the appeal. Made me look bad, whereby it became necessary with a general explanation. The argument ended with the series 2, 3, 5, 9, 17, 33… - that subsequently culminated in a filth eruption. This series emerges even if the individuals in a common space are very altruistic and take care of their own filth and of others to a considerable extent. It is enough with an accident (e.g. the guests) to get someone irritated enough to refuse to clean up. This may be enough to reach the next threshold, which induces that person to stop cleaning, which results in a chain reaction with a growing mountain of filth and angry idealists.

Guests who make a mess is the ultimate excuse for any politician, a perfect deus ex machina. They were not even a problem anymore in our dorm anymore but were nevertheless still in the memory of enough people to maintain the association (tap on own shoulder). Politicians can defend any crap system and let their true principals get away with any imaginable swinishness because it is always the fault of someone else. The system has undergone a shock, its equilibrium has been perturbed, the natural order must be reinstated and so forth. It is no coincidence that mainstream economics is built on equilibrium thinking and shocks that temporary upset an otherwise splendid system. I do however still think that aforementioned filth theory has something quite fundamental to say about the limits of idealism if the interpretation is that everyone contributes to the mess but with the modification that some contribute much more than others.
A clarification written a couple of years after the meeting is attached.

Window 10. The Ten Commandments.

Those of you who miss out on the duck and raspberry-mousse at Hantverkargatan 1 this year may instead find comfort in my explanation of how the Ten Commandments should be understood. It is prudent to mention that thinkers like George Carlin and Richard Dawkins have previously touched on the subject, and that there may be additional aspects which are not included this time.

The 10 commandments and social evolution

I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery
– The presentation establishes (i) You, the initial population, owe me big-time (ii) you know it was me who helped you out i.e. you have “proof” of my existence. – This gives a terrific condition to consolidate a new religion. It also captures how historical or exogenous shocks can have an influence on the shaping of the initial conditions. In this case, peculiar historical events which led to the freedom of a people became the basis of a capital stock of trust towards something like a God, who was used as a plausible explanation and associated with actual events and coincidences. This critical mass of trust could then be forged or channeled to faith.

1. Do not have any other gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
   – These commandments establish the unquestionable validity of the commandments so that they will have the character of axioms. It also states the costs and benefits of committing to the axioms and clearly emphasizes the intergenerational dimension of the costs and benefits.

3. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
   – The word of god must be transmitted without error and adverse reputational effects as to maximize its spread in the population.

4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
   – It is important to work hard and be productive but also to rest to preserve strength and honor tradition, i.e. preserve and spread the commandments as axioms in accordance to the two first commandments –iterate this to preserve tradition... This commandment is in essence preservation and spread of the word in the horizontal or cross-sectional dimension.

5. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
   – This commandment establishes the tradition intergenerationally. Commandments 2-5 increase the probability of obeying commandment 1, they reinforce the 1st commandment. It is very interesting that this commandment is the 5th.

6. You shall not kill/murder.
   – This commandment is essential for the survival of the god fearing population. A population which obeys this commandment will become more prosperous than the population which doesn’t.

7. You shall not commit adultery.
   – This commandment is most important in the initial condition where the population is small for reasons of genetically health. It is moreover due to our biological disposition important because it increases the probability of commandment 6. Commandment 7 reinforces commandment 6, specially when the population is small and the transportation cost are high i.e. finding a mate is difficult.

8. You shall not steal.
   – Increases the probability of the obedience of 6 and has the same rational as 7, commandment 7 & 8 reinforce commandment 6. Commandment 6-8 together drastically increases the fitness of the population and therefore the spread of the word together with the initial commitment and transmission commandments 1-5.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
    – The desire in the sentence accentuates not only revealed preference through action but it is also important to harness a right state of mind i.e. it encourages moral purity or the conscious reshaping of the objective function of each individual. 9-10 address and improves the chances of cooperation and growth in the society. These anti-envy commandments are also important because they enhance the probability of survival of the most able and capable individuals.

In essence: Commandments 1-5 are commitment and transmission commandments. 6-8 are fundamental to the survival of the population as biological species. 9-10 are higher order commandments to enhance growth and prosperity in the population. These higher order commandments also strengthen status quo and social stability.

GOD IS THE COMMANDMENTS
This can be seen by considering the commandment as a social virus with the ability to spread and replicate trough god fearing individuals. It is of outmost interest to contemplate the initial statement of costs and benefits in the 1st commandment. It can probably be argued that rule breaking truly implies a setback and persistent disadvantage for the community, especially in the early stages. If so:

'I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments',

could be interpreted as a consequence of rule breaking or commitment, not a threat.

Manuel Echeverría
2011

As a commentary, it is worth noting that the elite naturally have shaped the bible, read it, and used it throughout history to legitimate their power by breaking every single commandment, while working hard to imprint its moral on their subjects. Transgressions of 5-10 is exactly how you become upper class to begin with. It is how the so called ‘primitive accumulation’ happened. In addition, rule breaking (e.g. by negation) gives advice about how you should deal with your competition and finally reveals what the prize is. In this context, rule breaking of 5-6 is more old school and blunt, stuff that Herod, Nero and Caligula did in their prime. 7-10 are more elegant ways of obstructing meritocracy for the benefit of diplomacy and power, stuff that the Swedish Academy were preoccupied with before the change of course. Furthermore, I do not intend to start a new cult.

Video of the day: George Carlin and the 10 Commandments.

Background. Hantverkargatan 1 is the Blue Hall, where the world-renowned Nobel Prize festivities take place. The Swedish Academy, in charge of the literature prize, was plagued with draconian power struggles which ended up as front-page scandals and jail due to domination and sexual offences associated with the abuse of power. Balzac’s thick descriptions of the intrigues in high society, and some of the scenes in Dangerous Liaisons seem quite innocent in view of this. The restauration and new deal kept its promise to stick to the primacy of quality and merit, which provoked a new scandal, as the Academy this time around chose to disregard certain aspects of the political liaisons of the artisan behind the award-winning work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Hall

Window 11. Evil.

Last fall I wrapped myself up in blankets, pulled down the curtains and re-experienced the Exorcist in intense solitude. It is a film that silently intrudes, creeps in the spaces between reason, and begins to fill in, until the mirror at the edge of your field of vision makes your pulse jump, as you are unable to shake off the expectation of distorted reflections. The greatness of the movie is nevertheless in its social aspects, which I think surpass the aforementioned psychological ones.

Satan primarily displays his power in terms of his superior informational position. This entity’s grip is strengthened through the depravation of a relative who is used to do harm. The evil deeds of the possessed inflict double wounds – partly as a direct consequence of physical or mental trauma – partly indirectly, as each wrongdoing reminds about power and how lost the victim is. Although there are several evil spirits at work in a network with global reach, the organization of evil is ultimately hierarchy with ‘the one’ on top. The attacks of the network are primarily carried out through manipulation of information.

The second great achievement of the movie, is that the audience can choose the circles in the hell that takes place in front of their eyes. One of the more pessimistic is also the most realistic in some sense. In one of the varieties, it is the detective who is on the right track, and merely touches on something gargantuan. Sherlock would have postulated an exceptionally powerful network, walked right in to the room, and would most likely have found an abused and traumatized victim, perhaps with drug problems, with enemies who understand how to keep their enemies close. Possible motives are to make an example, extortion or revenge. The supernatural is merely a rationalization from psychologically worn down relatives who are embraced by a nightmare, and it is their account that the director happens to choose as the main perspective.

The most pessimistic variety is perhaps to see the movie as a synthesis between fiction and a psychological thriller. Then the priesthood and the psychologists are of the same bureaucratic caste, similar to the Foundation-trilogy. The conjunction in this unholy trinity is a glance at a torture chamber which belongs in 1984 but has been left ajar, like a dollhouse, for the nervous eye of the public.

Song of the Day: Tubular Bells
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7ERSQrRptZVM7q3VOdM7OL?si=Mgtvm-RhS1aHaOfwpJsh8w

YouTube:

Window 12. Power.

Personal, yet universal. At times gradual and weak, yet akin to ´the most powerful force in the universe´. Targets a few, yet affects most. When convenient, invisible for all except one. A master key that unlocks secrets and seals fates at the speed of light.

Great power can be derived from small gestures if information is managed properly. Although puzzling at times, the principles of power in developed societies are rather simple. Ideally, the following conditions must hold:

(i) There must be no incentives for the offenders to confess their manoeuvre.
(ii) The offence must be invisible to third parties.
(iii) There must be no incentives for the victim to make the offence public.

When these principles* are respected, it is possible to enslave with impunity in democracies. In its most general form, power is merely manipulation of information. Although the principle is timeless, technology has intensified its potency, and has underlined its virtually boundless domain. As it becomes harder to imagine the aspects of our lives which are off-grid, transmission of a couple of bits of information is potentially devastating on the whole spectrum of your social being. One of the most disturbing ironies of our time, is that the generation of the ‘information age’, are ever more forced to hide behind the shoulders of giants instead of standing on them.

Without being initiated to the secrets of the illusionists, I believe it stands to reason that a good spell, trick or act of magic of a master, takes into account all contingencies. The most powerful part of the illusion is that it is one monolithic illusion and not a multitude. The good illusionist should, I presume, like Machiavelli’s wise prince, ‘seek means by which his subjects will always and in every possible condition of things have need of his government, and then ‘they will always be faithful to him’. If the illusionist fails with his main trick, he should make sure to fail in a manner devised as a second minor trick, in the spirit of Machiavelli’s wisdom.

A good illusionist survives the age of television, and the digital age of surveillance because he or she will make sure to adapt recorded history to the new format of mass-audiences and the vast networks of social media. Among the subjects, some will see the major trick, and still more the minor, and ideally none of these seemingly mutually exclusive groups will be aware of the concealed fact that they were subject to the same trick, but experienced different parts. In its general form, aided by technology, power has become a warped Cherubim, with a flaming sword, threatening in every possible direction, to keep you on the permitted path, in a predictable tree of life.

*These where postulated 2015 in order to initiate an inquiry on democracy-adapted power.

** Song of the day: Go Tell the Women by Grinderman

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6hGQJxLMEFPmW29Ii8zI2G?si=jfyfzg4JQKqrXXfQOij6Kw

YouTube: