Brian Eno - Thoughtful facebook post (1 Viewer)

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

https://www.facebook.com/brianenomusic/posts/1543156529031866

2016/2017

The consensus among most of my friends seems to be that 2016 was a terrible year, and the beginning of a long decline into something we don’t even want to imagine.

2016 was indeed a pretty rough year, but I wonder if it’s the end - not the beginning - of a long decline. Or at least the beginning of the end….for I think we’ve been in decline for about 40 years, enduring a slow process of de-civilisation, but not really quite noticing it until now. I’m reminded of that thing about the frog placed in a pan of slowly heating water…

This decline includes the transition from secure employment to precarious employment, the destruction of unions and the shrinkage of workers’ rights, zero hour contracts, the dismantling of local government, a health service falling apart, an underfunded education system ruled by meaningless exam results and league tables, the increasingly acceptable stigmatisation of immigrants, knee-jerk nationalism, and the concentration of prejudice enabled by social media and the internet. 

This process of decivilisation grew out of an ideology which sneered at social generosity and championed a sort of righteous selfishness. (Thatcher: “Poverty is a personality defect”. Ayn Rand: “Altruism is evil”). The emphasis on unrestrained individualism has had two effects: the creation of a huge amount of wealth, and the funnelling of it into fewer and fewer hands. Right now the 62 richest people in the world are as wealthy as the bottom half of its population combined. The Thatcher/Reagan fantasy that all this wealth would ‘trickle down’ and enrich everybody else simply hasn’t transpired. In fact the reverse has happened: the real wages of most people have been in decline for at least two decades, while at the same time their prospects - and the prospects for their children - look dimmer and dimmer. No wonder people are angry, and turning away from business-as-usual government for solutions. When governments pay most attention to whoever has most money, the huge wealth inequalities we now see make a mockery of the idea of democracy. As George Monbiot said: “The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the purse is mightier than the pen”.

Last year people started waking up to this. A lot of them, in their anger, grabbed the nearest Trump-like object and hit the Establishment over the head with it. But those were just the most conspicuous, media-tasty awakenings. Meanwhile there’s been a quieter but equally powerful stirring: people are rethinking what democracy means, what society means and what we need to do to make them work again. People are thinking hard, and, most importantly, thinking out loud, together. I think we underwent a mass disillusionment in 2016, and finally realised it’s time to jump out of the saucepan. 

This is the start of something big. It will involve engagement: not just tweets and likes and swipes, but thoughtful and creative social and political action too. It will involve realising that some things we’ve taken for granted - some semblance of truth in reporting, for example - can no longer be expected for free. If we want good reporting and good analysis, we’ll have to pay for it. That means MONEY: direct financial support for the publications and websites struggling to tell the non-corporate, non-establishment side of the story. In the same way if we want happy and creative children we need to take charge of education, not leave it to ideologues and bottom-liners. If we want social generosity, then we must pay our taxes and get rid of our tax havens. And if we want thoughtful politicians, we should stop supporting merely charismatic ones. 

Inequality eats away at the heart of a society, breeding disdain, resentment, envy, suspicion, bullying, arrogance and callousness. If we want any decent kind of future we have to push away from that, and I think we’re starting to.

There’s so much to do, so many possibilities. 2017 should be a surprising year.

- Brian

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

It's interesting that he sees this as the end of a long decline and not the beginning of one

 

[MaxThreshold]

His post is great for the choir, but It's hard not to read this as another rich celebrity rant against rich people and conservatives.  I simply don't agree with any of this.

It's exactly stuff like this that gave us Trump.

 

[Eephus]

Random Eno Oblique Strategies card from here:


Discover the recipes you are using and abandon them






ETA:  ...and two more


Short circuit (If eating peas improves virility, shovel them into your pants)



Always first steps

 

[rockaction]

I also disagree with his post. If anything, Rand would have nothing to do with the politics of this year, nor would Thatcher. 

I'm not being a political poster here; it seems intellectually incoherent.  

 

[rockaction]

I rescind my previous statement, actually. If he sees Thatcherism as a long decline of globalization and globalized economy into nationalistic politics -- well, people have certainly made that case both left and right. My apologies.  

 

[baymen]

It would be interesting to see how his post is viewed through the political spectrum of the individual reader.  I have watched corporatism embraced by both sides of the aisle and hopefully this is the beginning of the end of that.  Bernie and Trump certainly tapped into protecting the working class.  Unfortunately, I believe only one of them had a sincere interest and he lost in his primary. 

 

[Binky The Doormat]

I also disagree with his post. If anything, Rand would have nothing to do with the politics of this year, nor would Thatcher. 

I'm not being a political poster here; it seems intellectually incoherent.  




 

That is Brian Eno.  Love his music though.

 

[Pipes]

Are we supposed to know who this guy is?

 

[MaxThreshold]

Are we supposed to know who this guy is?

He's a rich guy complaining about rich guys - probably because he isn't the richest one.  And he hates conservatives too.

But he did work with U2 on some of their albums so he's not terrible.

 

[Eephus]

It would be interesting to see how his post is viewed through the political spectrum of the individual reader.  I have watched corporatism embraced by both sides of the aisle and hopefully this is the beginning of the end of that.  Bernie and Trump certainly tapped into protecting the working class.  Unfortunately, I believe only one of them had a sincere interest and he lost in his primary. 

Be extravagant

That is Brian Eno.  Love his music though.

The tape is now the music

He's a rich guy complaining about rich guys - probably because he isn't the richest one.  And he hates conservatives too.

But he did work with U2 on some of their albums so he's not terrible.

Towards the insignificant

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

His post is great for the choir, but It's hard not to read this as another rich celebrity rant against rich people and conservatives.  I simply don't agree with any of this.

It's exactly stuff like this that gave us Trump.

It is interesting how you got this perspective, while baymen and rockation got totally different views.

Eno is saying exactly what the Bernie supporters and the Trump supporters have said. 

The working person is getting the short end of the deal, while the rich are making off like bandits. Surely this is something both the right and left can agree on?

 

[timschochet]

Everything merges with the night. 

 

[Henry Ford]

It would be interesting to see how his post is viewed through the political spectrum of the individual reader.  I have watched corporatism embraced by both sides of the aisle and hopefully this is the beginning of the end of that.  Bernie and Trump certainly tapped into protecting the working class.  Unfortunately, I believe only one of them had a sincere interest and he lost in his primary. 

I agree, though I think that the Trump voters, if not the candidate, wanted this.  Whether or not he ends up being that kind of President, it may signal the end of politics aimed at the economic elite.

 

[Henry Ford]

It is interesting how you got this perspective, while baymen and rockation got totally different views.

Eno is saying exactly what the Bernie supporters and the Trump supporters have said. 

The working person is getting the short end of the deal, while the rich are making off like bandits. Surely this is something both the right and left can agree on?

I think this is the big thing from this election.  What the supporters are saying rather than the candidates.  Whatever Trump ends up being, remember that some slogans that ended up winning it for him, he didn't even like until they started to get chanted (like "drain the swamp"). Real or not, a lot of people felt that their votes took some power back during this election. It looks like it will ultimately hurt this voters, but long term it may at least create new voter recruitment strategies. 

 

[cosjobs]

I think this is the big thing from this election.  What the supporters are saying rather than the candidates.  Whatever Trump ends up being, remember that some slogans that ended up winning it for him, he didn't even like until they started to get chanted (like "drain the swamp"). Real or not, a lot of people felt that their votes took some power back during this election. It looks like it will ultimately hurt this voters, but long term it may at least create new voter recruitment strategies. 

Or (gasp) lead to voters voting in their economic best interest (and the politiicians having it being able to communicate it)

 

[Apple Jack]

Revaluation (a warm feeling)

Bridges - build - burn

Turn it upside down

Cluster analysis

Honor thy error as a hidden intention

 

[trogg78]

"Ambient 2" and "Ambient 4" are my favorite albums to play in the background when I'm reading.  "More Music for films" if the book is particularly thrilling.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Was going to contribute, but max is here and tim is back. no hope -

 

[Eephus]

Was going to contribute, but max is here and tim is back. no hope -

Define an area as `safe' and use it as an anchor

 

[HellToupee]

Are we supposed to know who this guy is?

Roxy Music ftw 

 

[wikkidpissah]

Define an area as `safe' and use it as an anchor

Repetition is a form of change

 

[saintfool]

Roxy Music ftw 

still baffles me that he was with those guys. Then I listen to "Avalon" and know exactly why he bailed...