"We are simply, dramatically stupid": An Interview with Manfred Max-Neef

Chilean economist Manfred Max-Nee gave a fascinating interview with Amy Goodman yesterday which should be closely listened to. Two observations he made really struck me:

"We have reached a point in our evolution in which we know a lot. We know a hell of a lot. But we understand very little. Never in human history has there been such an accumulation of knowledge like in the last 100 years. Look how we are. What was that knowledge for? What did we do with it? And the point is that knowledge alone is not enough, that we lack understanding."


"We are simply, dramatically stupid. We act systematically against the evidences we have. We know everything that should not be done. There’s nobody that doesn’t know that. Particularly the big politicians know exactly what should not be done. Yet they do it."
Check it out:

(PART 2)

Transcript:  

“The wise understand by themselves; fools follow the reports of others”-Tibetan Proverb


Be Guided


::MixMasterE::

Musings

“Night, the beloved. Night, when words fade and things come alive. 

When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important

Becomes whole and sound again. 

When man reassembles his fragmentary self

..and grows with the calm of a tree...”

OneLove


:::::MixMaster E::::::

Dangerous Distractions

Celebrity culture is a cancer to the living soul. Not a day passes when we are not drenched in the lifestyles of the priveleged celebrity--where they vacation, what car(s) they drive, their palatial mansion(s), their position on Forbes Wealthiest or their latest multi-million scheme. The Celebrity has become a Demi-God. When they cry, we cry. When they die, we mourn. With some thought, one should question the utter bullshit of it all. .

Millions of dollars are spent on studying & altering human behavior towards controllable & profitable ends for a select few at the expense of the bamboozled many. From as early as the 1920s, it was evident that perceptions & opinions could be manipulated by using the subconscious.Hence, we have today the socially-engineered herd behaviour of 'preferring' certain brands, ideologies or the lastest flavor of the month (Lady Gaga, Vans clothing line, Kindle 3G eReader, etc). We blindly think that the choices are ours to make without recognizing the deeper forces at play.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, income inequality is at record levels, the poor citizens of this Earth getting poorer, sicker & more exploited every day and the ecosystem is under severe disress with the now prevailing opinion that we have reached an irreversible point putting us all in jeopardy. One can surmise that the powerful commercial interests (& the politicians they buy) are hell-bent on keeping us close-minded, depoliticized and indifferent to the chaos.It's good for business.

This is where the antics of the slavish artist comes in. Where the downfall of a politician or businessman grabs the spotlight. Where the latest curvacious model or entertainer steals the show. Where the latest infidelity of the deified  entertainer/athlete/businessman takes center stage...and so it goes....This constant flow of decontextualized fluff filling the air and rendering us mute & defanged (well, that is the aim). Those who control the media know exactly what they are doing.

Governments notoriously misappropiate & squander money as the politicians have to pay off the rich donors who sponsored them in the first place, so nothing short of taking it to the streets will ever change this unsavory paradigm. It's funny how money becomes available for some bank bailout or how the US government can spend more than half a trillion dollars on military expenditures annually, but will get bent out of shape to invest more for education, environmental management/sustainability or unemployment benefits. What a racket! It's the biggest con in the world! The world can be teetering on the brink of destruction but the profiteers will still draw your blood.

This is why I find this celebrity culture so loathesome & dangerous--we are entertaining ourselves to death as Neil Postman wisely observed. Our minds have been hijacked & led away from what is real & vital . We have been primed to buy the latest gadget, fashion or vehicle while Rome burns. Jay-Z can make Forbes list & buy Beyonce an exclusive island for $20 million yet the folks in his hometown of Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York) suffer from the highest poverty rates, high school drop-outs, hunger & homicides in the region.That $20 million sure could have done a lot of good in Bedford-Stuyvesant instead of it being wasted on some over-rated diva. This is part of the the danger that besieges us.....

Be Guided.

:::MixMaster E::::

Don't Give Up

Something has gone terribly wrong. We can all feel it...No need to elaborate.One thing that remains glaringly obvious to me about our journey here on this beautiful blue orb is our capacity to endure the most onerous circumstances yet hold on to the flimsiest threads of hope. This impulse seems as natural as the air we breathe & is arguably what has allowed us to still be here as a species.

Herbie Hancock's latest masterpiece, 'The Imagine Project', is a masterful, cross-cultural, transpersonal gumbo which I enjoyed thoroughly. 'Don't Give Up' is the best cut on the album, in my opinion.It captures the pulse of our collective nature & provides the soundtrack to the teeming, suffering humanity looking for that silver lining...

Be Guided.

::MIXMASTER E:::