“If you don’t vote you have no right to complain, If you do vote it’s your fault” – el Loco Gringo
There is a word in German that has no English equivalent. Zeitgeist means the essence of society in the way that psyche means the essence of the individual. In the paleolithic the zeitgeist of society was the alpha male and the subservients. Picture Charlie Chimp on the savannah. The alpha male provided guidance, coherence, direction and tranquility within the tribe. Hopefully he was centered (not an asshole), If he wasn’t he was killed and another took his place. There was a target for dissatisfaction. This is the zeitgeist our psyche has evolved to thrive in. Picture Indians with the chief and warriors. The “tribes” had a loose affiliation in “nations” but the power resided within the “chief”. Those who didn’t fit in formed bands, on the periphery of society. As they grew they would form their own tribes. Maximum size of a tribe was about 150 men with the excess spun off into bands. The loyalty is to the chief and through him to the tribe. This is the zeitgeist that is superimposed on our present society.
AHA!!! you may say, what about religion, military, politics and various other idiologies which can have millions of members.
Ok lets look at them;
Religion > grouped into churches. Much after the 150 member limit they become dysfunctional.
Military > grouped into companies. Much after the 150 member limit they become dysfunctional.
Politics > I rest my case
We can only deal with about 150 individuals at a time, the excess become “outsiders”, and we are left with “gaming the system”. The result of this is that we have no tribe to be loyal to, and have become “rogues”, seeking a fulfillment we can never achieve.”
For man to achieve his full potential either the psyche of the individual or the zeitgeist of society must be changed. See Atenolol dreams
“I here submit the concept of a multidimensional balance of human life which can serve as a framework for evaluating man’s relation to his tools. In each of several dimensions of this balance it is possible to identify a natural scale. When an enterprise grows beyond a certain point on this scale, it first frustrates the end for which it was originally designed, and then rapidly becomes a threat to society itself. These scales must be identified and the parameters of human endeavors within which human life remains viable must be explored.” – Ivan Illich
Zeitgeist
A German language expression literally translated: Zeit, time; Geist, spirit, meaning “the spirit of the age and its society”. The word zeitgeist describes the intellectual, cultural, ethical and political climate, ambience and morals of an era (similar to the English word “mainstream”) or also a trend. In German, the word has more layers of meaning than the English translation, including the fact that Zeitgeist can only be observed for past events. ”We must become the change we want to see in the world”. -Mohandas Gandhi.
Fluid social change can only materialize if two circumstances are met. One, the human value system, which consists of our understandings and beliefs, must be updated and changed through education and thoughtful introspection. Two, the environment surrounding that value system must change to support the new world view. The interaction between a person’s value system and their environment is what influences human behavior.
For example, in our culture, “ethics” is really is a matter of degree, for our social system promotes and rewards competition and self-interest. This perspective doesn’t just “lead” to aberrant behavior… it creates it directly. Corruption is the norm in our society and most people do not see this, for since the society supports this behavior, it is considered right and normal… or as a matter of degree.
Given this understanding, there is a fallacy that has emerged where certain groups are deemed “corrupt” and everyone else is “good”. This is the age old “us and them” world view which has no basis empirically, for it is, again, all a matter of degree.
For example, there is a large movement of people who constantly talk about “The New World Order” and this notion that there is an elite group of people who have been trying to take over the world for a long time and have manipulated society in various ways to further their goals.
This, of course, is true to a certain extent.
BUT, the failure of awareness is that this “group” is not a group at all. It is a tendency.
If you took out all the people at the top who are engaged in global hegemonic rule, it would simply be a matter of time before another group stepped in to seek the same ambition. Therefore, it isn’t the individual people or groups that are the problem. It is actually the conditions upon which those people have been accustomed and indoctrinated by. Of course, many argue against this view with the escapist notion that it is “human nature” that causes this competition and need for dominance. This is unsupported by the facts. In reality, we are nearly clean slates when we are born and it is our environment that shapes who we are and how we behave.
Therefore, in order for TRUE change to occur, we must spend less time battling the products of this sick social structure and more time trying to change the root causes. As difficult and daunting as it may be to think this way, it is the only way our world will change for the better.
We can continue to stomp on the ants coming out from under the refrigerator, but until we remove the spoiled food behind it, they are just going to keep coming.
http://thezeitgeistmovement.com/
