Saturday, October 13, 2007

[freedom] principles of motivation

The first principle to be internalized is that no one is free and it is an illusion to think we are. As Janis Joplin sang in the song by Kristofferson [who incidentally has had some grave charges laid against him by some suspect and yet hitherto undebunked sources vis a vis deprivation of people's freedom]:

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

Only those with nothing are free, as Alexander Solzhenitzyn noted, in the First Circle, 1968:

…when you've robbed a man of everything, he's no longer in your power - he's free again …

Lenin cynically stated, :

Liberty is precious - so precious that it must be rationed.

We are all in thrall, every last one of us but the western myth of personal freedom has gripped us from the beginning and as it is intergenerationally preached as being the case, to state the contrary is met with resistance.

The Christian is in thrall to the redemptive possibility of Jesus, the businessman to his partner or potential partner, the shopkeeper to his customer, the employee to his firm or educational institution, the scientist to his research grant, the child to the parent, the parent to the child.

If you doubt this, then openly go outside parameters acceptable to the patron for some time and observe the result. I myself am in thrall to two powers, one non-temporal and one temporal and both require certain unpaid sacrifices to be made, certain community service, if you like, in order to enjoy continued patronage.

The second principle is patronage itself and that's the true reality of life. In Russia, they have a word for it - krisha - and the quality of your krisha determines the quality of your daily life.

This principle of patronage is the root cause of the trouble besetting us because your patron has power over us in proportion to our perception of the need for that patronage. If that patronage appears to be for nefarious ends, as in the case of Common Purpose, then the only way to get people to go along with it is either through the promise of spoils in the new order or through fear and subjugation.

The third principle is that patronage increases its hold more firmly, the higher we rise, the greater the carrot and the further we can fall if we lose it. It becomes more critical to please our masters and is tied in with ambition which becomes more intense and yet ever more sublimated into vague notions of helping the common good. John Buchan, Chapter 1:

… they struck a bigger thing than money, a thing that couldn't be bought, the old elemental fighting instincts of man. If you're going to be killed you invent some kind of flag and country to fight for, and if you survive you get to love the thing …

It has always been so and nowhere in here are heard the words "selfless love", except as abstract ideas.

The fourth principle is the intrinsic fear of loss of patronage or even of punishment. From the babe in arms fearing his mother's withdrawal of a loving smile after the first experience of it or a man fearing his lover's disdain, should he fail to meet her expectations, to the rising young employee fearing to put a foot wrong and taking courses of action on his own initiative to score brownie points - fear of loss of patronage is a powerful motivator.

The fear of punishment is an adjunct to the loss of patronage and works perfectly under the post-Skinner model of trauma based subjugation techniques - no one would contemplate for one second falling so far.

The fifth principle is to come to love or worship an abstract idea, an imagined principle [cause] or a temporary material acquisition, e.g. the EU blueprint for society or our next car and to order our life so that it achieves our desired result - it's of a higher order in people's minds than selfless love, outside our immediate family. Credit debt is a powerful reinforcer of this principle.

It's infinitely more powerful if we've never had a counter-principle in our life, either from our parents or school lessons - moral values were once not so much taught as generally accepted as the best basis for society but are now referred to by Google first page articles as:

... their attempt to impose a particular set of values on all students ...

whilst referring to the dearth of a moral or spiritual basis in schools as "rational". The now-suppressed counter principle of love or service to our fellow man exists only as an abstract concept, devoid of practical form beyond the collection tin or benefit concerts.

We read of selfless people like Burmese monks but it's always too far removed from our experience. We sign petitions, an easy thing to do. We blog.

Click pic to read the new abstract. "If we want to", "they have to" - a minor point but quite indicative language.

25 comments:

  1. Correct. Even when you know what non-attachment is about, it's so difficult. But we can partly achieve it in different ways - a bit of giving and forgiving, "seeing the funny side".

    "If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly."

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was hoping you'd come in, Sackerson because, mong others, I value yours and Wolfie's opinions highly.

    By the way, I'll be over later. RL conference planning for the bulk of today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. James,

    Late to the party, methinks.

    I was quite taken with anons comments (service transformation) and went looking. Now if this is old news point me to the post otherwise:

    In 2006, Julia(Middleton) founded the Media Standards Trust... which states...We receive support in kind (office space and IT support) from Common Purpose.

    http://www.mediastandardstrust.org/home.aspx

    STB.

    ReplyDelete
  4. STB.

    Yes we're all late to the party !

    Given the names involved, their affiliations, etc, etc, I do not at first glance, view it with equanimity.
    In fact it will probably adopt a position in opposition to free blogging, and push for ID of bloggers, wrest control of the allocation of domain names and directories from existing holders, marginalise bloggs such as these as a prelude to the criminalisation of
    a)certain bloggs
    b)certain statements
    c) etc.
    Kepi Blanc, (I think that's his name) (Brussels Journal and Fjordman ilk)has blogged on this for some time in relation to some rather alarming EU moves in the direction of controlling the WWWW.
    This is scum middletons/left wing, well funded reaction to bloggers investigations of EU, CP, etc, in general and will attempt to create a groundswell, and personalities, to push for such control.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh!
    Middleton starts Media Standards Trust.
    They issue this release

    All about this
    and theirprogramms

    Wikipedia gives us this, and in the second para explaines
    This about the Genius Grants
    Tab down to find the recipients of these grants.

    Also mentioned in the news release is the "Web Science Research Initiative"
    Which clearly states that it is based at Southampton University, UK.
    Southampton and Common Purpose are involved

    The News Release from WSRI should be read very carefully.

    Also This need careful reading

    Quite bland?

    The second para gives the 4 directors and the asist director.
    Tim Berners-Lee
    Wiki gives this POWERFUL INDEED.

    Wendy Hall gives this More power.

    Nigel Shadbolt More info of group capabilities
    Well ,you get the picture.

    NOW GET THIS.

    Here is The ex Director of policy at No. 10, one of the main architects of all the crap we are looking at, The arch villain, Geoff Mulgan, spouting on the very subject!!!!

    Now the rules of the MacArthur Foundation say it only deals in the US, which is puzzling.

    What is obvious is that this development, as the previous commenter said, is ominous, to say the least.

    Between the many recipient names, the UNI names, and the villainous names,this gives a starter for ten, for the weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anon,

    Heh, heh. I write a reply, post it and tada! It disappears!

    Thanks for the new links but they'll have to wait until tomorrow.

    Have a good Saturday all,

    STB.

    ReplyDelete
  7. "The Media Standards Trust, chaired by Sir David Bell (Chairman of the Financial Times), is a new, independent not-for-profit organisation working to foster high standards in news"

    Sir David Bell is Common Purpose!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gosh, you are getting deeper and deeper, James. I agree with most of this wonderful philosohical post: I once had a friend who said that "every possession is a new stress" because we are afraid of losing it and it is true that a lot of relationships have fear of "loss" of what de Beauvoir called "the other" at their core.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is indeed wonderful stuff and I'll start following up links tomorow and trying to collate a few things. It's bit of a job at this second just typing this.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Plenty of action here

    And some charts here

    But they must be updated to show "Internet Moves" of Media Standards Trust, per scotstoryb.

    And I also believe that all Mulgans structures should be in there, as he appears to be planning and conducting the orchestra.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks like your CP story is set to run and run. Has anyone / will anyone set up a dedicated blog, to watch CP and help them to keep their heads down and mind their own business?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Concerning the EU control of the internet DNS
    This gives an overview.

    The kepiblanc that I recalled reading was in the form of a quoted email, and went into technical detail concerning HOW the EU, once it had control, would manipulate the DNS to effectively neuter blogging.

    Given the published intent of the EU, one can only hope that messrs. Berners-les, wendy hill, Nigel Shadbolt, Daniel J Weitzner, and J Hendlier, are not so gullible as to fall for the no-doubt filth coming from Mulgan, and the, no doubt, large bribes, and more international ego building speaking opportunities that will be arriving on their doormat.

    Referring back to the previous link from the ZD net Asia, Tim Berners-Lee said. "Because it's something we created, we have a duty to make it better."
    and "We want to throw some light on forecasting what these new technologies might lead to in the human sense, in the community sense--and in the business," said Wendy Hall,
    and "Social scientists can help analyze online communities, and experts in life sciences can help Web scientists understand how complex systems like the human body--or the Web--operate", she said.
    When I see phrases like these, coming from computer scientists, I worry that they have indeed been infected by the "EU Speak, and above mentioned" cancers !!

    Several commenters have seemed positive that the EU control is already established.

    Any links, anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  13. You gotta laugh at the members of the, ere, ahem, Like Minded Group

    Brazil, along with Iran, Cuba, China and others has created an impromptu "Likeminded Group" at the PrepCom3 meeting in Geneva that has continually insisted on the removal of US control.

    Now there's a nice group of open societies for the EU to emulate!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Malloch-Brown.

    inspirational honesty!, I think not

    More

    The story luridly painted — with only one or two honourable exceptions — is that Wolfowitz, the President of the World Bank, covertly engineered a plum job at the State Department for his girlfriend Shaha Riza, until then a Bank employee, with a stonking pay increase. The truth of the matter, however, is that faced with an obvious conflict of interest he asked to be removed from Ms Riza’s case altogether — but his request was turned down by the bank’s ethics committee (sic), which itself advised him that she should leave the bank and be compensated for this blow to her career.

    In other words, in this respect Wolfowitz behaved honourably; the Bank itself was responsible for Ms Riza’s promotion but chose to smear Wolfowitz — who has been campaigning against corruption at the Bank — by claiming falsely that this was the outcome of his secret machinations.

    The first link, above, by Claudia Rosett mentions outrageous UN corruption all around the globe, on Malloch Browns watch.
    Yet In 2006, ostensibly for his services to Britain, Sir Mark Malloch-Brown was made a Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George — a KCMG — by the queen of England….The son of a South African diplomat, Mark Brown was born and grew up in Zimbabwe (when it was known as Rhodesia), was educated in England at Marlborough College and took a history degree at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
    (Hmm, Zimbabwe born and raised, and the UN is diamond smuggling there.....)

    He now lives with his wife, Patricia (‘Trish’ to George Soros and other friends), who is a vice chairman of Refugees International, and their four children in a five-bedroom house on a near-five-acre estate in Katonah, in upstate New York. The estate belongs to George Soros, who charges Mark $10,000 a month rent, some $5,000 less than a previous tenant.
    I have every confidence that the abilities and contacts that this, "gentleman" can bring to the Gorgon cabinet will be well used.

    Claudia Rosett has her own blog if anyone is interested. Professionally, she covers the UN and related matters.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anon said: "They issue this release"

    ...Web 3.0 – characterized by more transparency, accountability and higher standards...

    In other words, let us know who you are so we can have you on file.

    Sackerson - you have a point, of course that they'll only keep their heads down now they're being talked about in certain sections of the community.

    On the other hand, without this, people would not be aware of anything happening at all.

    I don't see that there is any need for me to comment on all the links in these three posts, which lead in turn in many directions. I'm doing some of my own ferreting as well.

    While this thing can be construed as Nu Lab dirty deeds, the right of centre will happily go along with any dirt dug up.

    Left of centre - well it's their natural metier anyway to dig the dirt on a government so though the two sides will not agree on anything else, we can at least be fellow pilgrims for the nonce on this.

    What Common Purpose does not need is an Usmanov type blowout and while my blog seems to have become one of the fora, there's little chance of it reaching a wider readership.

    But you know how these things work. Two heavy bloggers e-mailed me about it as well and if they choose to run it, well, their readers will too and so on.

    If Common Purpose are as squeaky clean as they like to make out, then they couldn't have any objection to a healthy and robust debate [although so far I haven't seen too much actual debate].

    Maybe CP don't see the need to answer - let the little people do their yapping for now cause the spoils are already in the pipeline and there ain't nothin' gonna stop them [so they think].

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anon 10:18, Malloch Brown.

    Let me get this straight.

    Is this your saying?

    Malloch Brown at his job was an inside man for Soros, and aided in his management of his various "funds", with "knowledge"?

    Wolfowitz was sorting out the corruption, so a coup was engineered to get rid of Wolfowitz?

    Malloch Browns reward was an appointment to fund management by Soros, and a knight-hood in the UK by an EU and others anxious to be rid of Wolfowitz?

    Both Soros, and Wolfowitz are Bilderbergers
    I thought these guys didn't disagree.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Simon, they often disagree - that's how they hone their fighting skills, like cats sharpening their claws. This lot cut their teeth on power games and it runs in the blood.

    There are specific examples, even today from my little country.

    I can believe that of Wolfowitz easily. These people do operate by a set of rules - it's just that the rules get elastic when it gets difficult.

    This thing is an intercontinental power game and Wolfowitz was in the middle. But don't forget about us over here and that little country China a short ways along after that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. "This thing is an intercontinental power game"
    I agree.
    And how!

    This has been one of my points from the beginning.

    1)The gradual coalescence into power blocks can't be avoided. The acquisition of increasingly scarce resources more or less guarantees that. - Iraq, Iran, etc, and soon, water, and food.

    BUT
    2)The nature of the power block that we are being driven towards is a "failed state" in the real world. A failed concept built on false premises.

    Even if a halt is called NOW (and there are ways) it will take probably 5 years minimum to remove all the cancer cells, against strong resistance.

    If we fail to halt it before the "signing", I fear this place will "not be to my liking".
    And the situation will take anywhere from 50yrs to 75yrs before rectification, with many lives, much poverty, along the way.

    And I'm angry. My country, Our country, My rights, Our rights, My standard of living, Our standard of living, My philosophies, Our philosophies, My family's future, Your families future, My aspirations, Your aspirations, - are being pissed away by a selection of............................. you fill in the gap.
    And they are too fucking power mad to stop.
    Their policies deny the aspirations of millions, whatever mind bending methods they use, thats why they fail. Always.
    Other evolving power blocks, however corrupt, play to normal human aspirations.
    Take the human genome sequencing.
    Govt funded bodies worked for years, and achieved bugger-all.
    When private money and expertise got involved, via NASDAQ, and inspirational programming, it was done in months.
    The real world, away from theories, abounds with examples. This evolving, emerging, power block is already on its knees, sinking under the weight of its own internal inconsistencies, and the systemic levels of corruption.

    So, what to do?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Simon.
    You have to remember that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will disappear under the EU Constitution, with Brussels dealing with Foreign affairs, policy, and overseas embassies. In all probability, the Senior official concerned will be the one relocating to Brussels in 2010.
    Same rule would apply to International Development, another area that will lose out to Brussels.
    So who will relocate?
    Malloch-Brown, or Milliband, or both?
    Is Malloch-Brown to be another non-elected free-loader?

    ReplyDelete
  20. In answer to parliamentary questions:-

    Derek Twigg, (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Veterans), Ministry of Defence) | Hansard source

    Sums paid to Common Purpose UK in each of the last complete five financial years, inclusive of VAT, are as follows:

    Amount (£)

    2002-03 56,576.25

    2003-04 66,716.50

    2004-05 42,958.00

    2005-06 58,456.27

    2006-07 83,817.89

    "These payments covered the cost of participation by MOD staff in Common Purpose UK's training and education programmes. Programmes of this nature help to develop leadership skills, to gain understanding about broader aspects of government and to share experience with and learn from participants from both the private and public sectors."

    These are huge sums of money for the military to be trained in political leadership skills.?? Unless of course we consider that when the new EU Constitution kicks in there will be the need for a lot of police and military back to keep the disenfranchised voters in line!!!!!

    With that in mind, consider these two links
    The first from the BBC concerning the purchase by the SOUTH WEST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, OF RAF Coltishall, 12 miles north of NORFOLK

    That is strange.

    Why would the South West Regional Development Agency, centred in the most Common Purpose infested area of the UK, purchase land up in Norfolk??

    Well, speculate no more.

    Norfolk County Council, in June, 2005 Discussed using the services of a Graduate
    Placement to help drive the Action Plan forward. Members welcomed
    the report and emphasised the need for a sound regeneration policy
    and for this to be high priority particularly in the light of recent closures
    e.g. Crane Fruehauf, Heinz Foods, RAF Coltishall and RAF
    Neatishead.


    Graduate Placement to help drive the action plan forward!
    Common Purpose speak.

    Now, Partnered with the South West Regional Development Agency, is THIS AGENCY, which has a pedigree that we have come to distrust, given its funding origins, and the net result is that this entire purchase seems to come from the ODPM !!!!!

    So what exactly is going on here?

    Common Purpose training the military.
    ODPM front organisations buying ex Military land.

    Any Guesses?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Does Soros get another ear into the EU corridors of power, if Malloch Brown relocates?

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm a little late adding to this post but have a look at this:

    http://www.sbac.co.uk/community/cms/content/preview/news_item_view.asp?i=11236&t=0

    You might find it interesting with regards to the RAF base.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Sorry however I also forgot to add that it has also been investigated for use as an "Immigration detention centre".

    Quote wiki:

    "The station was briefly handed over to Defence Estates who were to handle the disposal of the site, but the Home Office stepped in during January 2007 and in early February earmarked the site for use as an immigration detention facility."

    and from the Beeb

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/6331983.stm

    ReplyDelete

Comments need a moniker of your choosing before or after ... no moniker, not posted, sorry.