One day - I do not wonder any more if it is in the all that far future - thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people (in my wildest dreams, millions) are going to simply drop out of the world at large.
It is happening, I know, in small numbers now. But in my soul, my bones, I feel like this is going to start to becomes more and more of a movement.
In is, perhaps, in a sense the quintessential "Going Galt": people realizing that the world simply has nothing to offer them except grief, destruction, and treatment as the financial mule that moves society.
Most people will not notice it in any meaningful way, of course. Folks will suddenly just seem to be not "around" any more - not in society, not (mostly) on-line, not in the stores, not in the entertainment venues, not really anywhere except the places they choose to be, which likely will be away from the public eye (and consumer spending).
Governments will eventually notice of course: incentivize people long enough not to be successful and guess what: they will not be, at least not in any way that is remotely taxable. Commercially people may notice as large chunks of the economy stagnate: retail, entertainment, indeed many sorts of things that are not essential to daily living. Religious institutions may be the beneficiaries of this - not all of them of course, as such people tend to be less about the appearance of the church and the worship but rather about the integrity of the message and the presence of the Holy in the place.
There is a perfectly viable argument to made that even now, to a large extent, society may be disengaged from with none the worse for wear.
Not notified of elections or financial events? Be honest: to what extent does your involvement in such things matter beyond the initial vote or investment? Not much, to be sure, until the next vote or next investment occurs. Things might go really bad? Possible, but again what will your involvement do except to remind people that you are there?
One day, in the land of drained coffers and wrecked economies and spiritual wastelands and urban centers of decay and rural pastures where all the farming was for corporations, the question will be asked "Where did all the producers go? How do we get them back?"
The reality will be is that mostly likely, they will not be coming back. They are perfectly content to live their lives in solitude and engagement the daily act of living without the need of involvement or oversight.
In the end, it is not those that leave that are the most needy; it is the institutions that drove them away.
One day - I do not wonder any more if it is in the all that far future - thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people (in my wildest dreams, millions) are going to simply drop out of the world at large.
ReplyDeleteSounds an awful lot like the rapture to me. I for one am praying that it does happen sooner rather than later.
I believe you're right: it has already begun, but still only sporadically. More & more are realizing there's no there, there.
ReplyDeleteGood post TB. I'm at that stage for sure. Not quite disappeared, but getting there. I don't see anything wrong with it. Life isn't meant to live for others in my opinion and nobody can guilt me otherwise! I spent too many years living for others and participating in an apathetic as well as violent society, I've had enough.
ReplyDeleteIndeed; it wasn't hard to see the analogy of Taggart Transcontinental... I see this happening as well. Galt's Gulch may not be a perfect solution, but without trust, our current society is doomed...
ReplyDeleteShallNotBe - I had not really written at all with the Rapture in mind but yes - that would be another event of similar magnitude, with the caveat that I think it would not be nearly as unnoticeable to most folks as what I am thinking of.
ReplyDeleteMaranatha.
Thanks Reverend. I have seen it in bits ad pieces as well too (probably worthy of another post). I do not wonder if at least some of them are reaching the point that I have and that you describe: there is no there, there, and and ultimately neither politics nor economy nor culture is going to do what it advertises it will.
ReplyDeleteRain - I would suspect that a great many people that frequent a great many blogs like yours or mine or others in the roll to the right are in the same position: not quite there but going there. And yes, society has become a lot more violent and apathetic. Not the sort of thing that makes people want to buy in.
ReplyDeleteThat is sort of the fictional Mother Ship Pete. One wonders, practically speaking, how Galt's Gulch would really work (it is, after all, a work of fiction). But thousands of Gulchettes eventually make a Gulch.
ReplyDeleteMissing Trust. What a pithy and great observation. We now seem to completely lack that - between people and their government, between people and their economy, between people and their culture, between people and other people.