For many years commentators of various stripes have been telling rulers what they MUST do. It’s a perfect waste of words. You’re not the muster, so you can’t tell aristocrats what they MUST do. Aristocrats know who the muster is and what the muster wants, and automatically obey without explicit commands. Bezos and Soros are musters. You’re not.
Instead of wasting words, just DO what you think MUST be done. Show an example of correct action, and make it attractive or pleasant.
Or find ways to compensate and absorb what MUSTN’T happen.
Desistance is about absorption and impedance. If the aristocrats have to spend too much energy doing one evil thing, they will either use up their resources or move on to something else. Don’t add money or talents or strength to the evil side by working for the enemy or by fighting the enemy.
If possible, try to absorb the evil energy with reactance instead of resistance.
When the wind comes whistlin cross the plain, a line of trees can redistribute its energy. The air has to twist and turn between small leaves and branches. Part of the force is thus turned aside and spent in mechanically thrashing the leaves and branches, and part is spent in the whistlin.
And when water comes rushing across a sloped field, a dense planting of grass can redistribute its energy. The water has to twist and turn between the stems and flat blades. Water that stops for a moment in front of a grass blade has a chance to penetrate the soil. Without grass, the water moves freely and begins to pick up soil particles. As it gets more gritty, its scraping ability grows exponentially until it’s a muddy flood.
But you can’t leave everything planted to grass all the time if you’re trying to grow profitable crops. So you have to use two other methods. Crop rotation allows part of the farm to be in grass in any one season; and contour plowing insures that the plowed rows serve as mini-dams to force the water down instead of across.
What’s the common factor here? Angular momentum. Stopping a flow by using reactance instead of resistance. Breaking up massive linear motion into small circular and angular moves, so the air can feed the trees and the water can feed the plants.
FDR redistributed the linear momentum of money into more useful angular momentum. Glass-Steagall and bank reform provided a windbreak and a contour. Speculators were halted, forcing money to pause and thrash around in the same place. When money had to stay in the same place, it had a better chance of penetrating local soil and feeding local business. Bank reform allowed money to stay securely in the same place, decreasing the temptation to join big floods.
WPA was like a field of dense grass. Money stored in government clouds was rained onto real workers, who then produced real value and spent their money in local businesses. Real labor created real irrigation systems and real windbreaks and real dams, nicely closing the circle of my analogy.
= = = = = END REPRINT.
The most effective resistance to invading armies or local tyrants takes the form of reactance. Malicious compliance and slow work. Waste the tyrant’s resources with seemingly normal obstacles that can’t be automatically punished. A bored psychopath loses interest. Fighting causes stronger tyranny.
Polistra's Mill 