Sivad » June 26th, 2017, 12:25 pm wrote:Mossling » June 25th, 2017, 8:00 pm wrote:Do you mean to ask me what is the difference between a traditional enemy nation state and a transnational elite corporation?
I'd say plenty - the availability and transparent use of military and intelligence assets probably the most obvious one.
Maybe 30 years ago, but not these days. When it come to POTUS puppeteers I prefer Russia to Citibank. Russia just wants geopolitical concessions within it's own sphere, Citi wants to exploit me and the rest of the world.
Who knows what they are really interested in. Hitler, Kim Jong Un, Pol Pot, and so on and so forth. Plenty of examples of twisted fascist agendas within the last 100 years. For those who have the most absolute power it seems tempting for them to see the future as a canvas on which to paint their own world-view, 'warts and all'. As you seem to infer, our choices put forward via our however-compromised vote, our wallets, or, for the more viscerally-minded, more violent means, requires us to choose which warts we are most happy to have in our lives.
Returning to the main thrust of this topic, however - the noble quest for Truth and the love of wisdom that it engenders because it, like the virtues of prosocial living, makes our lives more efficient, seems to be considered a hindrance by the likes of Trump - it appears that he considers the prosocial Truth something ephemeral - maybe some sick joke that intellectuals like to throw in his face.
As stated many pages ago on this thread, Socrates disagreed with how democracy was being put on a pedestal by members of Athenian society who had no keen interest in wisdom - no keen interest in pursuing The Philosophical Truth. It seems that he did defer to democracy being the most suitable form of government once the primary importance of wisdom had been given the necessary respect that was due to it, though.
However, what appears to be happening in America at the moment concerning The Truth and Democracy, is something more extreme and dangerous:
* The POTUS recognises that a traditionally hostile foreign nation state successfully interfered with an American democratic election - an election that elevated him into power.
* The POTUS and his administrative team have - as individuals and collectively - highly significant historical business ties and apparent future business aspirations towards that traditionally hostile foreign nation state that elevated them into power.
* When American intelligence services, such as the FBI, continue to conduct an investigation into the CLEAR ATTACK ON AMERICAN DEMOCRACY BY A TRADITIONAL FOREIGN ADVERSARY, Trump THEN SELF-ADMITTEDLY OBSTRUCTS THE INVESTIGATION BY FIRING THE HEAD OF THE FBI, and when his motives are questioned HE BRANDS THE FBI'S GENUINE NON-PARTISAN CONCERN FOR THE SAFETY OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AS "A PARTISAN LIBERAL AGENDA" - AS "FAKE NEWS" - AS
NON-TRUTH.
This is all apparently beyond "politics as usual". This is an attack on The Truth - on traditional Western political, and thus American, wisdom - wisdom which includes and champions the high value of the American democratic process.
This is
not 'business as usual', my friend. Trump intends to kill Socrates as the Athenians did, and potentially
the American democratic process as well.
If the Truth falls, then so does wisdom, and thus the wisdom of democracy as a political process. It appears that Trump has no respect for any of it, and the only major world nation or political leader that he hasn't expressed disapproval of is THE VERY FOREIGN TRADITIONAL AMERICAN ADVERSARY WHO INTERFERED IN HIS OWN COUNTRY'S DEMOCRATIC ELECTION.
If this does not concern you, then logic seems to be wasted on you.