Re: <nettime> England leaves Europe

[John Hopkins <jhopkins@neoscenes.net>]

On 26/Jun/16 10:50, Brian Holmes wrote:
> The ruse of History exists, and with it, all possibilities for speculation.
> Britain as piloted by its ruling classes through all kinds of reversals and
> shifts has always been able to draw a new figure of imperial power from the
> accumulated reserve of past experience. Shaxson's core idea that the "treasure
> islands" of transnational finance represented a bid by postwar elites to
> organize a new system of plunder after military decline is brilliant. Who can
> doubt that a new and as yet unthinkable attempt will be made to hoist the old
> ways to new strategic heights?

I dunno, Brian -- the 'ruse of History' -- it's clear that humans repeatedly 
behave in very certain and predictable ways -- competition for resources, 
killing, well ... Machiavelli and Sun Tzu would have long ago been forgotten if 
the predictablilty and stultifying repetitiveness of History wasn't gradually 
apparent as one spends more and more years on the planet.

I'm not quite sure what you mean with 'ruse' unless it is simply the fact that 
we are all unable to escape that denial of reality called 'hope': paraphrasing 
Paul Valéry, that 'hope is only man's mistrust of the clear foresight of his 
mind.' Pragmatism and critical thinking, brought by life experience and/or  rare 
educational contexts is in increasingly short supply. So we segue back to the 
doom of repetition of the old ways. Again. The 'newness' of the strategic 
heights is only that the myopia, minute attention spans, and unprincipled 
edutainment of the population makes the same old shit smell sweet -- or, makes 
the smell of shit a novelty not experienced since the last bowel movement which 
was, when?

So it goes.

Here in small-town-right-wing(nut) Arizona, I will go to 'the world's oldest 
rodeo' on Tuesday next to record audio, and make portraits at the 4th of July 
parade a week from Monday. I will report back. The last time I did the 
portraits, a few years back

http://tech-no-mad.net/blog/archives/45754

I came close to being roughed up by a group of white-haired veterans who angrily 
asked whether I was "from the New York Times"... this was after sitting opposite 
Sen. John McCain at a pancake breakfast that morning and thinking the whole time 
'thank-fucking-god he didn't become president!'

Any words I should share with him next week? Like, "You've got the principles of 
a (fill in the blank)."

jh



--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dr. John Hopkins, BSc, MFA, PhD
grounded on a granite batholith
twitter: @neoscenes
http://tech-no-mad.net/blog/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



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