"Untitled Portrait"
by Neil Adam Collins
12" x 16"
Oil on Masonite Panel.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
The power of words
This reminds me of what happened in the book "1984". In that fictional book, the authoritarian government was in a process of narrowing down of the language, so that there were less and less words that could be used by the people. This process of using less words benefitted the power structure because if people do not possess certain words then it becomes almost impossible for them to hold certain concepts in their minds, to ask certain questions, to criticize certain things about society. Yes, it is true that many words have been subverted, but abandoning these words is to commit intellectual suicide and to diminish our ability to use critical thinking.
One interesting word is "radical" this word has come to be used to describe anyone who has crazy or extreme political views, and many times implies that they tend towards possible violence. I also doubt that many of the people who use the word in this way actually stop to wonder the meaning. The word Radical means simply 'to go to the root'. It has always meant this and has the same meaning when used in mathematics (when searching for the square root of a number). So, this is a very useful word because it points to the importance of looking to and addressing root causes when thinking about politics or social issues. This ''root-cause" thinking is very rare in out political discussions and instead the focus is alway on symptoms and a never ending stream of proposal for patch-work solutions.
These words should not be abandoned but should be retaken. If a person does not know the meaning of a word or is misusing it then this is a wonderful opportunity for conversation, for the spreading of information, which is usually more powerful for social change and progress than any party politics could dream of being.
One interesting word is "radical" this word has come to be used to describe anyone who has crazy or extreme political views, and many times implies that they tend towards possible violence. I also doubt that many of the people who use the word in this way actually stop to wonder the meaning. The word Radical means simply 'to go to the root'. It has always meant this and has the same meaning when used in mathematics (when searching for the square root of a number). So, this is a very useful word because it points to the importance of looking to and addressing root causes when thinking about politics or social issues. This ''root-cause" thinking is very rare in out political discussions and instead the focus is alway on symptoms and a never ending stream of proposal for patch-work solutions.
These words should not be abandoned but should be retaken. If a person does not know the meaning of a word or is misusing it then this is a wonderful opportunity for conversation, for the spreading of information, which is usually more powerful for social change and progress than any party politics could dream of being.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Root Causes
Here are some thoughts about critiques of capitalism, Federal Reserve Banking, Fiat Currency, etc...
It is important information that you are sharing and it is definitely a start to get people thinking about. At a more root level, it is also important to realize that these things which are usually refered to as "corruption" or greed are actually symptoms of how money works. It is not just the kind of money that we use. Money in the first place oporates out of scarcity, competition and inequality. These things are inherent to the use of money. Money and these negative aspects of it may have been useful or even necessary at one time in the past but they are now obsolete and harmful to the social/psychological condition of humanity, not to mention the environment. Money creates the need for people to compete with eachother, to submit to eachother for labor in order to survive and to fall into classes in an unequal, hierarchical system. These things are usually looked at as inevitable things that we must put up with because they are part of human nature and will always be with us. Fortunately, this outdated scientific misunderstanding is being overturned by new research and information which is coming from modern science. These old ideas come from misinterpretations of evolutionary theory which was popularized by people like Thomas Malthus (Essays on the Theory of Populations), ad further spread by Adam Smith and the like. Human Nature is an incredibly important topic because the common understanding of it is extremely incorrect and outdated. And as I said, "human nature" is used as the basic justification for a competitive monetary system which leaves over a billion humans. In short, Money its self is obsolete and has become incredibly harmful, yet we seem incapable of updating our society because of these old ideas. We currently live in a world where because of scientific progress and technology, we have the ability to create and abundant society for every human on the planet without need for mindless toil or environmental damage. However, this level of personal freedom, prosperity, equality and sustainability is not compatible with the use of money, even though it is technically possible.
I realize it is not possible to go to far into the root in such a short video. I think your video is great and I am only saying the things it makes me think of. Great work
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It is important information that you are sharing and it is definitely a start to get people thinking about. At a more root level, it is also important to realize that these things which are usually refered to as "corruption" or greed are actually symptoms of how money works. It is not just the kind of money that we use. Money in the first place oporates out of scarcity, competition and inequality. These things are inherent to the use of money. Money and these negative aspects of it may have been useful or even necessary at one time in the past but they are now obsolete and harmful to the social/psychological condition of humanity, not to mention the environment. Money creates the need for people to compete with eachother, to submit to eachother for labor in order to survive and to fall into classes in an unequal, hierarchical system. These things are usually looked at as inevitable things that we must put up with because they are part of human nature and will always be with us. Fortunately, this outdated scientific misunderstanding is being overturned by new research and information which is coming from modern science. These old ideas come from misinterpretations of evolutionary theory which was popularized by people like Thomas Malthus (Essays on the Theory of Populations), ad further spread by Adam Smith and the like. Human Nature is an incredibly important topic because the common understanding of it is extremely incorrect and outdated. And as I said, "human nature" is used as the basic justification for a competitive monetary system which leaves over a billion humans. In short, Money its self is obsolete and has become incredibly harmful, yet we seem incapable of updating our society because of these old ideas. We currently live in a world where because of scientific progress and technology, we have the ability to create and abundant society for every human on the planet without need for mindless toil or environmental damage. However, this level of personal freedom, prosperity, equality and sustainability is not compatible with the use of money, even though it is technically possible.
I realize it is not possible to go to far into the root in such a short video. I think your video is great and I am only saying the things it makes me think of. Great work
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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