[evilgenius]

Good job pointing Greer's latest post out Mos. I read it and recognized not only many of the people here, but many I know in my personal life as well. The self-indulgent nihilism Greer refers to is in many ways what happens when a society decides that it is not to blame for its own failures. I get tired of telling people that they were grown ups and should not have borrowed money they could not pay back. I get tired of telling them that if the Federal Reserve disbanded tomorrow they would all go to their ATMs the next day expecting to get money out and not find anything there.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '
')'Peak oil doomers are just dumb conspiracy nuts who would rather externalize our fears rather than locate them within our own social milieu.' Your opinion. Where is the proof?

[Loki]

I don't deny most Americans want BAU to continue. Clearly this is the case.

What I find objectionable about your post Mos is the dismissive attitude towards the power elite (to use C. Wright Mill's term). The wealthiest Americans have been waging open class warfare on the middle class and poor since at least Reagan. And they've been winning, big time. The data on wealth distribution in this country in the past 30+ years is clear on this.

I reject the notion that there is no power elite, and that they aren't using the political system to advance their interests. I also reject the notion that the political and economic system that we have is a pure reflection of what the masses want. It's patently absurd. Did the masses clamor for war in Libya? Did they march en masse demanding “free trade” agreements with Colombia? Why is that most Americans want the rich to be taxed more, yet Obama et al. are slashing their taxes? Where was the mass movement demanding that we bail out Wall Street? The examples are endless.

As for Greer, I find his concept of catabolic collapse to be far more insightful and interesting than the rather pedestrian political stuff you quoted here.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'H')ere are the key phrases that Greer uses which are exactly what I've been trying to say all this time:$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')...nearly all the people who accept the notions I have in mind are convinced that they’re rebelling against conformity by conforming to a belief system shared by nearly everybody else in the country.

[nobodypanic]

obviously greer is completely out of his area of competency when dealing with this aspect of the socio-political register.

it wouldn't be the first time an expert in one field made a fool out of himself in another. it happens to all of us.

[Ibon]

I acknowledge that it might be valuable to understand the psychological inner workings of the doomer mind. On the other hand it is of little consequence to understand this because this subset of humanity is lacking any real influence on the landscape when you put them side by side with the vast population of emerging consumers and the still quite resilient status quo.

There is not a very fine line between self examination that looks critically at ones motives and over examination that is more indulgence than enlightening.

I follow Greer's writing which is often insightful and just as often tediously examining the inner workings of the inconsequential. Like a while back when he went to great lengths examining the subtle nuanced differences between his Green Wizardry and the Transition Town movement.

Splitting hairs to what end?

All this dissection leads to insights that ultimately serve what purpose?

What is presented as deep insightful analysis of all the different subsets of the "peak oil" or "transition" or "green wizardry" or whatever you want to call it ironically at the end of the day often reveals itself as narcissism.

Pointless sand box narcissism.

[careinke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '
')Pointless sand box narcissism.

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '
')Pointless sand box narcissism.

[sparky]

.
Not a bad reflexion on conventional attitudes even amongst a radical group

For sure some of the bloggers here can be colorful
they can be ignorant
they can be obsessive
they can be stereotyped
they can be ill mannered
but that's quite OK ,
after all one get the politicians and blogs one deserve

I'll go looking for ashes and sackcloth now and read some Pat Buchanan

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '
')Pointless sand box narcissism.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nobodypanic', 'o')bviously greer is completely out of his area of competency when dealing with this aspect of the socio-political register.

[sparky]

.
This site is pretty much open to anyone ,some , a small minority to be sure ,even care about peak oil

the gamut of political and social outlooks go from barely dented Bolsheviks,
hard Republicans ,back to the farm survivalists ,libertarian left and right handed , individualist , white supremacists , rubberneckers , to urban tree huggers

That's cool , but any action requite a common purpose and vision ,
This site is to discuss and inform on Peak Oil , this is now an accepted fact , with casual references in the mainstream media ,
the only substantial disagreement is about the timing and the term of reference of what "Oil" is

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'I') don't even remember what Greer's message was in that post (and I did read the entire painful thing along with the comments) Something about him, Greer, being smarter than everyone?)

[rangerone314]

Fancy finding MOS on a neo-pagan's blog site.

I've read some of his writings before; never met him before--did meet a different archdruid once.

[Ibon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '
')Pointless sand box narcissism.