Transition periodsare by definition periods in which one system of thinking is replaced by another system. That's why everything from fashion and architecture to science and commerce looks so different from one era to another.
This means that if we're currently in a transition period, we should see evidence of the old system falling apart and the new system emerging. The old will be easily recognisable due to the fact that it's a continuation of something that's been around for decades. However, the new may not be all that easy to see, at least not to start with, because it has no past. It's not clearly defined. It's an emerging thing, and it can be changed while it develops. It may even be controlled. There's certainly a lot of effort being currently spent on a controlled transition from the 20th to the 21st century.
The Great Reset is frequently being mentioned as the inevitable transition. Seen from the perspective of those currently in power, this is the desired outcome, and hence it's presented as both inevitable and desirable to the masses. However, it looks and feels like more of the same. It's a progressive idea, where the elite manages everything, precisely the way things have been throughout the 20th century. The Great Reset is not a change from the old, but a continuation of it, and this can be clearly seen by the way it's already failing on its promise of sustainable growth.
The new cannot be a mere continuation. It must either be a return to something that existed in a previous era, or something completely untried and untested. As such, radical liberty may be the way of the future. A system of little to no state authority would certainly be a change from the current authoritarian progressivism. But there is very little evidence for this at the moment. The overwhelming majority of people are still very much in favour of expert advice as public policy. If radical liberty is in our future, it's still a long way off.
Looking around, we see evidence of systemic decay. There's a restlessness and sense of futility. Nothing is real. Everything is just a game, and there's no consequences for bad behaviour. But reality is about to poke a finger in our eyes. People in Texas and Germany have had some cold days. There's all sorts of nasty things on the horizon. The current era has run its course. Collapse seems inevitable, and something new must therefore take its place, even if deeply unpopular with a large portion of the population.
Change rarely comes about by popular demand. Radical changes force themselves onto people. The people behind these changes are always a minority, and their popularity is not an issue. The 20th century was engineered in large part by a handful of men on Jekyll Island back in 1913. That's clear evidence that great changes don't require popular backing.
The transition from 19th century liberty to 20th century progressivism was swift and visionary. The engineers knew exactly what they wanted and how to get it. Once the transition was in place, they let their plan grow organically into what we have today.
One year after their meeting at Jekyll Island, there was a great war financed through central banking. After this exhausting experience, people were ready for the state to take on more control. The welfare state was born together with the new financially leveraged warfare state. The transition took no more than five years, and its continuation has lasted until now. However, the system is very much in decay. The fourth horseman of central banking is knocking on our door.
The transition from 18th century monarchy to 19th century liberty was much less coordinated. In some places like England, the transition was largely one of inconvenience due to the Napoleonic wars. The English didn't depose their king. They kept all the old institutions. The changes were subtle. But the effect of these changes were far reaching. In the US, there was a swift revolution with similar far reaching consequences. But in France, the financial and cultural hub of the world at the time, things got positively wild. The transition period as a global phenomenon lasted from 1776 in the US until 1820s in places like Portugal and Spain. A whopping 44 years.
The engineered transition into progressivism lasted five years while the more uncontrolled transition to liberty lasted 44 years before coming into full global effect. Assuming that we're headed towards liberty once again, we're more likely to see the sort of length transition, much resisted by the elite, that happened in France at the end of the 18th century than the quick transition that happened in the US at the beginning of the 20th century. We're not going to get the swift reset that the elite is hoping for. We're going to get a messy revolution, and it will be particularly messy at the financial and cultural centres of the world. Washington DC, New York, London and Paris will be hotbeds of unrest going forward.
As a reminder, the French Revolution ushered in seven years of political and economic chaos under the first republic, followed by fifteen years of war and turbulence under Napoleon. Something similar may well happen this time around with progressivism first going into hyper-drive, followed by years of military overreach. Only when all this turmoil comes to an end will we be firmly into the next era. Hopefully, it will be one in which civility and common sense is once again the order of the day.
 |
| Execution of Robespierre |
By Unknown author - This image comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID btv1b6950750j, Public Domain, Link
No comments:
Post a Comment