Weekly Musings #12 (3-26-11) from oftwominds.com
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I know this may sound hokey, but quite sincerely, it is an honor to advance into these most interesting times with you.
This week's themes:
Happiness and loss
Self-interest and institutional delegitimacy and
Habits that lead to weight loss
Oil exports / oil production
Item #1: Happiness and loss
Of all the NHK (Japan) TV programming we have watched for information about the situation in Japan, the single most memorable scene was a Japanese man searching ofr his wife, who was still missing. The man said that he didn't care about his house and all his physical possessions that had been lost--all he wanted was to have his wife back.
This heartwrenching scene has been repeated thousands of times in the wake of the destruction, and it serves to remind us of what can be replaced and what cannot be replaced. It is our human companions and friends who cannot be replaced; all of our worldly possessions and money mean essentially nothing.
I myself have been as happy or happier living in a plywood shack than in a spacious house, and some of you will undoubtedly feel the same.
The key elements of happiness are not related to the quantity or quality of our possessions, or our status or wealth. Those who are rich in friendship, skills and experience have a wealth that cannot be lost.
Another element is the sense of advancement on some plane. The 12' X 16' plywood shack felt supremely luxurious because we were moving from a tiny two-person tent. If you live in a shack without a door, then a simple plywood door is a wondrous improvement. If you have no access to a shower, then a gravity catchment system and a long black hose to heat up water during the day are gargantuan improvements.
One way to understand this habituation phenonenon is marginal return: once you already own two cars, a spacious house with heating, plentiful water and electricity, etc. etc. then every additional "improvement" requires a greater input of energy (money is simply a measure of energy). When you reach the apex of middle-class life in the developed world, every additional comfort leads not to happiness but to ennui and alienation, as the gain was so modest or ephemeral.
When you have lost everything, then getting back to 10% of what you once had is extraordinarily rewarding.
Many people seem terrified of hyperinflation or some equivalent destruction of their financial wealth. This fear is understandable, but the tsunami reminds us that a complete loss of possessions and even financial wealth is not as crushing as we might imagine from the point of view of comfort and security.
If all my physical and financial "wealth" were wiped out, as long as I had my health, my experience, my companions and my friends, and my ability to appreciate these forms of wealth, then life would not be as mean and cold as a consumerist-obsessed society would have us believe.
Ironically, though our health cannot be restored by wealth, no matter how vast (recall ex-Beatle George Harrison dying at 58 with $200 million in hand) so few of us really grasp that our health is one of the things which remains mostly within our own control.
Lastly, studies have found "the obvious" about happiness: that is flows from having purpose and goals that are meaningful to the individual. Sacrifice and discipline come easily when one is pursuing something important.
Many people seem to fear being unable to retire in some sort of middle-class fashion. Ironically, many people die once their "useful" work life has ended; they have lost their sense of purpose, and this is akin to losing some important part of the will to live. Perhaps the categories of "retirement" and "work" need to be rethought; perhaps they are remnants of a factory model which increasingly does not even apply in developing economies, much less developed ones.
Item #2: Self-interest and institutional delegitimacy
I have been mulling the intersections of self-interest, institutions, the Savior State (Central State) and the subtle ways institutions lose their legitimacy and then radically transform themselves or dissolve.
We might start by observing that institutions lose legitimacy and then the consent of the governed when they no longer serve the interests of their constituency. That is, behind the facade of "public service" or the "people's revolution," etc., the institution's resources are mostly devoted to serving the desires of a small Elite, which then steers the institution's remaining resources to the task of defending their perquisites and turf.
At this point the institution has become what I call a fiefdom, largely focused on presenting a propaganda facade of "service to others" to mask its true devotion to a small Elite and its apparatchiks.
Once the public catches on, then the institution begins to lose its legitimacy.
At this critical juncture, the institution could reform itself, but there is no constituency for radical reform, as any reform threatens to diminish the perquisites and power of its ruling Elites.
Rather than risk reform, the Elite leadership instead triggers an external threat which puts the institution in the driver's seat and actually enables its expansion (the military-industrial complex and the Pentagon have long mastered the conjuring of terrifying, monstrous threats which require trillions of dollars in spending, as have the healthcare cartels).
As a last resort, the institution's Elite will rally its apparatchiks and devote the last best resources of the institution to what I call Full Spectrum Defense of the Status Quo, which is what we're seeing now in threatened local government/public sectors. Each fiefdom engages in what I call Internecine Conflict Between Protected Fiefdoms. Thus the prison guards' union battles the teachers' union for dwindling public revenues, etc.
From the larger perspective, all institutions arise to serve our own self-interests. If they don't, then they would never gain enough support to flourish.
For example, we pay taxes to fund a professional military so we no longer have to serve in a militia. We pay taxes for an educational system because we reckon it's "cheaper" and "better" to pay others to teach our kids than to do the job ourselves.
The downside of giving over huge parts of our responsibilities to institutions and corporations who provide services for profit is that we trade off our self-reliance and control.
As we go forward into an era where there will be less energy (and thus less money) available even as the resources promised to vast constituencies has increased, then we can anticipate institutions spending their dwindling resources on self-protection rather than on serving the interests of their constituencies.
This undermines their legitimacy, and at some point the voters/taxpayers will realize that the costs of the institution far exceed the actual value of its services.
But in coming to depend so heavily on the Savior State to provide retirement, healthcare, education, public safety, energy security, and on and on, the public has traded away its own self-reliance and thus its self-confidence in its own ability to take on life's challenges.
That is the unhappy state we are now entering, in my view. Institutions have become bloated, inefficient, self-serving fiefdoms, strangled by marginal return and self-aggrandizing Elites.
In response, the taxpayers are unhappy, for their interests are being poorly served, if at all. But having lost confidence to take care of themselves and their communities directly, they are too fearful to jettison the institutions or demand the necessary radical reforms.
We might even go so far as to see this dynamic in the broad rebellions against sclerotic, Elite-run institutions in North Africa and the Mideast.
From the above point of view, the same dynamic is taking place in Europe as citizens in the importing/profigate countries rebel against austerity while those in the exporting nations who have to pay for the bailouts are rebelling against this heavy and endless obligation.
In the U.S., the majority of citizens seem frozen in fear and denial, and are thus content to hope failing institutions will "sort things out" without requiring any sacrifices or involvement. Needless to say, the odds of these institutions "sorting things out" to the benefit of the public is rather low, for the reasons outlined above.
Item #3: Habits that lead to weight loss
Dr. Ishabaka (a longtime contributor/reader) recently alerted me to soem new research on weight loss conducted by the U.S. Army.
"I read an interesting exercise tip last week - fast walk for 30 minutes as soon as you get up in the morning - before breakfast. I did it today. Before you eat breakfast your body is in a "ketogenic state", which means it is burning 100% fat for energy.
I think this is probably real, because last year I listened to a report on N.P.R. about the problem with overweight in the Army. The person in charge has implemented a program for overweight soldiers that has a tremendous success rate, and one of the things he stresses is the soldiers exercise first thing in the morning - before breakfast. They run and do calisthenics, then eat."
I would add the cautionary note that as we age, the need to warm up and stretch rises. Jumping out of bed and engaging in rigorous exercise is a bad idea, especially for those of us over 50. Consult your doctor, etc. before beginning an exercise regime. I myself do two short sets of stretching and Tai Chi/Chi Gung just to warm up. As a result of this tip, I've added some simple jumping jacks to this routine.
Item #4: Oil exports / oil production
Various oil industry pundits have declared that disruptions in Libya's oil production are temporary and basically meaningless. Frequent contributor U. Doran sent in this report from theoildrum.com that suggests the opposite: modest reductions in production, coupled with rising domestic consumption in the oil-exporting states leads to meaningful declines in the amount of oil being exported.
Item #5: video on the perils of "cheap" airfare
Via blogging pals Pam and Pat, here is an amusing 4-min ditty performed by 3 Irish gals on the perils of "cheap" airfare tickets. "Polite" versions of cuss words abound, so if that is not your cup of tea then I would pass on this one.
Item #6: Cartoon analysis of the american dream and banking
Here is a 26-min. animation on "the american dream and banking" via longtime correspondent Ken R. I didn't watch the entire video but it was amusing and educational.
Item #7: commodities trading data
Many analysts follow the Commitment of Traders (COT data)--here is a new site with data on traders' positions in various commodities.
Unfortunately 'roo bellies and bat quano are not listed, but it lists the precious metals and grains.
Item #8: "Third places" (between home and work)
I will have more to say about this next week, but here is a blog entry from a young Chinese researcher on the importance of "third places" in urban zones (towns and cities).
Thanks for reading--
charles hugh smith
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