| THE RISE OF THE PREDATOR CLASS A subscriber exclusive article by Foster Gamble |
Two visionary thinkers I would like to highlight here today.
Foster Gamble creator of Thrive Movies One and Thrive Two, and Thrive On.
Jamie Wheal author of the global bestseller Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, Navy SEALs and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work.
Foster Gamble writes:
| Once upon a time, and the time was different in different parts of the planet, most people survived through hunting and gathering their food. They needed to stay on the move, adapt to harsh weather, follow the herds. And then at some point some innovative folks were tired of the hassle, the risk, and the homelessness. They just wanted to stay put. A few figured out how to plant seeds, harvest and store crops for the winter, and then save the new seeds for the next growing season. Such was the beginning of civilization- of some time to think, to plan, to build and create. Settlements, villages and even small cities began to emerge. But there were others with a penchant for violence and ill-gotten gains who realized they could just band together and steal from the storehouses of the farmers. This was still dangerous but took less life-force than hunting or growing in terms of energy output. Their lives became focused on fighting, pillaging and raping. But they still had to keep moving and risk injury or death in battle, so they had to figure a way that they too could just stay put. And thus, was born the notion of royalty. The head of a successful band of marauders would declare himself King of a region and then demand a percentage of everyone’s resources in return for protection from robbers just like himself. People began seeing through the myth of royalty and collusion with the priesthood in they claimed as their “divine right to rule.” So then the oligarchs had to up their game to keep their serfs believing that they should continue giving a large percent of their hard-earned resources to a group of nonproducing elite. …so government was born. Protection money was now going to be called “taxes” – the “price of civilization” – though such coercion is hardly civilized. This began the “social contract” (though the people never signed up for such a mythical contract… except at the point of a gun. First there were the dictators, and as their absolute power became a source of resentment. Then came the presidents and premiers – democracy and republics. But this is, at best, mob rule. America was the “shining light on the hill,” and the Declaration of Independence was a dramatically ethical and liberating document – but soon people were paying far more in taxes than those for which they had fought the Revolutionary War against England’s King George I. By the time this historic declaration of equal rights (except for women, slaves and poor people!) became the US Constitution, the elite had secured control over the people once again. But even this was still a huge improvement in human relations leading to tremendous enhancement and prosperity. But what was all of this leading toward? Martin Luther King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” We’ve come a long way from the pharaohs, kings and dictators. As Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst form of government except for every other one that’s been tried.” |
| But what we haven’t tried is NO centralized authoritarian control, with no one having rights that others don’t. We have been duped into thinking that we are already there, when we are actually just approaching true sovereignty – the individual freedom that each of us naturally seeks. We have been trained to believe since beginning in our government schools that life would be dangerous and impossible chaos without government – so we don’t even consider the final step in the march toward ultimate freedom – and that is a condition of voluntary association – with rules – but no rulers. |
| Rules that protect each individual’s body, person and rightfully gained property – but no rulers – no one who assumes special rights – like taking someone’s money and calling it taxation; like forcing indoctrination and calling it mandatory schooling; like kidnapping youth, calling it a “draft,” and sending them like slaves into the battles for imperialist plunder. With all human association based on the Non-Aggression Principle, no one would have the authority to confiscate inventions, impose toxic pharmaceuticals, destroy ecosystems, suppress cures or forbid healthy food. Our world could be a paradise on Earth of unleashed creativity, cooperation and thriving. |
| THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE RABBIT HOLE! |
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Book Review
I would like to add here several reviews from Jamie Wheal’s new book Recapture the Rapture: Rethink God,Sex, and Death in a World that’s lost its mind. This book in particular fits in with everything expressed above by Foster Gamble.
Jamie Wheal’s new book Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex, and Death in a World that’s lost its mind – is a “A highly personal, richly informed and culturally wide-ranging mediation on the loss of meaning in our times and on pathways to rediscovering it, from breath through psychedelics–a search fueled by Jamie Wheal’s boundless curiosity and commitment to transformation.” — Gabor Maté M.D., Author: In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction
“Can humanity survive today’s exponential world change? Doomsayers say NO–we’re flying blind in the spiraling collapse of civilization. But Wheal offers us a savvy, intriguing and novel roadmap to self-renewal. And it’s packed with literary, cultural, historical and biological references as well. You won’t forget this gem–it’s a fascinating read.” — Dr. Helen Fisher, Senior Research Fellow, The Kinsey Institute, Chief Scientist, Match.com, author Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love
“Recapture the Rapture offers an invaluable roadmap for transformational consciousness and culture, filled with practical tools to harness our healing, reclaim our inspiration and connect to each other for the road ahead.” — Rick Doblin, Founder and Executive Director, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
Jamie Wheal is the author of the global bestseller Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, Navy SEALs and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work. Wheal is an expert in peak performance and leadership, specializing in neuroanthropology––the intersection of culture, biology and psychology and the founder of the Flow Genome Project, an international organization dedicated to the research and training of ultimate human performance. Wheal is a mountaineer who’s climbed the North Face of Mount Everest, trained Navy Seals, Olympians and RedBull extreme athletes and advised everyone from the U.S. Naval War College and Special Operations Command to the executives of major corporations including Google, Goldman Sachs and Cisco, among others. His work and ideas have been covered in The New York Times, Financial Times, Wired, Entrepreneur, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, INC, and TEDx. Wheal lives in Austin, TX.
Quote from the book: Recapture the Rapture:
“Back in the age of empires, pharaohs built pyramids and kings constructed castles, enshrining their divine right to rule. In the medieval era, monasteries and cathedrals loomed large across Europe, reflecting the power of the Church. With the emergence of the nation-state in the eighteenth century, capitols and courthouses took center stage in urban plans and skylines. By the twentieth century and the age of corporations, skyscrapers towered above everything—monuments to the barons and banks that built them. Today, silicon campuses designed by celebrity architects claim the spotlight. Power has now been harnessed in the physical world by those who invented our virtual ones.”
― Jamie Wheal,
Children Of Light 