Servitude is not something we really discuss, at least here in the West. The idea of being a servant is confined largely at this point to those British period dramas portraying the 19th and early 20th Century. We are a free, independent, civilized world: service is something that we have relegated to volunteerism (public service).
The reality is that we have become, in effect, servants to civilization and its technologies.
We pretend it is not so, of course. We have the ability to shop as we wish, work as we wish, enjoy as we wish (or at least, we used to). We can (literally) enjoy the world from our homes whether by videos or foods or handmade items.
But all of this comes at a cost, of course.
The most visible part of this is taxes, of course: taxes on income, taxes on fuel, taxes on purchases, taxes on property, taxes on death, taxes on utilities, taxes on travel. While in practice we are less taxed than the peasant of the Western Middle Ages or the farmer of Tokugawa Japan, in principle this is not so. What has changed is what we pay on.
The taxes, of course, are paid in support of our civilization, but I think it is a fair statement to make that no entity we pay our taxes to actually advances civilization. That has been left to the private sector in terms of innovations in technology, in health care, in industry, in entertainment, in agriculture. even to some extent in social relations. The tax money itself disappears into a large hole, never to be seen directly or even indirectly by most of the people paying into the system.
Which raises the rather ridiculous image, of course, of one working merely to pay one's rent, food, utilities, and taxes. It becomes a vicious cycle: we live to work to live.
But the private sector has, step by step, also been contributing to our servitude via the introduction of more and more technology.
Technology, as it advances, encourages dependence. A man can, with skill and training, learn to make a flint arrowhead or how to tame a horse. It takes a trained expert to build a firearm or design/construct/repair an automobile. As we continue to bring more and more technology into our lives, we become more and more dependent on others to maintain that technology and we end up working not only to pay for rent, food, utilities, and taxes, but for the technology that we have come to depend on to make our lives go easier or better or faster or even just survivable.
More insidious yet - and becoming more and more inescapable - is the use of 2FA, or two factor authentication, which requires that one receive a second password or pin - typically on the smartphone - in order to access more and more websites (even as we are discouraged more and more from doing actual business with actual people) that are effectively a necessity. It is rapidly becoming the case that as we shift more and more to online, we must almost constantly bear with us a small tracking device in order to access our own information. Which, by the way, we have the privilege of paying for.
The argument is that the benefits of civilization and its technology outweigh the tradeoffs we are required to make - and one can, I suppose, make a certain argument for such a thing. I enjoy having water which is not likely to kill me, air that does not choke me when I breathe it, some level of safety from marauders and criminals, or just the ability to order items for Iaijutsu directly from Japan instead of having some sort of imitation items from somewhere else. And all of these together are not to be despised.
But it is equally foolish and disingenuous to somehow pretend that all of this is without a cost to our lives and minds beyond just the money we pay to maintain such things. We - all of us to a greater or lesser extent - are servants of a system which offers us degrees of pleasure and convenience but at a cost of managing our own lives and our privacy. To pretend that this chains do not exist, even if they lay very lightly on our conscious mind, is to somehow willingly blind ourselves to the reality of our servitude.
At some point we are all told to stop believing in fairy tales - except, of course, the largest one of all that we live in every day.
Very thoughtful TB. That 2FA thing...oh my gosh it was a nightmare because I forgot all about changing phone numbers when we moved and I no longer had my old phone number. I got locked out of many accounts because of that. I am totally against taxes...but I see how they help people in cities. Taxes do pay for public transportation, snow removal etc....I think it should be optional. But that's me being a little coy because I'd be happy not to participate in civilization. Of course, I say that comfy cozy in my home with lights, plumbing and plenty of food! :)
ReplyDeleteRain, The 2FA thing was sort of sprung on all of us without us really realizing it. I did not actually hear the term "Two Factor Authorization" until some years after I had been practicing it. I do not remember getting the option to "opt out" - and even now, I have sites that are happily trying to get me to add a back up phone number, which I am sure will be immediately turned into a 2FA. As you point out, it certainly makes changing phone numbers quite the pain.
DeleteTaxes are always a split to me - in theory I understand some level of need for them, but not to the point that we now have them. User taxes are fine - if you benefit from the city, pay for the city - but we are many years past that idea now. (A fascinating counter argument can be made: at least here in the US as we are no longer concerned at all about managing our national debt, why do we pay taxes at all? Just borrow it all.).
I am of two minds as you are as well - I am not a great fan of civilization (at least as I have painted it), but I do like drinking water and refrigerated foods!
A lot of people now think only with their emotions. The age of reason is over, and when reason is replaced with emotion... Pandora is going to do what she’s going to do.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to be led to ruin, most likely by our women. The great philosopher king - Uncle Bob - said that “women are fascists and socialists by nature, which was why the founding fathers wisely deprived them of the vote and forbade them in offices of power and authority”. Obviously this does not apply to all women...but enough of them to count. The idea of “Karen” is now an established stereotype for a reason. She’s madder than hell, and she wants to talk to your manager!!! Lord help you if Karen is your boss.
There is no dishonour in service, TB. The most powerful empires built by man reward and respect their servants and even their slaves. Today we treat our lessers with contempt... and it lowers us. As we do to them, our superiors do it to us. You can’t run a civilization like this.
Glen, I think I agree with you that the age of reason is over. I cannot fault any one sex for doing so - It is equally fair to say that as many men have brought us to the place we are as women (Hitler and Stalin and their entourages, who managed to ruin their own civilizations, were mostly men). Where we failed as a civilization on all sides, it seem, was to fix ourselves in reality instead of theory.
DeleteI agree there is no dishonor in service, and we have let our regard of it diminish due mostly to our concept that some professions are more "worthy" than others.
You are right. You cannot run a civilization like this.
Obviously none of this applies to "our" women, TB. You will not see hysterics and and histrionics from the preppers, or most good Christian women in our circles. It's one of the reasons I love them so much - they are as objective critical thinkers as you or I - and some even more so... and yet they are still women, mothers, daughters and sisters. You have no idea how precious that is.
DeleteHowever, I grew up in a family dominated by extremely entitled neoliberal women, as did my wife. I know how they think - as did Stalin and Hitler. When they attacked their own countries to usurp power, they did it through the women. We see this today as certain political parties try to inflame grievances and animosities between the genders. Fanning the flames of those fake grievances has sent divorce rates through the roof. Note that 80% of all divorces are initiated by the women. The vast majority of them end up hurting themselves, the kids and quite often the ex as well. Anything you do to hurt one gender will only, ultimately, hurt them both. This devolves into politics, but if you examine the voting habits of women that have destroyed their families, you will notice that they favour politics that are harmful to their nation as well.
Regardless - none of this is to imply that women are weaker or stupider than men. They are DIFFERENT. I daresay our churches and schools probably wouldn't run properly without them. Again, if you want to broach poltics - the democrat party certainly wouldn't work without them, and the conservative parties would be crippled without them too.
Rounding back on your fine screed here - it is my conviction that to have a civilization, you have to have a home and family. Without women what they traditionally do... that is impossible. Once the home and family fails, the community falls next. Then the state... and finally the country.
But whadda I know? I am only a tard at the best of times!
Are you fatter than I am after Thanksgiving dinner, TB? ;)
Glen, someone - I forget whom at this point - once did a study and found that for many (dare we say most) civilizations, a destruction of the family unit preceded a destruction of the society. For all of its issues, it seems a family unit still continues to be the foundation of a society (unless one wants to try something like a Spartan society experiment with the agoge, which I have never seen anyone argue for).
DeleteA bit more plump, yes indeed.
A rather well-known philosopher of sorts once put it
ReplyDeleteWell, it may be the Devil, or it may be the Lord,
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.
There is no shame in it, as long as you choose wisely.
Certainly True Neon - and eventually, we all have to give an account. I suppose what I am grousing about a bit is how we have turned service around in our culture.
DeleteGreat post love to see it
ReplyDeleteYou are quite welcome. Thank you so much for stopping by.
DeleteI have always been a proponent of consumer taxes rather than income taxes. By putting the taxes at the end when we actually pay for things than in the beginning, I think the taxes would be more apparent on where they are going. I also think it would damped the amount we spend. For example, rather than add road tax to our fuel purchase, if we all had to put our credit card into a slot in the car and pay by the mile, I think road congestion would be relieved overnight even if per mile, it was exactly the same amount.
ReplyDeleteEd, I am on the whole a proponent of consumer taxes only. By the mile taxes leave me a bit cold though, even if they were the equivalent (assuming the government would willingly give up a tax base, which I doubt). Mileage taxes could very easily become inhibitory to the free movement of individuals, which I know is not per se a constitutional right but something I think many people value greatly. It is also (in my opinion) a perfect opportunity to force people into focused urban settings, something else I am not a fan of.
DeleteI will note that every time people reduce driving in general, the response is to raise the fuel tax because less money overall is coming in. I think a mileage tax would also function no differently.
It would only prevent the free movement of those who are lazy or otherwise not fit enough to walk or ride a bicycle. Both would be exempt from consumer taxes by the mile other than the taxes involved in buying shoes or the bicycle.
DeleteI also think a per mile consumer tax on driving would lessen the migration of people flocking to the cities from the country sides. I may be wrong but our tax system now is about the opposite of a consumer tax and it is causing people to leave the rural areas in droves for the cities.
But I may be wrong too. These things are so complex and with society every changing, things may not behave they way they might have when we were much younger.
Reasonable, Ed. My only thought though - and I can use where my parents live as an example - is that neither bicycle nor foot will get you to where you made need to in anything remotely like a hurry.
DeletePossibly on the migration of people from the countryside as well - although I think that has as much to do with available work as is does with mileage driven. In a way, the Plague is actually doing more to encourage this than anything else.
They are complex. And driving habits are changing as well - an entire generation (mostly urban) is abandoning cars for Uber and Lyft. In the urban world within a generation or two, there may not be any reason to drive (of course, then Uber and Lyft pick up the mileage fee, which is then put on to your bill, which may make it less appealing...)
I pay about 35% in taxes. Crappy. I don't always agree with where the money goes but I like that nobody pays for medical. Universal dental might be here soon too. Being familiar with 2FA from a technical perspective it can be over used but system integrity is important and In world where many people have a password of 'password' the end user and the company need a way to minimize risk. Crappy that they apply a broad stroke and go the easy route and apply it to everyone!
ReplyDeleteEGB, one of my acquaintances made the point that if people felt they got a better value from their taxes, they might not object to them so much. There is some logic to that, although I would make the counter argument that government is not the most efficient mechanism.
Delete2FA can make sense - and as you say, especially in the world of "Password" (which, none of mine are). But it does marry me to my cell phone in a way I do not know I like.
Agreed. Government can be wasteful. A phone is such a useful tool though! I used to wear watches and carry a walkman everywhere! ;) I do agree with your post in many ways. Thought provoking enough to return to a post! Not that they all are not thought provoking!
DeleteAh, the rub: utility versus cost. A smart phone of your choice has combined so much of what we used to have into a smaller package. It also costs more over time and gives the ability to be tracked much more easily. Not that this is right or wrong, it just is.
DeleteA return comment. I am in heaven...