America's Brave New World - Orwellian or Unimaginable

The article linked at the end of this blog puts forth the hypothesis that there are "76-year periods [which] can be depicted as a distinct unit." Each unit has a different model of society (so much for 'outdated constitution views' which allowed each society). Each unit eventually fails and is replaced by a distinctly different society with different societal contracts. He says "The original arrangements in each 76-year period became unworkable and unraveled toward its end."

The author argues that we are seeing the end of the current 'unit.' "We are seeing something like this again today. The welfare state arrangements that once seemed solid are on the path to unsustainability."

This has been obvious to me, and many of you, for several years. The critical question is whether we will see a peaceful or a bloody transition. Our Revolutionary War brought in one new unit. It was bloody. The end of slavery brought in another new unit. And it was bloody. The depression and WWII brought in the welfare state and it was bloody - although not in the USA.

So, will the end of the welfare state see recipients and their democratically elected leaders use the power of the government to cling to their contraceptives and welfare? Will working Americans cling to their guns and religion? Will there be war?

Certainly the polarization of America is increasing as the flames of division are fanned by Progressives and their God Obama. "Entitlement programs -- Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid -- are threatening to gobble up the whole government and much of the private sector, as well. Lifetime employment by one big company represented by one big union is a thing of the past. People who counted on corporate or public sector pensions are seeing them default." Retired persons who prepared for retirement are seeing their wealth destroyed by artificially low interest and covert inflation. Their real estate investments are now mostly gone.

The social contracts of college education tied to good jobs and lifelong employment, of saving leading to wealth, of property maintaining value, of government being distant and not intruding in daily life, of elected representatives being focused on the country, of children living better than their parents, all are gone. These contracts have been broken.

My hope is that either through peaceful or non-peaceful change the Nation will survive. If it does than what will it look like?

Here's my guess:

The model will be dispersed, small, and fluid. For example, a method will be developed to remunerate labor different from today's salary. People will come together to achieve a goal and the separate to work on another challenge with different folks. Infinitely flexible, it will be the complete opposite of big government, big business, big labor, big universities, and big politics.

The precursor is Open Source software development, community volunteer groups (The little town near me built a new playground in the park with volunteer labor), Other examples are the transient mega communities like the Quartzsite RV gathering (a million plus RVers, volunteer run, almost no crime, and Burning Man.

The tools will be digital 3D printers, rapid ubiquitous communication, flexible payments based on the consumer's perceived value, creativity, distributed solutions of all sorts, decay of many but not all cities, locally sourced food, low energy footprints (not as the result of laws and regulation but rather the result of efficient machines, lower transportation requirements, smaller desire for 'things', telepresence, more efficient passive housing, efficient small solar, and the like), dispersed technology, and boutique manufacture.

Please leave you comments and suggestions on what you think our Brave New World will look like. Will it indeed be Orwellian or will it be Unimaginable?

Regardless of how this 76 year long unit ends, peaceful or not, Change is coming.

 Quotations taken from: Barone: History Suggests That Entitlement Era Is Winding Down

Michael Barone, senior political analyst for The Washington Examiner (www.washingtonexaminer.com)

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