Our Hungarian correspondent László brings a European perspective to bear on the frame of mind that makes people long for slavery.
Escaped slaves, Cumberland Landing, Va., May 1862
The Road Back to Slavery
by László
I was reading this article about the American Civil War when I saw this picture of a group of “contrabands”. The site defines the word, in the context of the Civil War, as “a term used to describe freed or escaped slaves.”
Then it struck me that while they (in the picture) are halfway out of slavery, we seem to be halfway in.
Look at the picture: how disoriented, confused, purposeless these people seem to be. I searched for more pictures and they all look the same in all of them.
Actually it’s a specific phenomenon, what I call “prisoners’ nostalgia”, popularly known from the movie The Shawshank Redemption, in which long-time prison inmates become unable to function properly in society when they finally get out of jail, and hence they kind of long for their old “home”.
I conclude that capabilities for freedom (an inner capacity) are indispensable for living in liberty (an outer condition).
So again, ex-slaves apparently go through a state of disorientation, confusion and purposelessness. They’re obviously unable to live in, and with, liberty in that state of mind and level of education and life experience.
Now, what’s happening to the people of the West? With every new generation folks are becoming increasingly more disoriented, confused, purposeless: the exact condition in which people long for slavery and captivity. The point where they give up liberty for safety.
At least that’s what I see when I look around, and this is what a recent report tells about the youth in Hungary: in general they describe themselves as disoriented, confused and purposeless.
Does the reverse process of freeing slaves also go through the stage of “contrabandism” i.e. disorientation, confusion and purposelessness? But of course it does. Today’s youth are contrabands: ready to be enslaved.
“Contrabandism” seems to be the psychological process our globalist overlords want us to go through before they enslave us. Indeed, historically speaking, totalitarian autocrats infamously take time away from people: first the collective past, then the future — so that they can own the present… of others.
We’re on the road back to [loving our] slavery.
For previous essays by László, see the László Archives.
Laszlo brings up a very interesting point.
Re: ““Contrabandism” seems to be the psychological process our globalist overlords want us to go through before they enslave us. Indeed, historically speaking, totalitarian autocrats infamously take time away from people: first the collective past, then the future — so that they can own the present… of others.”
The author’s point is quite valid and correct, but parenthetically-speaking, he fails to drop the other shoe:
Anyone, whether it is the globalists or someone else, who employs or targets such tactics against another group of people – is engaged in warfare against that group. The fact that is psychological warfare rather than the kinetic kind, for now at least, does not change this fact in the least.
For many decades now and on an ongoing basis, Europeans have been subjected to a concerted, well-planned and well-funded campaign of psychological warfare, disinformation, and brainwashing. They have been gaslighted on a massive scale.
What is the objective of such plans? The globalists mean to have worldwide government with themselves at its head, and these tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP’s in military jargon) are just some of the means by which they intend to achieve that end.
Communist Leon Trotsky famously said, not long before his death, “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you!”
The common people of Europe, and for that matter, the world, did not ask for this conflict and probably don’t want it, but as they say, here we are….
One way or another Georgia, those of white European extraction will come out swinging, especially as the European man is being pushed into a corner with nowhere to flee, his vengeance and ruthless cruelty will be sung around campfires for a thousand years. Kipling’s Poem, Beware of the Wrath of the Angry Saxon comes to mind. For in the end, To the Victors go the spoils.
https://www.qwant.com/?q=swedish+emigrants+building+hooverville+in+seattle&t=web
long for, or resigned to?
The Southern plantation owners argued that they took better care of what they owned in comparison with the wage slaves that were rented. The measurable decrease in height and intelligence of the (white) masses forced into the Dark Satanic Mills supports their claim.
Now these (white) masses are debt slaves who have already experienced death by desire. The elite uniparty has allowed a level of debt such that they now borrow money to pay the compound interest. Their money has equal worth with the Civil War-bonds when the public tried to redeem them.
The return for having an autonomous thought is physical and/or spiritual destruction for a slave. Nietzche reveals the crucial role of Christianity for the development of autonomy for the western individual, and Weber reveals how this form of autonomy underpinned the development of capitalism.
State intervention is essential for capitalism to avoid its natural development into monopolies. When Rockerfeller’s boasting revealed the Standard Oil monopoly, then it was Christian outrage that drove the political bipartisan movement to pretend to break up the company at exactly the same time as the state valued its efficient structure as a highly decisive factor in winning the war. Then it was war against totalitarianism. Now it is war against autonomy, aka eugenics. The uniparty broadcasts live its theatrical intention to break up the monopoly Technology companies but Deep State internationalism entails collaboration with their technologist facilitators. Our current techno-feudalism has largely replaced the market with the platform.
The young are serfs under the rent-collectors. At the low end the rent collectors are the baby boomers (I will not attempt the improve on the perfection that is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’s account of them). At the high end the rent-collectors are those who control the conduits (yesteryears roads and market squares) and deliver materialist sludge in return for your full personal profile. The -do no harm- rainbow google is a front for the state.
Vaclav Havel spells out that Heidegger’s conundrum is identical for the both the capitalist and communist materialistic states, and that western freedom just better hides the crisis which allows us to become more deeply immersed in it. Our slavery is based on a freedom from personal responsibility. Vaclav regards the beginnings of solution as existing outside of the structures, as re-humanising within community despite the massive energy devoted to contaminating it.
How does a monopoly develop without government intervention?
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power by Daniel Yergin is worth reading for an understanding that energy is everything – hence the petrodollar (with energy you develop technology which allows harnessing of energy such that today we can even create new elements – that is quite the feat of dematerialising). However, Standard Oil is a textbook case of monopoly and you can skim wikipedia or whatever for an overview of the development of their monopoly within 5 minutes. Apple is the most in-your-face contemporary equivalent who seemingly do not care that everybody knows that they extort the apps that they allow on the platform etc etc.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Corporations with limited personal liability were seen as potentially enormously dangerous and were only granted licence to operate under strict conditions in public interest. A reason why government is so bloated is that so much of it is devoted to controlling corporate activity, but as pharmaceutical corporations demonstrate (again) the whole regulatory process has been captured and penalties are theatre that have already been budgeted for.
Corporations obviously also allow for efficiency and accelerated development, but when they align with Deep State (as they must during economic depression where the state is the borrower and spender of last resort) then expect the same process as detailed by Mussolini.
How does a monopoly develop without government intervention?
people who want an answer to your question will have invested 5 minutes as I directed and been grateful for my effort
“I conclude that capabilities for freedom (an inner capacity) are indispensable for living in liberty (an outer condition).”
Consider Isaiah Berlin’s concept of negative freedom (the number of doors open to you) as the outer condition, and the concept of positive freedom (the ability to get up and go through one of those doors) as the inner capacity.