The curious thing about today’s autocrats is that it is no longer a matter of political theory, only personal greed. Trump and Musk care as much about Democracy as Putin or Xi care about Communism. It’s power, baby, disguised as theory.
You’re also describing MAGA Republican sycophants, along with even a few “Democrats,” who act on power driven self interest over the interests of democracy and their constituents. And the concept of saving democracy appears to have fallen flat with too many registered voters for the 11/05/24 election.
Anne Applebaum's most recent book," Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World," describes what global tyrants care about the most. Simply put: greed, power & self-perpetuation.
As far as I can see, a South African, who cannot run for the presidency himself, bought the White House for Trump to act as his proxy president. He is now attempting to rule the US through proxy. I for one, do not want to live in a Tech Bro Kingdom.
Make that two. And judging from the election results, more than 75 million voters agree with us. The question remains: Why did 36.1%(!) of those who were eligible *not* vote?
I was curious about the origin of "mumps", chosen as the name for that illness. Science Direct says, "The origin of the name is obscure but probably is related to the Old English verb to mump, meaning 'to sulk,' or to the Scottish verb meaning 'to speak indistinctly.'”
I was thinking along that same line. For decades our Power Elite have been in the shadows, not showing their hand. I feel that they now feel brazen enough to be overt about their intentions and come out from behind the curtain. To me, Musk represents this change, and our elites' quest for blatant fascism. Our Power Elite is showing their true colors.
Aside from writing and talking about “them” .. is there any actions that can be taken .. legally or in the fringe of legality? Maybe a series of events like he gets fired from twitter snd Tesla for dereliction of duty .. government contracts suddenly get canceled .. people see him as being so highly intelligent .. I have spent a lot of time working with engineers .. he’s smart but he is bulky smart .. as he finds good things he strips them from their owners (or developers) taking them for himself .. I think we need to cut his powers .. that comes from the money !!!
I'm not a lawyer, policy person or politician. Mump are 2 powerful and malignant men with unlimited amounts of resources including a deep bench of people like them. Both have gotten away with criming for most of their lives. To me, it seems that Merrick Garland or someone should have pulled Mump's federal contracts years ago because of his lawlessness. They didn't. The Democrats said little. The media whitewashed all of this. It almost seems where we are at was inevitable. It makes me sick.
Here is the form commonly seen in families where children are being abused: Abuser, Victim and Bystander. It is the bystander, who knows what is going on but takes no responsibility either to stop the abuse or even to acknowledge it that often most damages the soul and prospects of this child. Enslaved people, by contrast, who know they are being exploited and abused, are mentally and spiritually freer than this as they can acknowledge the reality and try to help each other. But the bystander, who chooses dishonesty and disconnection in order to “stay safe”, casts a spell of complete unconsciousness over the whole thing. Here is the invisible collaborator with the one overtly engaged in taking apart that child piece by piece in body and soul. It is that serious, yet in the eyes of the outside world, the “keepers of reality”, those in the Bystander position will escape recognition and accountability.
And beyond the experience of family, many who have succeed in climbing to the top of a profession or organization have encountered very harmful people on their way up and turned a blind eye in the service of the climb and ambition. Safety, ambition—who can now tell them apart?—as the climb ascends to the very highest position of all—evil without blame.
"But the bystander, who chooses dishonesty and disconnection in order to “stay safe”, casts a spell of complete unconsciousness over the whole thing." Well said, Cecilia! Reminds me of Moby Dick: "Posted like silent sentinels all around the town, stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed in ocean reveries." The world of unreality always threatens....
Thank you! The ocean in all its vastness and power is such a great metaphor for unconsciousness. Jung considered it the very archetype of the Unconscious—but also, metaphorically, the source for all emerging consciousness to come. Let us breathe into that!
Well, let us keep breathing, at least! You gotta wonder if the MAGA crowd is living in THEIR unconscious! Id might be worth exploring. (I didn't say that.) PG
Yes, living in a lie. Ibsen gave a central place to what he called “the vital lie”, which is what holds together many families and people instead of an honest relationship with reality.
You're absolutely right, Susan. Some of the things that the gov't privatized shouldn't have been privatized, like the space program. Musk is incorrigably corrupt. Merrick Gardland turned out to be a feckless AG. If he had moved sooner to appoint Jack Smith as a special prosecutor, maybe we wouldn't be faced with another four years of t.Rump.
Yes, it seems like the red carpet was rolled out for tRump/Musk, as nothing was done to stop their ascendancy. No adherence to the 14th Amendment , no 25th Amendment action when tRump was in office, no fake electors action. Geez! Also, the media has been sanewashing tRump for years, as if he is normal.
The one word I would use to describe Musk's ascendancy is "SCARY!!" trump is bad enough, acting as president even though he is only president-elect, but Musk is much worse. He feeds trump's quest for power. Sinister is another good word.
One can’t help wondering if Musk is just bored with Twitter and SpaceX and all that and has been looking for a shiny new toy to amuse himself. So he's picked our government.
People like Musk see things very differently than most of the rest of us. They tend to think of themselves as knowing what’s good for the rest of us.
Don’t know if you ever read Joseph Heller’s dark war comedy, Catch 22. There’s a character it, Milo Minderbinder, a USAAF pilot who runs a black market business which he calls M&M Enterprises, involving all the ways he can make money out of the war and his access to transport aircraft. At one point he actually initiates an American bomber attack on his own airfield in order to close a deal he’s made with the Germans. His motto is 'What’s good for M&M Enterprises is good for the USA'.
Yes, there are different forms and levels of the Evil Clown. Remember Prighozin’s course through the Russian power-sphere, where the archetype behind the whole thing became manifest—a salutary lesson for the rest of us.
"People like Musk see things very differently than most of the rest of us."
This is because people like Musk/tRump have no conscience, as a result of their being sociopaths. They don't care about society or the individuals in it.
That boredom you describe is common in sociopaths (ASPD). I beleive that Musk is one of these people. I also believe that he has NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder). This combination is known as malignant narcissism. This is what tRump has as well. Birds of a feather.
But I agree that art and music are extremely important in political movements. They grab people by the emotions and create solidarity. Think of the protest songs of the 1960s and the songs of the civil rights movement in same era. I'd like to see some great music and art arise for this scary moment in history.
I don’t know if we can defeat it. Defeat is not quite the right word or idea. I feel that “transform” is more the correct and helpful idea, because above all this is a work of consciousness.
Wishing you a very minimally painful recovery and happy holiday season
Yes, I second that, A.J. There is still caring and decency in the world. Thank you for passing it on.
The curious thing about today’s autocrats is that it is no longer a matter of political theory, only personal greed. Trump and Musk care as much about Democracy as Putin or Xi care about Communism. It’s power, baby, disguised as theory.
You’re also describing MAGA Republican sycophants, along with even a few “Democrats,” who act on power driven self interest over the interests of democracy and their constituents. And the concept of saving democracy appears to have fallen flat with too many registered voters for the 11/05/24 election.
Too true! Apparently having another white racist in office is more important than the survival of democracy itself.
White MALE racist!
And a lovely spot to place the standing mirror.
Anne Applebaum's most recent book," Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World," describes what global tyrants care about the most. Simply put: greed, power & self-perpetuation.
And a loving pat on the tush.
Many seem to need to be worshipped.
When the demagogue's color is orange, all the more so.
Transactional and amoral...
As far as I can see, a South African, who cannot run for the presidency himself, bought the White House for Trump to act as his proxy president. He is now attempting to rule the US through proxy. I for one, do not want to live in a Tech Bro Kingdom.
Make that two. And judging from the election results, more than 75 million voters agree with us. The question remains: Why did 36.1%(!) of those who were eligible *not* vote?
Transparent theory.
Hmm, I just don’t see it …
Tim Snyder already coined it the Mump regime (Musk+Trump+ mumps- for RFK Jr) so would Mumpism fit?
here is a link: https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-mump-regime?utm_source=substack&publication_id=310897&post_id=153416916&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=false&r=bceqv&triedRedirect=true
I was curious about the origin of "mumps", chosen as the name for that illness. Science Direct says, "The origin of the name is obscure but probably is related to the Old English verb to mump, meaning 'to sulk,' or to the Scottish verb meaning 'to speak indistinctly.'”
These billionaires do not care about the other 99% of us, they crave money and power.
Exactly!
“Money is Musk’s main weapon” … also the shared bigotry, racism and misogyny of his (intellectually) lazy followers.
Who cares about facts, about honesty—if it’s loud and sounds approximately logical, it’s true.
Elon Musk is the MAGA dream—rich, powerful, unimpeachable.
I'd call it an attempted oligarchic coup by a goblin-faced creep. We have until the end of the day to learn whether Elon bent Congress to his will.
I was thinking along that same line. For decades our Power Elite have been in the shadows, not showing their hand. I feel that they now feel brazen enough to be overt about their intentions and come out from behind the curtain. To me, Musk represents this change, and our elites' quest for blatant fascism. Our Power Elite is showing their true colors.
Aside from writing and talking about “them” .. is there any actions that can be taken .. legally or in the fringe of legality? Maybe a series of events like he gets fired from twitter snd Tesla for dereliction of duty .. government contracts suddenly get canceled .. people see him as being so highly intelligent .. I have spent a lot of time working with engineers .. he’s smart but he is bulky smart .. as he finds good things he strips them from their owners (or developers) taking them for himself .. I think we need to cut his powers .. that comes from the money !!!
I'm not a lawyer, policy person or politician. Mump are 2 powerful and malignant men with unlimited amounts of resources including a deep bench of people like them. Both have gotten away with criming for most of their lives. To me, it seems that Merrick Garland or someone should have pulled Mump's federal contracts years ago because of his lawlessness. They didn't. The Democrats said little. The media whitewashed all of this. It almost seems where we are at was inevitable. It makes me sick.
Here is the form commonly seen in families where children are being abused: Abuser, Victim and Bystander. It is the bystander, who knows what is going on but takes no responsibility either to stop the abuse or even to acknowledge it that often most damages the soul and prospects of this child. Enslaved people, by contrast, who know they are being exploited and abused, are mentally and spiritually freer than this as they can acknowledge the reality and try to help each other. But the bystander, who chooses dishonesty and disconnection in order to “stay safe”, casts a spell of complete unconsciousness over the whole thing. Here is the invisible collaborator with the one overtly engaged in taking apart that child piece by piece in body and soul. It is that serious, yet in the eyes of the outside world, the “keepers of reality”, those in the Bystander position will escape recognition and accountability.
And beyond the experience of family, many who have succeed in climbing to the top of a profession or organization have encountered very harmful people on their way up and turned a blind eye in the service of the climb and ambition. Safety, ambition—who can now tell them apart?—as the climb ascends to the very highest position of all—evil without blame.
"But the bystander, who chooses dishonesty and disconnection in order to “stay safe”, casts a spell of complete unconsciousness over the whole thing." Well said, Cecilia! Reminds me of Moby Dick: "Posted like silent sentinels all around the town, stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed in ocean reveries." The world of unreality always threatens....
Thank you! The ocean in all its vastness and power is such a great metaphor for unconsciousness. Jung considered it the very archetype of the Unconscious—but also, metaphorically, the source for all emerging consciousness to come. Let us breathe into that!
Well, let us keep breathing, at least! You gotta wonder if the MAGA crowd is living in THEIR unconscious! Id might be worth exploring. (I didn't say that.) PG
Yes, living in a lie. Ibsen gave a central place to what he called “the vital lie”, which is what holds together many families and people instead of an honest relationship with reality.
You're absolutely right, Susan. Some of the things that the gov't privatized shouldn't have been privatized, like the space program. Musk is incorrigably corrupt. Merrick Gardland turned out to be a feckless AG. If he had moved sooner to appoint Jack Smith as a special prosecutor, maybe we wouldn't be faced with another four years of t.Rump.
Yes, it seems like the red carpet was rolled out for tRump/Musk, as nothing was done to stop their ascendancy. No adherence to the 14th Amendment , no 25th Amendment action when tRump was in office, no fake electors action. Geez! Also, the media has been sanewashing tRump for years, as if he is normal.
Merry CheeseMusk everyone! Erghhh
The one word I would use to describe Musk's ascendancy is "SCARY!!" trump is bad enough, acting as president even though he is only president-elect, but Musk is much worse. He feeds trump's quest for power. Sinister is another good word.
One can’t help wondering if Musk is just bored with Twitter and SpaceX and all that and has been looking for a shiny new toy to amuse himself. So he's picked our government.
He’s adding Western Europe to the toy box. He’s posted that the Nazi party (by another name) is the only thing that can save Germany.
I assume you mean ‘save’ Germany.
The far-right party in Germany is the AdF. He's also supporting the far-right in the U.K.
I think it's about Starlink. He wants global power and is also cozying up to Putin, right?
People like Musk see things very differently than most of the rest of us. They tend to think of themselves as knowing what’s good for the rest of us.
Don’t know if you ever read Joseph Heller’s dark war comedy, Catch 22. There’s a character it, Milo Minderbinder, a USAAF pilot who runs a black market business which he calls M&M Enterprises, involving all the ways he can make money out of the war and his access to transport aircraft. At one point he actually initiates an American bomber attack on his own airfield in order to close a deal he’s made with the Germans. His motto is 'What’s good for M&M Enterprises is good for the USA'.
Sound at all familiar?
Yes, there are different forms and levels of the Evil Clown. Remember Prighozin’s course through the Russian power-sphere, where the archetype behind the whole thing became manifest—a salutary lesson for the rest of us.
"People like Musk see things very differently than most of the rest of us."
This is because people like Musk/tRump have no conscience, as a result of their being sociopaths. They don't care about society or the individuals in it.
That boredom you describe is common in sociopaths (ASPD). I beleive that Musk is one of these people. I also believe that he has NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder). This combination is known as malignant narcissism. This is what tRump has as well. Birds of a feather.
A few weeks ago I saw the new Gladiator 2 movie. I saw Denzel Washington’s character as the Elon Musk of Caesars court.
Another movie starring Bill Murray, “Aloha” has a Muskesque character.
A third is Don’t Look up.
Not sure, but I think art should help bring more people up to speed as to what is happening.
I'll probably never see those movies.
But I agree that art and music are extremely important in political movements. They grab people by the emotions and create solidarity. Think of the protest songs of the 1960s and the songs of the civil rights movement in same era. I'd like to see some great music and art arise for this scary moment in history.
Oh, Planet of the Apes from the 1960’s and Solnit Green franchise n the 70’s…
Definitely.
The United States is experiencing a Paramonetary Coup and an unexpectedly abrupt transition of power. Very alarming.
Excellent description. Well put and absolutely terrifying.
I call it rendering the legislative branch impotent.
Hostile takeover is very close, but with the baggage of commerce. Maybe hostile executive displacement to install a plutocratic kleptocracy?
The pathologically wealthy are able to capture governments.
With awareness and solidarity we can defeat this corrupt power.
I don’t know if we can defeat it. Defeat is not quite the right word or idea. I feel that “transform” is more the correct and helpful idea, because above all this is a work of consciousness.