In Defense of Enlightenment

How to stop all that from happening? I consider this no less a problem than the defense of modern civilization, of all that transpired since the Renaissance and, particularly, since the Enlightenment.

History

History shows that Bush's sort of ambitions usually don't last long, even if they are achieved. So, I believe Bush's Imperial plans will fail; further, I think they will necessarily fail. The hard part is that, in the process, most of us are going to get chewed up by the cruel ambitions of a few. The drive for Empire leaves the Imperial country in tatters, broke and exhausted, often forever. For example, the glorious Islamic Caliphate saved important parts of Greco-Roman civilization from oblivion, but eventually turned Arabia into a backwater. Hail Britannia! lasted nearly a century, a century ago, but ended in reducing Great Britain to permanent status as a lesser power. (The British policy, since Margaret Thatcher, of slavish service to the United States is aimed at keeping their hand 'in the game.' Imperial pretensions die hard.)

Even Genghis Khan, having conquered China, realized that 'you can conquer, but not rule, from a horse.'

What, then, will cause this postulated, inevitable collapse?

Knowledge

Knowledge is a very basic factor. The Imperium depends upon several lies for its existence. For example, there is the proposition that the Empire is invincible. People don't comply with orders they don't like, unless they believe they have no choice. In Occupied France during WWII, the French engaged in massive resistance to Nazi rule. That resistance ranged the gamut, from the Free French guerillas to little acts of disobedience and inefficiency. Subjugated people have always been like that, which forces conquerors into genocide or accommodation. The Romans, unable to beat the Jews, finally dispersed them. In most other cases, the conquerors, such as the Greek Ptolemies, were absorbed into the local culture. Cleopatra was an Egyptian.

The lesson of all history is that, unless the conquerors mean to kill everyone and do it, the subjects eventually gain the upper hand. In Italy, after Rome, this fact gave rise to the wisdom, 'Generals come and go.' The Diaspora lasted for nearly two thousand years, but it did not eliminate Jews. Instead, Jewish culture was spread all over Europe and then to America. So, the Roman attempt at genocide failed miserably, gradually and eventually. The Nazi Holocaust failed much sooner, in just a few years, and, this time, attempted genocide provoked the rise of a powerful Zionist state, Israel.

Empires are built on a contradiction. Those subjugated will fight back, unless they are completely liquidated. So, either the Empire will have to put in a constant stream of troops and money to keep the natives under control, or they will have no natives to control. Either way, the Imperial power is strapped with an unwinnable situation. If you have difficulty with this proposition, consider the merits of being a Conquistador. Conquest involves the rape of the victims' treasures, after which victims have nothing left to offer; i.e., conquest is a one-shot operation. After a village or a city has been raided, the Conquistadores are faced with a simple problem: move on or starve. So, there always has to be another victim, or the conquest is over. If the conquistadores want to make a steady living, then they will have to settle down among the would-be victims - not destroy their society - and earn a living. (No fun there!) So, conquest and empire is always a parasitic lifestyle. Since there are limited resources in this world, sooner or later there is an end of conquest.

Thinking of biological parasites, please note that any successful disease must reproduce itself. If a parasite kills its victim in short order, and does not bother to propagate itself, that's the end of that parasite. There is an inner logic to life that forces conquerors to participate in it, and therein is the beginning of their end.

Knowledge of history gives hope to those now oppressed. It is unlikely Bush's Empire will last very long. It is also unlikely Rove's Republican Rule will last generations. The forces working against such plans are already at work limiting and undermining the Imperialists.

Money

Empires seem to suffer a progressive, degenerative monetary disease; i.e., the value of Imperial assets just declines and declines. The Roman Emperors, following the example of Julius Caesar, were in debt to just about every lender in sight. That was the result of the huge payoffs they had to make to the Army, the entrenched Aristocracy, local satraps and sycophants. The Empire ran on bribes and payoffs. (Consider Halliburton.)

The Emperors usually had major problems in paying these debts, so one of the most common strategies was to inflate the currency. Inflation is most hated by lenders (banks in our society) because it repays loans in "easy," devalued money. The Roman Emperors diluted the silver and gold content of their currency in order to stretch the money. (The Empire was on a hard currency, silver standard.) Of course, they tried to do the diluting a little at a time, slyly, to avoid detection. Despite that, the Roman currency declined dramatically in value, leading to more and more demands for higher prices. Near the end, the Army absorbed nearly all the Roman budget.

The British have probably run the most successful monetary policy in modern times, having held up the value of the Pound Sterling for very long periods. We should not forget, however, that a century ago the Pound was worth $5 US, but now it is worth only $1.50 US or so. We should also consider that a 1900 US dollar is worth at least $20 (maybe as much as $100) in 2004 US currency. Most of the Pound's devaluation happening in the 20 years following WWII, when England lost its empire. Thus, there has been a significant currency inflation (devaluation) in the English speaking world during the last century.

The United States has managed to get by on the backs of its clients. Asians and Europeans have not demanded payment of accounts due. Even the Arab oil states accepted taking on dollar denominated debt in the 1970s, rather than cause a collapse of the West. Foreign corporations and governments buy U.S. treasury notes and bonds, in lieu of payment in hard currency. The trade deficit grows larger and larger, and foreigners accumulate more and more dollars (credits). If the creditors now called in all those IOUs, the American dollar would collapse, taking with it many of the major economies of the world. So, in effect, the creditors (client-states) have sent tribute to the Imperial center, which they have little hope of being repaid. But, they also have the potential of becoming the tail that wags the dog.

[Note: For whatever reason, U.S. media outlets didn't present the full text of Usama Bin Laden's recent video release. In it, he boldly pointed out his strategy: breaking the U.S. economy. This is an appropriate strategy, since he knows he cannot beat the U.S. in a direct confrontation. This strategy was a motivating factor for selecting an attack on the World Trade Towers, in the heart of Manhattan's financial district. In fact, if UBL can overthrow the Saudi monarchy, and thus gain control of 1/3 of the world's oil, he would be in a position to bring down the U.S. The hide-bound George W Bush and his oil-industry friends play right into UBL's startegy.]

Force

What holds up the American Empire is military power. The tributaries cannot force the Empire to pay its debts. If they could obtain payment, they wouldn't be subjects of the Empire. This happens in every Empire: military service and overseas adventures are more and more glorified, because without them the whole enterprise collapses. The Empire is forced to act by the "grow or die" logic of its situation, so, unfortunately, sooner or later, overreaches. That happened to the United States in Vietnam, and now it is happening again in the Middle East. When that limit is reached, it is soon recognized that the Imperial forces are 'paper tigers,' and the inevitable shrinkage and collapse follows.

I believe this mechanism will stop the United States cold within the next 10-20 years When that happens, pretty much everything the Bushies and their yahoo supporters are doing will fall apart.

I can forgive George W Bush at least this much: he is only the latest in a line of American Caesars. I have been very tempted to get out there and root for the troops. Go ahead, blow up the world! Do your worst! That's because I know what they're doing will backfire. It's only a matter of time before we will be rid of these parasites; the worse they are, the sooner they will be gone. The trouble is they will suck the life out of lots of us before they meet their own, well-deserved fate. And, meet it they will.

But, I don't have enough malice to wish that on the world, and even Americans. Therefore, I continue trying to convince Americans not to support this militaristic government, or its Imperial policies. Somehow, I hope people will wake up, see things as they are, and change their lives accordingly. That would be the far better solution.

Postscript

Why is this a "defense of enlightenment?"

For the same reason that the barbarians failed to "un-invent" the wheel or the Roman arch. Lots of lesser ideas, discoveries and inventions were left by the wayside in the course of Imperial conquests and the chaos of the inevitable collapse. In the main, however, most of the advances of civilization are not so easily lost. In part, that's because the conquerors need that knowledge to hang on.

How long would a Roman legion last against just a few modern guerillas armed with Kalashnikovs? White people deliberately destroyed Native American societies by distributing small pox blankets. Those who possess even a little knowledge have a powerful advantage over the ignorant.

Right now, the technologically advanced Americans have the knowledge advantage. Americans deceive themselves that others are not capable of their prowess. History shows that people, unlike old dogs, learn new tricks in short order. Thus, the existence of knowledge defeats its Imperial misuses.

The Empire would prefer its subjects to be ignorant and submissive, but that would undermine the economic and control purposes of Empire. So, there's a contradiction.

Enlightenment is a one-way street. You cannot take it back. This fact dooms the throw-backs now in charge of America. For either they will have to give up their ignorant ways, or get beaten by an upstart rest of the world. Oddly enough, this same logic dooms America's fiercest enemy, Al Qaeda, as well. For this reason, right now, the rest of the world is already winning.