We as a society need to create value systems and incentivise good values.
This brings us to the point of defining good vs bad and how it's going to be done....or whether there's anything bad at all, it's just a way of defining which is not upto the mark.
The current system gives value ( and power) to only one medium, money..... whatever be it's source, fair or foul.
This has happened due to its simplicity of operations, due to its unique universal one fits all definition..... and the system is showing up all the faultlines evident in anything unnatural.
In ancient Indian Philosophy, there's a concept of subtle and gross energy. The source of all is the subtle energy ( property of fluidity, something which cannot be grasped ....a vague inexact definition of subtle energy).
The gross energy is manifested matter, something which can be grasped ( understood, defined, seen or felt with the senses or such instruments).
Reality lies in the subtle energy ( quantum physics principles) and is called living energy, whereas unreal is the gross energy which is dead energy.... hence the concept of Maya.... all manifested matter is unreal.
Money ( gross manifested energy system) and it's value is thus unreal and will exhibit all the properties of a dead system.
The society as a whole needs to come to the level of subtle consciousness ( using your term Collective Evolution) to start living.
Practice which enhances this shift from gross to subtle is the need of the hour.... just a thought in time and space.
This brings to mind for me something I learned from my Native American friends. It loosely translates into "gift economy," but the meaning in a tribe is much greater. My value to my tribe is not based on what I have, what I accumulate. My value to my tribe is based on how much I give away to my tribe. Who has the blankets I've made, the honey I've collected, the medicines I've created, the stories I've learned. Giving to your tribe is your value to that tribe.
I've been following you since your early days, Joe; we long ago once exchanged lengthy and respectful emails over a controversial subject. I agree that it's about us having the faith that we'll eventually get it right, and you are showing the way. Just want you to know that I am proud of you and your stances.
This is a GREAT piece, Joe, and, like a few others who have commented, I’m feeling synchronicity with what I and some friends have been working on.
In the case of my friends, yesterday in our weekly Sensemaking Zoom call, we drilled down on “The Problem of Evil” for a few hours, as the host, a “recovering” economist who was raised in a Catholic church but rejected notions of good and evil as childish fantasies, wanted to re-examine the topic considering some of our global “leaders” seem to be marching us to the brink of nuclear war. Anyway, we talked about some of the same things your essay addressed, and while we didn’t use Moloch as a frame, I raised Jung’s essay about his idea that an ancient archetype in German named Wotan had possessed Hitler and the German people.
My point there (and here) is while I believe all of those incentives you are pointing to are true and a big factor, I also believe there are archetypes—sometimes called egregores—that can “possess” the consciousness of individuals and groups and that some of these archetypes, which I think clearly exist somewhat independently of human consciousness, can either be defined as evil or at least they compel humans to perform evil acts.
Phew, long-ass sentence! Ha ha.
Second, for my daily podcast that’ll post in a few hours, I addressed the recent firing of Brianha Joy Gray of The Hill’s Rising as well as previous departures from that show by hosts who challenged the mainstream narrative too much and too deeply, and much of that episode was focused on the HOW of media and content creation. I tell my audience that merely explaining The Hill’s decision as being financially motivated—and by extension, other strange media sackings—ignores the broader reality of the situation, which is that these moves can often be ideological inspired.
I go deeper, though, and talk about some of these incentives you point to and why even the episode I was making is, while I hope a good model for how to create content with integrity, very hard to sustain and not at all financially rewarding, partly because media consumers don’t take the integrity of the media they consume seriously enough to reward those content creators who have it.
Anyway, it appears my thumb typing this response early on this Thursday morning is leading to what could be a blog post or podcast episode in and of itself, and one with a lot of overly long sentences, ha ha.
Just know I’ll continue to support work like this from you in whatever way I can. I’ll probably even find a way to include this piece in that episode, even though it’s already several minutes over my 30-minutes maximum rule. If a guy can’t break a rule sometimes for a Greater Good and to support a friend doing truly good work, what’s he doin’?
Wotan (and any number of Germanic entities & symbolism) was perverted for occult use in WW2, comparing Wotan to Moloch falls short of understand who Wotan / Wodan / Odhinn / Odin is, and what Odhin offers to humanity. So as much as I love Uncle Carl (Jung), he missed the point here, in his fear of what was happening to his people.
Joe, this is the most knowledgeable and valuable writing I have seen that explains the chaos we are experiencing. Right - I don't trust anything any more. The values of people have changed so much that people don't respect honestly and integrity. What happened??? I am in complete dismay most of the time now and if it weren't for YOU and your strong stand against the greedy insanity I would feel hopeless. I remember how we felt when 2012 was coming and we expected humans to rise up in conscious awareness and bring in a better world and it all gradually turned CRAZY. I treasure your words and thoughts. Thank you.
...and yet, Evil exists. Its presence is known and in plain sight. If we barter within a monetary construct which accepts or acknowledges "evil" as a known quantity (hypocrisy may be ensured), allowing for unethical 'rules of game' to define our options for investing time and money.Then we are conceding to the idea that survival is our primary goal(even if another person or service must fail in order that we will survive.) I'm not so sure that "system" design will result in the end of "evil"... As a hypothetical example: If A.I. -as touted as the panacea for humankind's woes and injustices- is relied upon to enforce desirable humane behavior, then the human being is no longer required as part of the equation. In effect: humans are rendered as obsolete. In this sense-- AI, as a human policing tool,
performs as an 'anti-human' system manager, and human beings no longer evolve as a 'sentient being' in process. If the same thinking-- which embraced predatory market tactics as necessary, then creates a new-improved "system" of design, won't "evil" most likely appear in another form? I'm not suggesting that evil in and of itself will always rule the realm. And yet, the Davos BIS poobahs on high see themselves as gods while selling us on a 'better' (improved )money system (binary code as CBDC), and thus (in their own words) are assuring us that by monitoring how money is spent, and regulated will make the world a safer more equitable place. Regulating what we are allowed to buy--will result in a world free of evil, as they see it. Which is the inverse of what any centralized totalitarian "system" represents. When a human being screws up, and then learns from the error in judgment--then justice/ or redemption becomes possible. Life is a process. Life is not a 'system', in other words. I heard a scientist discuss a study where the scientific research concluded that the human heart is the physical location for 'human intelligence.' Which is what Eastern mystics and teachers have been telling us for millennia. Self-realization is not reliant on any particular system. And yet--good teachers and the values of self-ware response-able introspection are necessary in order for a better idea of civilization to arise. Humans are a work in progress...enlightenment is a process. pax [my real name: Riki Tiki Tavi]
I’ve seen the street name ‘moluch’ twice so far in Ontario - once in Toronto (keele/st. Clair west) and one other time in a small northern Ontario community!
It’s become flagrantly apparent that at least some of the people in high places of authority are generally sorcerous type-casts which guard the old world gates!
Tv is responsible (and Dan brown) for this popularization of witch mongers, 100% N2m people unwilling to hear these truths!
Most people don't care about the company's bottom line – only their own, for the obvious reasons we're familiar with (sustenance, wealth, status, self-esteem).
The legitimacy of corporate culture's basic tenets is part of the Illusion, and the Illusion is well entrenched by now, to the point where the broader culture shows clear symptoms of toxic trickle-down effects.
Namely, it's become a well-known fact that there are various mechanisms in place – formal, informal – to protect faceless, nameless entities against the 'wasteful' inconveniences that are real ethics, corporate liability and general accountability. Employees and board members may not be held liable for harms perpetuated by the company they represent, operate, or work for.
Because ethics and ops exist in their own silos, and because this has gone without saying for decades, your average worker/citizen now expects they can just pull a stay-out-of-jail-free card whenever their ethics wind up at odds with their employer's demands. If they don't benefit from bona fide liability protections of their own, they can at least expect that the culture (including friends, family and colleagues) will let them off easy when they carry out the hit, e.g. They may even "fail up" and enjoy a promotion along the way.
A critical mass of people are effectively incentivized to sign over their own ethics on the way into work.
Moloch's got his wily ways, but just as alarming as the weaponization of "fiduciary duty" is the widespread normalization of people's abnegation of duty to their own sense of right and wrong.
What does this abnegation of duty sound like in practice?
"I just work here."
These four magic words please Moloch to no end, and don't get nearly enough airtime, in my view. (That's a general comment, not a criticism of this thoughtful piece.)
It's a horrendous state of affairs when job titles come to be viewed by otherwise "good people" as hall passes for egregious behavior. "As above, so below."
I totally agree that it is extremely alarming - given to personal experience - how some of us conform to our roles with a lack of discernment toward taking right action. It's disturbing and runs deep.
I like to think choosing the right action on principle, despite all incentives to choose otherwise, is a small ethical gesture with outsized potential impacts. Though it may not look the part on paper, certainly not in the short term, sometimes, I think of these gestures as small investments in a bank that can never fail. Right action's often costly in the short term, but never in the long run, and never in the bigger picture.
100% back at ya! Here's to us as a collective finding our way into being in the flow of what right action represents in a universe dedicated to higher consciousness. Hence why we follow our principles with ideal intentions in mind. Nice meeting you, Ananda!
This is a very fascinating piece and I think your analysis is spot on. In your piece about The Great Reset you say... "We are all in very different places in how we see the world. You might argue we are at different stages in how our consciousness is evolving to hold a new worldview and way of being. This understanding is important in the context of creating the scale of change I’m talking about."
I agree. And so I see that most need this type of essay as a reminder or eye opener to wake up to things, but at the same time I'm hungry for more solution oriented stuff so it feels like there is a way out. Now that I think of it, I see that if few are in the position of seeing all of this, there isn't a huge incentive to create that depth of solution oriented content.. hmm.. still I'm interested!
Keep on going and sticking to your integrity, I will always support.
Thanks for the support as always my man! And yes, you point out a key thing there with my previous essay. This happens to be a hard nut to crack as i might write something and people will want something more, while others are satisfied, while others are confused. How do you write for a large audience when talking about cutting edge ideas? It can be tough but I think we found a rhythm over the years :) I think you might like my coming course... it answers more about solutions.
I'M SURE MANY WILL ARGUE THAT EVIL EXISTS. I ONLY WONDER IF A PERSON BELIEVES THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE ON THE PLANET, AND TAKES ACTIONS TO KILL AS MANY AS POSSIBLE, IS THAT EVIL?
It's an interesting question, which was explored in the UK mini-series, "Utopia" - in it, an "enlightened society" predicts utter chaos for the world unless the population is reduced (guess what? A virus.....) - and the discussions between our protagonists as to which is the higher path - to kill? Or not to kill, and let it unfold into disaster and possible extinction?
One of the most interesting essays I've read in a while. My 28 year old son is feeling confusion around what path to take in life and he often talks about 'not wanting to play certain games.'
Much harder in his day than in mine. We do seem to be at the tail end of something here.
Thanks so much Patricia. And I can totally relate to your son. It's an odd time and one where people are forced to have to make big decisions that might mean sacrificing certain things that were easier for other generations to have. But then again that always seems to be the case. Only now we are in an incredibly quickening and disorienting pace of change.
Great minds think alike my man! Looking forward to seeing your piece. For the first time in my life I came across Scott Alexander and his Meditations on Moloch and was driven to write about it given I had always spoke about these ideas without the Moloch reference. Was really neat to bring that into it.
Thanks Joe, I love the clarity and content rich way of writing and expressing your consciousness you serve us with. Please go on!
Funny - just last night I was watching the Director's cut of Metropolis....
Feeding Moloch.....
We as a society need to create value systems and incentivise good values.
This brings us to the point of defining good vs bad and how it's going to be done....or whether there's anything bad at all, it's just a way of defining which is not upto the mark.
The current system gives value ( and power) to only one medium, money..... whatever be it's source, fair or foul.
This has happened due to its simplicity of operations, due to its unique universal one fits all definition..... and the system is showing up all the faultlines evident in anything unnatural.
In ancient Indian Philosophy, there's a concept of subtle and gross energy. The source of all is the subtle energy ( property of fluidity, something which cannot be grasped ....a vague inexact definition of subtle energy).
The gross energy is manifested matter, something which can be grasped ( understood, defined, seen or felt with the senses or such instruments).
Reality lies in the subtle energy ( quantum physics principles) and is called living energy, whereas unreal is the gross energy which is dead energy.... hence the concept of Maya.... all manifested matter is unreal.
Money ( gross manifested energy system) and it's value is thus unreal and will exhibit all the properties of a dead system.
The society as a whole needs to come to the level of subtle consciousness ( using your term Collective Evolution) to start living.
Practice which enhances this shift from gross to subtle is the need of the hour.... just a thought in time and space.
The dreamality will continue until Source awakens
This brings to mind for me something I learned from my Native American friends. It loosely translates into "gift economy," but the meaning in a tribe is much greater. My value to my tribe is not based on what I have, what I accumulate. My value to my tribe is based on how much I give away to my tribe. Who has the blankets I've made, the honey I've collected, the medicines I've created, the stories I've learned. Giving to your tribe is your value to that tribe.
This may be a key piece moving forward.
I've been following you since your early days, Joe; we long ago once exchanged lengthy and respectful emails over a controversial subject. I agree that it's about us having the faith that we'll eventually get it right, and you are showing the way. Just want you to know that I am proud of you and your stances.
This is a GREAT piece, Joe, and, like a few others who have commented, I’m feeling synchronicity with what I and some friends have been working on.
In the case of my friends, yesterday in our weekly Sensemaking Zoom call, we drilled down on “The Problem of Evil” for a few hours, as the host, a “recovering” economist who was raised in a Catholic church but rejected notions of good and evil as childish fantasies, wanted to re-examine the topic considering some of our global “leaders” seem to be marching us to the brink of nuclear war. Anyway, we talked about some of the same things your essay addressed, and while we didn’t use Moloch as a frame, I raised Jung’s essay about his idea that an ancient archetype in German named Wotan had possessed Hitler and the German people.
My point there (and here) is while I believe all of those incentives you are pointing to are true and a big factor, I also believe there are archetypes—sometimes called egregores—that can “possess” the consciousness of individuals and groups and that some of these archetypes, which I think clearly exist somewhat independently of human consciousness, can either be defined as evil or at least they compel humans to perform evil acts.
Phew, long-ass sentence! Ha ha.
Second, for my daily podcast that’ll post in a few hours, I addressed the recent firing of Brianha Joy Gray of The Hill’s Rising as well as previous departures from that show by hosts who challenged the mainstream narrative too much and too deeply, and much of that episode was focused on the HOW of media and content creation. I tell my audience that merely explaining The Hill’s decision as being financially motivated—and by extension, other strange media sackings—ignores the broader reality of the situation, which is that these moves can often be ideological inspired.
I go deeper, though, and talk about some of these incentives you point to and why even the episode I was making is, while I hope a good model for how to create content with integrity, very hard to sustain and not at all financially rewarding, partly because media consumers don’t take the integrity of the media they consume seriously enough to reward those content creators who have it.
Anyway, it appears my thumb typing this response early on this Thursday morning is leading to what could be a blog post or podcast episode in and of itself, and one with a lot of overly long sentences, ha ha.
Just know I’ll continue to support work like this from you in whatever way I can. I’ll probably even find a way to include this piece in that episode, even though it’s already several minutes over my 30-minutes maximum rule. If a guy can’t break a rule sometimes for a Greater Good and to support a friend doing truly good work, what’s he doin’?
Please leave Wotan out of this!
Wotan (and any number of Germanic entities & symbolism) was perverted for occult use in WW2, comparing Wotan to Moloch falls short of understand who Wotan / Wodan / Odhinn / Odin is, and what Odhin offers to humanity. So as much as I love Uncle Carl (Jung), he missed the point here, in his fear of what was happening to his people.
Read the Havamal for more.
Joe, this is the most knowledgeable and valuable writing I have seen that explains the chaos we are experiencing. Right - I don't trust anything any more. The values of people have changed so much that people don't respect honestly and integrity. What happened??? I am in complete dismay most of the time now and if it weren't for YOU and your strong stand against the greedy insanity I would feel hopeless. I remember how we felt when 2012 was coming and we expected humans to rise up in conscious awareness and bring in a better world and it all gradually turned CRAZY. I treasure your words and thoughts. Thank you.
Encouraging! You are the moral winner either way, and in the end, as history teaches us, that is what matters.
...and yet, Evil exists. Its presence is known and in plain sight. If we barter within a monetary construct which accepts or acknowledges "evil" as a known quantity (hypocrisy may be ensured), allowing for unethical 'rules of game' to define our options for investing time and money.Then we are conceding to the idea that survival is our primary goal(even if another person or service must fail in order that we will survive.) I'm not so sure that "system" design will result in the end of "evil"... As a hypothetical example: If A.I. -as touted as the panacea for humankind's woes and injustices- is relied upon to enforce desirable humane behavior, then the human being is no longer required as part of the equation. In effect: humans are rendered as obsolete. In this sense-- AI, as a human policing tool,
performs as an 'anti-human' system manager, and human beings no longer evolve as a 'sentient being' in process. If the same thinking-- which embraced predatory market tactics as necessary, then creates a new-improved "system" of design, won't "evil" most likely appear in another form? I'm not suggesting that evil in and of itself will always rule the realm. And yet, the Davos BIS poobahs on high see themselves as gods while selling us on a 'better' (improved )money system (binary code as CBDC), and thus (in their own words) are assuring us that by monitoring how money is spent, and regulated will make the world a safer more equitable place. Regulating what we are allowed to buy--will result in a world free of evil, as they see it. Which is the inverse of what any centralized totalitarian "system" represents. When a human being screws up, and then learns from the error in judgment--then justice/ or redemption becomes possible. Life is a process. Life is not a 'system', in other words. I heard a scientist discuss a study where the scientific research concluded that the human heart is the physical location for 'human intelligence.' Which is what Eastern mystics and teachers have been telling us for millennia. Self-realization is not reliant on any particular system. And yet--good teachers and the values of self-ware response-able introspection are necessary in order for a better idea of civilization to arise. Humans are a work in progress...enlightenment is a process. pax [my real name: Riki Tiki Tavi]
I’ve seen the street name ‘moluch’ twice so far in Ontario - once in Toronto (keele/st. Clair west) and one other time in a small northern Ontario community!
It’s become flagrantly apparent that at least some of the people in high places of authority are generally sorcerous type-casts which guard the old world gates!
Tv is responsible (and Dan brown) for this popularization of witch mongers, 100% N2m people unwilling to hear these truths!
I agree Joe. This is what happens when critical thinking goes out the window, and people don't meditate even 3 minutes a day.
Great article, keep stuff like this comin 🙌
Most people don't care about the company's bottom line – only their own, for the obvious reasons we're familiar with (sustenance, wealth, status, self-esteem).
The legitimacy of corporate culture's basic tenets is part of the Illusion, and the Illusion is well entrenched by now, to the point where the broader culture shows clear symptoms of toxic trickle-down effects.
Namely, it's become a well-known fact that there are various mechanisms in place – formal, informal – to protect faceless, nameless entities against the 'wasteful' inconveniences that are real ethics, corporate liability and general accountability. Employees and board members may not be held liable for harms perpetuated by the company they represent, operate, or work for.
Because ethics and ops exist in their own silos, and because this has gone without saying for decades, your average worker/citizen now expects they can just pull a stay-out-of-jail-free card whenever their ethics wind up at odds with their employer's demands. If they don't benefit from bona fide liability protections of their own, they can at least expect that the culture (including friends, family and colleagues) will let them off easy when they carry out the hit, e.g. They may even "fail up" and enjoy a promotion along the way.
A critical mass of people are effectively incentivized to sign over their own ethics on the way into work.
Moloch's got his wily ways, but just as alarming as the weaponization of "fiduciary duty" is the widespread normalization of people's abnegation of duty to their own sense of right and wrong.
What does this abnegation of duty sound like in practice?
"I just work here."
These four magic words please Moloch to no end, and don't get nearly enough airtime, in my view. (That's a general comment, not a criticism of this thoughtful piece.)
It's a horrendous state of affairs when job titles come to be viewed by otherwise "good people" as hall passes for egregious behavior. "As above, so below."
I totally agree that it is extremely alarming - given to personal experience - how some of us conform to our roles with a lack of discernment toward taking right action. It's disturbing and runs deep.
100%!
I like to think choosing the right action on principle, despite all incentives to choose otherwise, is a small ethical gesture with outsized potential impacts. Though it may not look the part on paper, certainly not in the short term, sometimes, I think of these gestures as small investments in a bank that can never fail. Right action's often costly in the short term, but never in the long run, and never in the bigger picture.
100% back at ya! Here's to us as a collective finding our way into being in the flow of what right action represents in a universe dedicated to higher consciousness. Hence why we follow our principles with ideal intentions in mind. Nice meeting you, Ananda!
Cheers! :)
This is a very fascinating piece and I think your analysis is spot on. In your piece about The Great Reset you say... "We are all in very different places in how we see the world. You might argue we are at different stages in how our consciousness is evolving to hold a new worldview and way of being. This understanding is important in the context of creating the scale of change I’m talking about."
I agree. And so I see that most need this type of essay as a reminder or eye opener to wake up to things, but at the same time I'm hungry for more solution oriented stuff so it feels like there is a way out. Now that I think of it, I see that if few are in the position of seeing all of this, there isn't a huge incentive to create that depth of solution oriented content.. hmm.. still I'm interested!
Keep on going and sticking to your integrity, I will always support.
Thanks for the support as always my man! And yes, you point out a key thing there with my previous essay. This happens to be a hard nut to crack as i might write something and people will want something more, while others are satisfied, while others are confused. How do you write for a large audience when talking about cutting edge ideas? It can be tough but I think we found a rhythm over the years :) I think you might like my coming course... it answers more about solutions.
I'M SURE MANY WILL ARGUE THAT EVIL EXISTS. I ONLY WONDER IF A PERSON BELIEVES THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE ON THE PLANET, AND TAKES ACTIONS TO KILL AS MANY AS POSSIBLE, IS THAT EVIL?
It's an interesting question, which was explored in the UK mini-series, "Utopia" - in it, an "enlightened society" predicts utter chaos for the world unless the population is reduced (guess what? A virus.....) - and the discussions between our protagonists as to which is the higher path - to kill? Or not to kill, and let it unfold into disaster and possible extinction?
One of the most interesting essays I've read in a while. My 28 year old son is feeling confusion around what path to take in life and he often talks about 'not wanting to play certain games.'
Much harder in his day than in mine. We do seem to be at the tail end of something here.
Thanks for your wisdom.
Thanks so much Patricia. And I can totally relate to your son. It's an odd time and one where people are forced to have to make big decisions that might mean sacrificing certain things that were easier for other generations to have. But then again that always seems to be the case. Only now we are in an incredibly quickening and disorienting pace of change.
My man! I was going to write on a similar topic as I mentioned in my June Preview: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/june-2024-preview
Totally agree with the incentivization and fiduciary responsibility blurring the lines. This is the area that we need to become more aware of
Great minds think alike my man! Looking forward to seeing your piece. For the first time in my life I came across Scott Alexander and his Meditations on Moloch and was driven to write about it given I had always spoke about these ideas without the Moloch reference. Was really neat to bring that into it.