Thurston Macaire Howell p 12

vanishing ideal. With the ‘mortgage meltdown’, it may happen even faster. Prior to mortgage securitization, and global dispersion, the American real estate market has long been a shared experience.

Yet, globalization is slowing, having fostered trading blocs now ranged against it, because civilizational conflicts signal a trend, perhaps temporary, away from open markets.

With the new global crisis, increased fragility, present from the beginning, of globalized institutions with ‘superinfrastructure’, has also become apparent, and perhaps is one of the best arguments against continuing on this path.

Talk of a new Cold War has shown the notion of ‘Cobdenism,’ (the other aspect of Cobdenism) trade-concessing one’s way to peace, to have been naïve, and economically and militarily catastrophophic.

The best recent analogy to this Cobdenism was the territorial appeasement prior to World War II.

Trading blocs and unions now stand opposed not only to the American laissez faire trade regime and the multinationals which fostered them, but to fundamentalist exclusionist civilizations, in a ‘clash of civilizations’.

Yet, the property rights solution to urban redevelopment problems has been to leave it to so-called free trade.

That was the property rights ‘solution’ a generation ago for zoning, just as it was, following Adam Smith over 200 years ago, the Crown’s solution for the rise of competition from great power enemies, competitors, and colonies.

COMPLEXITY UNCERTAINTY DISCIPLINARY DISARRAY

I recommend David Kaiser's blog, and current topic, to anyone wanting more insights than one can usually find on history and politics.

Especially sharp is his take on both right and left, latter 20 C. abandoning the idea of American society as knowing reality and knowing where it wants to go in the future for its citizens;

leading, I would add, to what can really can only be said to rise to the level of a national, spiritual, not just material, economic, political, strategic, etc., crisis.

A crisis, shall we say, of purpose, in the universe.

Many of the forces playing on the US nation state 'system' have been there for centuries now;

although even they have been transformed, as other players, forces, and events have taken, or left, the stage, or changed added or dropped roles, and/or weight, as well.

As I have alluded, these 'issues', some of them quite old issues, remain unresolved.

He talks about history, and contradictions, at some points.

Mine is not a Marxian contradictions analysis, although I see and appreciate his point.

Certainly there is quite complex 'struggle' or 'struggles', rivalries, positionings say, relative statuses changing and shifting, with many opposed players and elements, to describe somehow.

I see things and forces as moving or acting in more complex ways than contradictions as such; it is perhaps a fine point, but needs mentioning in passing.

For those wanting some complex illustrations of what can go through one's mind re advising US politicians, and others, in this new world of market states (the best spiritual framework Americans can seem to beget) take a look at Bobbitt's The Shield of Achilles. Terror and Consent is maybe narrower, and I haven't gotten through it myself.

OLD CELLO VENTRAL PIN PLUG ABOVE LARGE PATCH CENTER OF CORNERS

See later post update,

Thursday, November 8, 2018

MY REPAIRMAN CLEANED ALL THE OXIDATION HE THOUGHT HE WAS DOING ME A FAVOR

HE CLEANED OFF THE SO CALLED OXIDATION ON THE SIDES LATER. 

THEY ARE STILL DARK WITH SO CALLED AGE IN THIS IMAGE.

OR WAS THE WHOLE INTERIOR SPRAYED WITH BLACK POWDER TO MAKE IT ALL LOOK OLD!

HE ALSO PULLED ALL THE OLD PATCHES OFF, SOME VERY OLD, (MAYBE THESE WERE FAKE OLD TOO) THINKING HE WAS DOING ME ANOTHER FAVOR.....

Monday, August 23, 2010

OLD CELLO VENTRAL PIN PLUG ABOVE LARGE PATCH CENTER OF CORNERS

RE KRUGMAN'S DYSFUNCTIONAL AND CORRUPT POLITICAL CULTURE EDITORIAL: GILLIGANS ISLAND MOTIF

He has struck out into politics per se.
Great move, since economics is way too straitjacketing, in times like this.

He's not spouting myths, such as small businesses and large numbers of clever and resourceful entrepreneur maverick Executives pulling the US out of the depression.

Question is: Why would mostly not-that-wealthy politicians
(barring folks like candidate Greene, in Florida, with his own yacht already, living the American Dream down there)

want to give big tax breaks to only the very wealthiest, knowing the truth might somehow come out?

The prospect of campaign contribution alone aren't enough of an explanation, in that there are plenty of other breaks, concessions, and credits available to these folks already.

How about another explanation, or two, do a sort of 'possible worlds' scenario thing, here, for these elected old darlings:

If you were rats, seeing the handwriting on the wall, and preparing to abandon a sinking stultifera navis, and you saw a few very well provisioned yachts floating nearby, where would you swim, figuratively speaking;

or, another scenario,
through the mist, entre chien et loup,

if you saw with horror that what you had thought were merely yachts, were really gunboats or destroyers, about to commandeer the stultifera navis by force, captained by lackeys of these wealthy individuals, to whom would you be more likely to suck up, fellow passengers on the navis, or the owners of these yachts, or destroyers?

Or would you 'just say no' to these tax breaks, hold your 'course', and
"Damn the torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead."

Say just for a further illustration,
that the stultifera navis is the Minnow,
we are all castaways now,
and the 'Skipper', Congress.

RE BP SCENARIO POSSIBLE WORLDS PLANNING: MISE EN SCENE

Some commentators have discussed scenario planning, and possible worlds scenarios, which some private companies, notably Shell oil, have come to do, rather than strategic planning, etc.
Governments are encouraged to do more of that, in that not only can one better predict the future, but one can act to affect the course of events according to conclusions reached. Makes a lot of sense.

I think some of you can infer what some of the details of BP possible worlds scenario planning, assuming they also did some, prior to the Gulf Oil spill, must have concluded:

Weak and easily manipulable federal regulators,
eager for a good time,
and willing to look the other way;

good diversification of responsibility among various corporate partners, in case something were to go wrong;

far cry from "North Sea Spill Scenario", failsafe requirements, regulators from more than one country, probably, breathing down our neck , etc.

our operations people tell us they can handle a spill event.

Things like that must have gone on at a big outfit like BP, wouldn't you think.

RE PROFESSOR CHARLES HILL AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

I happened to hear on NPR today this man, and then watched a recent lecture based on his new book.

It seems he is saying the same thing I have been putting on the blog re terrible problems from lack of broader perspectives cutting across narrow fields.

I am sure he is not the only person saying things like this, but I have been out of the educational loop, with the trial practice legal career, for the past 25 years.

As some of my prior comments show, I have for a long time been especially critical of how various Executive agencies, including State and Defense, have handled commercial and economic matters in connection with foreign relations.

No doubt FSO/Professor Hill's love for literature, and history, prepared him, steeled him, to resist the kinds of commercial and trade policy shenanigans often perpetrated by the State Department he served during this time, and detailed in articles like 'Trading American Interests', in the name of Grand Strategy? No doubt his love of ancient literature, and philosophy, were proof against the siren song of such exchanges, zero-sum games, of strategic usually unilateral market opening concessions and appeasements?


As David Kaiser has pointed out on his blog, August 22, 2010 post, the US has no longer had any historic grand strategy, going forward, for a long time now, since, say, the 60s, and explains that by reference to 19th and 20th century trends, and American intellectual and political history, both left and right, in the mid 20th Century.

That is also seen in inferences from, I believe, or assertions in, perhaps, Bobbitt's Shield of Achilles arguments, the concept of a 'market state' replacing a nation state, and perhaps even the concept of grand strategy resolving itself into Bobbitt's market state possible world scenarios, rather than national or imperial grand strategies as such. I don't really see it panning out in those political terms myself.

Question, what is a market state? As he and I both studied Wittgenstein, I will ask, just for amusement, is it anything like the Duck Rabbit ?

I guess I will have to read Hill's book, but I fear just 'reading the classics', which is what he seems to be saying, won't quite 'solve' modern disciplinary specialization difficulties I have been referring to. It would be a start; we used to have 'core' courses; and electives in more than one field; a so-called liberal arts education which nevertheless included a specialty, or special concentration.

RE PROFESSOR BOBBITT SHIELD OF ACHILLES POSSIBLE WORLDS

I want to say a few words, at some point, here and there about what Professor Bobbitt prognosticated, 8 or 9 years ago now, concerning possible worlds scenarios.

Private sector companies allegedly do good uncertainty work, better than government. That is a given I think, for Western democracies, but I would point out, most Western firms, not really true (their perennially short time horizons).

Witness also the recent disclosure, as just another example, that HP has cut most of its remaining R & D.

See some reasons why, at eg Bobbitt Shield, p. 725, 'Technology'; esp. paragraph beginning "The capability..."; and the article NYT Aug 22, 2010, today re South China athletic shoe knock off factories.

I am far from sure that places like Japan have not been doing something even more sophisticated re scenario planning for a long time now; perhaps I give them too much credit. No one can predict what actually will occur.

The BP situation may or may not be a good example of what Professor Bobbitt was referring to; certainly they found lax federal regulation, going in, and no doubt factored that into their cost equations, going forward, regarding whether certain failsafe measures were necessary.

I want to refer, in a more general sense, to some of the points made, regarding certain aspects of the analysis, re the Meadow, the Park, and the Garden, the drivers, etc., etc.

THURSTON ROBERT MACAIRE HOWELL P 12

Multinationals’ political agenda is free trade of everything, especially financial assets, recently including even such things as mortgage backed securities.

What are some implications of globalization and free market forces for real property rights, justice, urban revitalization, home rule, hometown democracy?

Market state ownership interests are mostly in intangibles.

Although multinationals cater to nation, cities, states, and civilizations for particular purposes, they owe no deeper allegiance to any of them, or rather, a little to each. They don’t care much about concepts of justice. fn Bobbitt, Shield

Thus, urban, regional, and national economic competition is a symptom of a “problem of sovereignty,” of fragmentary polities, pawns in a world of more powerful, widely dispersed, private and quasi-private producer entities and regimes.

The term “new robber barons”, in property rights redevelopment literature, alludes to the historical growth phase of American industrialization, and to historical abuses of monopoly power in major domestic industries, at a time when America still had major domestic industries.

But that is not the world in which cash strapped local governments grovel and compete for business sites, ‘the crumbs’ of the world economy, in a declining ‘consumer economy’ ‘zero sum game’.

The local redevelopment agency in the 99 Cent Stores case had called itself, quite rightly, a mere pawn of Costco.

How important are real property rights in market states? Without domestic production, property rights, similarly to urban landscapes, are destined to be “hollowed out.”

Home ownership requires a certain level of wealth, separate and apart from the zeal with which a home ownership ideal happens to be embraced by the common man. With competition for income now global, American home ownership is fast becoming a

A THURSTON MACAIRE HOWELL, WITH YACHT, A REAL ARCHETYPAL MAVERICK EXECUTIVE VERSUS CAREER POLITICIAN FLORIDA PRIMARY

RE NYT EDITORIAL TODAY:

For me, a cartoon on this would really be too easy.

It was almost made for a Philipon such as myself.

So I will let you read some of the previous mises en scene re how I might frame the visual issues.

She has a good point, about the meaning of the American Dream.

Thurston had commented on that in his rant too, re property rights, GI Bill, cities and the suburbs.

RE APPEASING THE BOND GODS EDITORIAL: KRUGMAN TURNS OUT TO HAVE CARTOON WRITING POTENTIAL: LETS TALK ENDGAME

I had no idea there was this kind of latent talent lurking beneath the surface.

EVEN THOUGH MY LAST POST DISCUSSED INFLATION/DEFLATION TALK AS RED HERRINGS, AND PREVIOUS POSTS WENT INTO MISES EN SCENE FOR A ILIADIAN MYTHOLOGICAL MORTON'S FORK ODYSSEUAN SITUATION, FOR BERNANKE,

This turn of Krugman's, toward cruder, tribal, paradigms,

reminiscent of discussions one might have had back in London at King's, with Professor Winch, who wrote so insightfully regarding foibles of the then social sciences, and especially sociology and anthropology,

is a welcome breath of fresh air.

Never mind the truth of what he says, of which there no doubt is some, here in America; just let the images take over.

One can refer to old Tarzan films to capture a glimpse of some of those 'rites'.

If you read some accounts of, say, Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande you get a flavor for how witches were handled by the Azande.

Winch wrote an important article, as philosophers' articles go, called "Understanding a Primitive Society", in which he discussed the concept of rationality 'comparatively', so to speak.

Perhaps Krugman will get to an explanation of the tribal 'rationality' of economic human sacrifice, in post industrial societies, and other less fortunate ones.

This was not that far beyond the pale for 'political-economists' of the 19th Century, at the time when these 'disciplines' were considered, quite properly, institutionally closer together.

RE END GAME: One of the lurking problems, for the old, Collingwoodian absolute presupposition 'greatest good for the greatest numbers' is that, with increasing labor saving techniques, ever increasing productivity technology, resource scarcity, smart weapons replacing soldiers, national and civilizational rivalries, etc., the 'greatest numbers' seems likely to be a rapidly shrinking number, globally.

The question then is, where will the sacrificial ax of 'economic tribal rationality' fall hardest, on excess superfluous populations, 'harmful much more than helpful' for future regimes, ('excess labor capacity') seemingly everywhere?

One difficulty, which always seems to lurk in the background, for anyone trying to articulate some more general 'insight' within a nevertheless particular specialized field,

while also, implicitly, inferentially, analogically, anecdotally even, being called upon, somehow, to grapple with some larger framework, perhaps merely illustrative, for understanding the course of 'politics', 'current events', or 'current history', but technically only why things are happening in the way they are in this field, while coming from usually only that one field, often strictly academic,

is the woeful inadequacy of that background to comprehend other entire dimensions lost on members of only one specialized field.

Leaving the endgame discussion:

Mise en scene, a propos Krugman's editorial, why not the Bond Gods as Cyclops?
One could depict the one harrassing Odysseus, who exacts a crewman every time he comes back to the cave, as a great cartoon.

Cyclops were not very smart, eg "'No man' is hurting me," Odysseus' 'name', told to other cyclops re why he was in pain.

Cyclops were also, like the current Bond Gods, as a group, real meanies!

INFLATION AND DEFLATION BOTH ECONOMIST RED HERRINGS

I should point out,

that, when you are gradually, inch by monthly inch, slowly, annually, becoming a third world economy, trading down, down, to cheaper and cheaper produced goods, to the bottom;

reducing prices, down, down, to cheaper and cheaper priced goods,

to the bottom, you tend,

almost by inertia,

to steer a path, because you have to,

between little blips of inflation, or deflation,

sort of looking for a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, perpetual 'soft landing',
at the 'greatest good for the greatest numbers' airfield (let's not call it an airport).

That is what the US 'economy' if one can speak about such a thing, has been doing.

That is why we haven't had much 'overt' inflation, because we have been buying, and producing offshore more cheaply, goods made offshore.

That also is why we haven't had deflation, because their offshore costs were less, for a little while, and printing fiat money to buy them, so long as the money is accepted, wards off symptoms of deflation.

Keeping prices, and wages, gradually 'trickling down' (a different idiom: UNPROSPERITY TRICKLING DOWN) more or less together,

WHERE'S THE BEEF?

Krugman has put his finger on it, domestic jobs, that is the 'sticky wicket' in the whole sordid process, inasmuch as more and more work, of whatever kind, goes offshore, there remain fewer jobs, of any kind, to fund purchase of those cheaper offshore goods.

The other aspect of the situation, re currencies, aside from inflation/deflation, is that these producing countries have begun to realize that US currency is really backed by nothing anymore, no productivity, no specie, nothing.

One takes it, as a medium of exchange, largely hoping to prop up temporarily (self interest) the stultifera navis, and/or to get something of real value from third parties (the old eurodollar situation now globalized).

The Bretton Woods system, flawed from the outset, gold standard even abandoned by US in '71-72(?), a prescription for market sloth, and manipulations of all kinds.

It is not that complicated, really.

RE OUR NEW EMPIRE

Re David Kaiser's current post, and his perceptive comments on the British Empire in the 19th Century, I suggest also, although it's an enormous subject, an old article, by Sir Michael Howard, Empires, Nations, and Wars, delivered as the Yigal Allon Memorial Lecture, University of Tel Aviv, March 1982.

RE CHINA ANOTHER STRATEGIC PARTNER AT NUMBER 2 ECONOMY EDGING OUT JAPAN

How do you think Japan feels about that?

(Though they have long had large interests over there, themselves. See previous post, "Playing Three Sides In The Cold War", something like that.

In that sense, what does the number really mean?)

RE JURORS' COMMENTS AND EDITORIAL

Several salient points here. Some have to do with the jury system itself, others with complexity in legal systems needing drastic reform.

Because he was a governor, a lot of illustrative comments might be made about how such a political entity, a state like Illinois, would compete as a nation state in a world market, using exactions of campaign contributions.

Both domestic and foreign entities,

with neither a stake, nor a vision, nor responsibility for either the smaller Illinois, or the national 'domestic' economy's 'general welfare',

have long been eager to pay for narrow self serving influence, at all levels, of the system, where influence has been advantageous, and don't have the minor scruples illustrated here.

SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, ANOTHER EDITORIAL, ALSO COINCIDENTALLY, TODAY:
"ILLINOIS UNCONVINCED CORRUPTION CULTURE WILL FADE".
How is that for an American 'State's Rights' Banner?

Since the federal government also has not been (was not constitutionally tasked to) protecting local or national populations economically, (except what has been artificially carved out by the Commerce Clause, etc.) one might reasonably ask,

What's the difference?

Well. That is why I have alluded to reforms needed, 160 years too late really, at that level, too.

One cannot simply devolve onto each of the states responsibilities the fed has failed to carry out.

The Civil War, really a step in the wrong direction; merely preserving the Union, the fragmented status quo ante, not really enough, going forward.

Call it another 'Morton's Fork'.

One needs a more 'strategic' nation state to compete, and to survive disorder.

Back in the 18th Century, it did not so much matter, so long as one was protected by a larger empire.

RE: Scott Turow's article Blagojevich and Legal Bribery

Great stuff. Great state of Illinois (one of 50).

How about 'state's rights', for citizens especially there?

Sound really good?

Illinois is accustomed to a long (as American history goes) history of sordid political misbehavior.

That is how Americans are accustomed to view their government.

Funny, they tend to view the private sector, whose entities, regardless of party, make often wrongful (not any longer in our system a bright line), and invariably self serving, political contributions,

as the 'good guys', unless they pick just one decision to influence,
in which case they become bad guys, (unless a jury pardon), and go to jail.

Implicitly, also, a comment perhaps on the jury system, itself?

Great topic for a Robert Macaire type cartoon.

Re Friedman's Really Unusually Uncertain Editorial mise en scene

See the previous cartoon, re uncle Sam, in bed, with 'consumption', being tended, by 2 economists. That was not enough economists, or enough patients.

Mise en Scene: Now he can get an additional electroshock 'stimulus', not merely the old transfusion, from a third expert, a 'structural economist' medical tech, as well.

Next to Sam, in bed, is an equally bedraggled 'Uncle EU'.

One expert to another, jesturing to EU:

"This one isn't going anywhere either; he has 'Integration ALS'.

These 2 aren't going anywhere.

They're done for.

Were one to contemplate another cartoon mise en scene,

I would point out that we now have enough economists for a 'pyramid of experts' using only diverse economists as bonobos in that zig zag column, or other equally hilarious configuration.

A 'HOBSON'S CHOICE': PRIVATE VERSUS PUBLIC ENTERPRISE

Actually a 'Morton's Fork', but who understands the fine distinctions? (See the famous Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs litigation, for a judicial example.)

Americans have often been told, usually by politicians, who need to pay back private corporate political supporters, that a good way to handle such and such a problem is to return it to the private sector, or to give a tax break, incentive, or credit, etc., to the private sector, which is more efficient and virtuous than government.

On the other hand, Americans have been told by other politicians, who are catering to a different but equally deluded patronage, that a certain initiative needs to be undertaken by government, that a new government agency, department, or blue ribbon committee, is necessary or merely very beneficial in this case.

Americans need to be advised that American, federal, state, and local, publicly administered programs are generally matched in ineffeciency, ineptitude, and corruption, by American private sector business enterprises, small, medium, and MNC sized, regardless of the private industry or sector. There are well founded reasons for this, based on the history of the structures and relations between the public and private sectors. Aug 17, 2010

RE NO EXIT EDITORIAL AND A VIDEO REFERENCE

Re published comments between President Obama, VP Biden, and Gen. Petreaus, re 18 months, etc., this is the kind of melodramatic scene, for which more of the same, I recommend the wonderful British series, "Yes, Minister", later "Yes, Prime Minister', say The Skeleton In The Cupboard, or The Bed of Nails, or The Moral Dimension to capture what goes on there. That cast, especially Nigel Hawthorne did a wonderful job. Margaret Thatcher herself was quite a devotee, apparently. Maggie and I share that.

Say, perhaps Sarah Palin also liked it, as she had a television personna herself,is conservative, savvy, etc. Maybe Sarah and I can be said to share that, too!

Maggie and Sarah, too!

South China Sea Gauntlet: DR NO

Give me a break. "China's claims to various islands bogus". Nothing more ridiculous and myopic could possibly be imagined.

Where do US thinkers think things have been going now, since the Nixon shock?

What do they think will happen now?

'Good developing nation corporate citizens' are already a thing of the rapidly receding past.

US MNCs and State Dept folks have been going along apparently in this dream world now for decades, thinking that they can just negotiate a 'new deal' if need be.

Last night, I don't know why, I watched again Dr No.

RE KRUGMAN'S EDITORIAL ON SOCIAL SECURITY

He's branching out from economics, it seems, into ever broader social spokesperson efforts.

What choice does one really have?

Social Security is a tip, though a sore, and a melting, and a throbbing tip, of an iceberg.

A nation's 'social security', in the larger sense, is based inevitably, for modern societies, mainly on a steady stream of wages, and on natural and man made resources securely at a nation's disposal; not on profits as such, wherever they are reaped.

That is why developmental states have used trade as a lever to raise their wages, wealth, and social security.

In the language of sports, to try to dumb it down sufficiently for unsuspecting readers who stumble across this site, and also to give them a metaphor from their favorite field, sports, developmental states have been winning a game the US did not even realize it was going to be forced to play.

This is another thing Krugman has rightly, but about 30 or 40 years too late, been railing against in editorials, jobs. His problems, and ours, is that just dumbly talking about, say, WPA type make work jobs, or some other make work scheme, thrown together, rather than a a ramified industrial policy which others have long had,is not going to do that much, except put a little gruel temporarily on the table.

Military, or imperial, plunder, or enslavement, are not the most secure sources for social security, but have sometimes been resorted to, in history, not always with wholesome results.

David Kaiser pointed out, for example, in Politics and War, that the 30 Years War enriched some, mostly German, captains, at the bitter end;

but, would you want to try to get social security that way; say, not stop fighting unless and until you are paid off?

See other posts on this blog.