Sunday, February 06, 2005

a definition of sorts.

im still only learning about technocracy through random events. its difficult to pin it down to one thing and say “there! theres a definition of whats happening”, because it seems to be such a huge sprawling mess! but since its something that seems really important for us to discuss and keep being aware of, im going to try to put down what i understand about the technocracy. here goes...

first, it works on the principle that all life can be reduced to mere technology, until life without technology seems impossible. from being the creators of tools, we seem to have become their slaves. according to the system, we have it all figured out. our lives are programmed to a t. if youre unhappy, thats because youre a misfit - theres something wrong with you, its not the system that doesnt work. quietly, we are learning through various studies that technology isnt all its cranked out to be. growing up with machines is dehumanising. the current lifestyle where you pledge your soul to a corporate for your livelihood really doesnt work.

second, the key to the system is in communication. all conditioning is through constant bombardment with tailored messages. but communication is also the key to fighting the system. to avoid mass media, yet to be able to communicate with enough people is the challenge we face - mass media is controlled by and its priorities dictated by the system again.

third. the system recruits you to be blind. dont ask questions - only an expert will understand these matters. so whos an expert. someone whos certified. who gives the certification. authorised bodies. who authorises the institutions. the system. so whos the certified expert who can speak with authority against the system? nobody.

fourth. for some reason, for all the problems we face with our lives under this technocractic system, sex seems to be touted as the solution. look at media culture. i dont understand it at all .... life is about more and more orgiastic sex? life is about how much sex you can buy and how obscenely you can get it? maybe this guy has found something – it seems a start of sorts.

"America does not know the difference between money and sex. It treats sex like money because it treats sex as a medium of exchange, and it treats money like sex because it expects its money to get pregnant and reproduce." Peter Kreeft, "How to Win the Culture War".

especially where women are concerned, the system has just manipulated them. with this orgiastic approach to sex, and the concept that sex can be bought and the person objectified, the sexual revolution just hasnt happened. from being unable to say yes, we are now unable to refuse to have sex. that too combined with the kind of hegemony that technocracy supports, equality seems a distant dream. for example, when i spoke to some prostitutes some time back for an intervention program they were saying that fair people in prostitution get paid much better because customers want people who look like "those phoren stars on tv". one of the oldest forms of discrimination being ably sold and kept alive by different media. the boom in the porn industry, and its increasing absorption into diverse media to reach younger audiences is really worrying....

in fact these women were saying that affluent school kids pose serious competition though they take up prostitution for just more pocket money. again, technology manipulates and creates a pecking order even in this – these kids operate more freely because they use cell phones and the net to set up liaisons with prospective clients. with a totally warped start like this, do you see any of them ever growing up to recognise and question the worth of a system which hurts so many for the whims of a few? will they ever reject its dictate that you can succeed only by displacing others and marginalising those who dont “fit in”? because the way things are, it looks like there will be two classes - those who can afford technologys offerings and those who cannot. the latter will simply cease to exist in the world of the former.

you already see that attitude of contemptuous dismissal now towards the urban poor. do rich people honestly think that others enjoy living in slums or do so because they have chosen to? a common objection to the slum dwellers is that theyre dirty. oh really? what do we expect when water is such an expensive commodity? with the piddly amount that they are slotted (6 buckets for each family last summer), they simply do not have enough left over to bathe or wash their clothes. under the technocracy, water would typically be privatised for more “efficiency”, and the cost would further increase, creating a greater rift between those who live in comfort and those who do not. how could you ever quantify the value of something like water? and ironically, who would appreciate its worth more? a person who will has bathtubs in his house in the city because he can afford to, or another who will walk miles to a well to get one bucketful for the family? the consumer is the only being recognised by the technocracy.

for now at least, this is as coherently as i can describe the system! but you can see it working around you everyday in everything. even if we cannot do something immediately to change things, its important that we keep being aware and thinking so that when we get the opportunity, we are able to act.

Labels: ,

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

ur article has dealt with 3 separate issues:
1. technocracy
2. minor girls getting into prostitution...
3. the ill-effects of privatisation.
u have intelligently linked points 2 and 3 to 1.:-)
i feel 3 exclusive blogs wud've been gr8!!
btw...thanks for ur comments in wilde vögel:-)
kp

12:56 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hullo kp. orwell is one of my heroes, so welcome to my emphatically-not-socialist world! lol... i dislike socialism and capitalism equally.
if i had to use labels, i subscribe to second wave feminism :-)

10:51 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hi "anonymous"!!
i dont get u....
wat do u mean by "second wave feminism"???
btw...m... where r u??

12:37 am  
Blogger m. said...

hi kp, nice to see you back!

sorry: was too lazy to login then so ended up as anon! :-)

i was referring to the 2nd generation of feminists : we dont believe it is right to clump all womenkind together, cos to do that would be simply to reinforce the concept that female is merely non-male. dont get me started... i didnt call this site blah for nothin! ;-)

im an endangered species : indian, with NO intentions of leaving for the us/uk for my masters.. lol!

5:04 am  
Blogger darrenabi said...

Hello!
Thank you for your comments on my personality shop. I'm reading your weblog from the bottom to the top, posting reflections as I go. I'm very interested in where you stand, if at all, ideologically. So far you eagerly brand yourself 'a feminist', a term I find problematic (but I'll get to that later).
Here there's an intelligent, interesting and, most importantly (as elsewhere on your weblog it seems) passionate account of 'the problem'. As you'd gather from reading my own reflections on the matter, I can't help feeling the tool of control, and the origin of insane power, is far more subtle that you suggest here. I think you get closest when you say that the technocratic machine reduces life to 'technology'. Are you familiar with the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti? His point is that the brain reduces the real or the present to the unreal (conceptual) or past. This in itself is not such a bad thing - we need memory and abstractions - but it is in constantly denying what actually is that the world-brain, 'the system' attempts to control us.

From this come all the problems that you identify... Technocratic conditioning, 'constant bombardment' with what you call 'tailored messages' (but what I'd call simply, 'facts' - yes - all information and no quality - no reference to the mystery, the 'beyond brain'), the demand to conform and the emphasis on sex (the epitome of brain activity - as opposed, here, to making love, which has nothing to do with fantasy).
Your comments on prostitution and water are interesting asides. I may explore them further as I read on...
Darren

2:38 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home



Visit Greenpeace.org to help prevent environmental destruction.
Creative Commons License
This blog's content is protected. Whack this and you get whacked.