10 Essential Books for Understanding How the World Works

[Wombaticus Rex]

Current stack:



...and some exposition about books I haven't read yet.

[Elihu]

http://www.albany.edu/~scifraud/data/sc ... _1262.html
Mumford, Lewis. The Pentagon of Power: The Myth of the Machine. New York: Harcourt,
Brace Javanovich, 1970. (Originally, 1964)\

The major thesis of this book is that the minds of the present generation, like the minds of
Western man since the 17th century, have been bedazzled by the metaphor of the machine. This
machine metaphor has cost the West an extraordinary amount of humanity. It has been making
sacrifices to the machine for centuries. The West is here warned of its bedazzlement and of the
costs of the machine model.

In tracing the history of the costly myth of the machine, Mumford has shown how various minds
got lost in their own theories. His discussion of the contemporary scene, and the need for reform,
are best stated in this near apothegm: "Let man take over." Let us escape from the boundaries
imposed by machine dominated thinking.

The machine metaphor - the universe is a machine, the body is a machine, etc. - has been blinded
by its own successes. Clearly, Progress has occurred in the machine age. And the age is,
apparently, based on the machine which produced the Industrial Revolution and led to the
greatest good for the greatest number. (Incidentally, Mumford comes as close to describing the
mental and social processes involved in a true revolution as anyone. See pages 422-429). He
traces the history, the success story, of this model of power: man's way to achieve real power is
to emulate the machine, to organize himself as if he were a machine. In the army one finds the
metaphor expressed most clearly, a fighting machine. Regrettably, just as the army must rip out
all humanity in its men to produce the fighting machine, so too must society rip out all semblance
of humanity to produce the efficient society. Mechanization becomes a moral force. What
Mumford is trying to do is to show that this model is a destructive force.

The proper measure of man is man himself. The myth of the machine has not contributed to
progress. Progress has occurred in spite of our commitment to the myth. In an age which was
already steeped in the myth of the machine, Mumford must have seemed something of a crank if
not a heretic. Now that we have all benefited from his visionary perspective, now that we have
been through the 1960s, it is possible to agree with him. The ecological movement shared some
of his assumptions and those assumptions have, to some extent, passed into the conventional
wisdom.

There are dozens and dozens of quotes which ought to become part of the language. "With
exquisite symbolic accuracy, the first object of space exploration was a barren satellite, unfit for
organic life, to say nothing of permanent human habitation." (p. 304) "The voluminous flow of
corporate capital into the Educational Establishment, with a corresponding rise in money
incentives for research, has proved in the United States the final step in making the University an
integral part of the new power system." (p. 181) "To know more and more about less and less is
in the end simply to know less and less." (p. 181) One must read and relish this book.

another reference: Bron Suchecki: http://www.goldstandardinstitute.com/do ... rnal29.pdf

Nibbling at the Edges
The best gold advocates (better than “goldbugs”, which implies emotional irrationality) have a moral element to their work, specifically that there is something wrong with the way society works, and a focus on making it better. It takes the form of a belief that fiat currencies, which lack any limits, are detrimental to society.

A key feature of a gold standard is the power that physical gold money gives the consumer, the average person, over the monetary system. Without the ability to redeem gold, without the ability to hoard gold, there can be no control on power. As Professor Antal Fekete says, “when a currency is redeemable in standard gold coins, any individual disturbed by the behaviour of the government or banks can attempt to protect himself by presenting for redemption such paper currency as he may command. It is this power of individuals that holds, or tends to hold, banks and government in check.”

Lewis Mumford’s The Myth of the Machine: The Pentagon of Power (1970) deals with the dehumanisation of modern technological society and the aggregation of power. In it he has some interesting observations about the dehumanising aspects of modern money and control over the exercise of power.

Mumford notes “... the increasing translation of both political and economic power into purely abstract quantitative terms: mainly, terms of money. Physical power, applied to coerce other human beings, reaches natural limits at an early stage: if one applies too much, the victim dies. ... But when human functions are converted into abstract, uniform units, ultimately units of energy or money, there are no limits to the amount of power that can be seized, converted, and stored. The peculiarity of money is that it knows no biological limits or ecological restrictions.”

In this analysis, then, if there is no control over abstract money, then there is no control over power accumulation. Mumford goes on to conclude that the power complex’s “... final goal is quantitative abstraction – money or its etherialized and potentially limitless equivalent, credit. The latter, like the ‘faith’ of the Musical Banks in Erewhon, is at bottom only a pious belief that the system will continue indefinitely to work.”

Professor Fekete’s insistence on the use of physical gold in the monetary system removes the abstraction and provides the quantitative limit. But how to turn the theory into practice? The problem is more than one of mechanics, it is one of politics, of public perception. Also, considering the entrenched position of those who benefit from the existing system, how does one effect change in the face of inevitable resistance? Mumford has something interesting to say on this:

“... there is so little prospect of overcoming the defects of the power system by any attack that employs mass organization and mass efforts at persuasion; for these mass methods support the very system they attack. The changes that have so far been effective, and that give promise of further success, are those that have been initiated by animated individual minds, small groups, and local communities nibbling at the edges of the power structure by breaking routines and defying regulations. Such an attack seeks, not to capture the citadel of power, but to withdraw from it and quietly paralyse it. Once such initiatives become widespread, as they at last show signs of becoming, it will restore power and confident authority to its proper source: the human personality and the small face-to-face community.”

I cannot think of a better description than “animated individual minds ... nibbling at the edges of the power structure” for what gold advocates are all about.
Bron Suchecki
The work above reflects Bron’s personal views and not those of his employer. Bron’s personal blog is http://www.goldchat.blogspot.com/

note: i do not have this book but wish i did. currently reading that posthumous 4 vol collection of orwell's correspondence, essays and reviews. started with 4, read it and homage to catalonia twice, then was gifted the other three. am 3/4 through vol 1, looking forward to vols 2 & 3. what an incredible life and man...

[JackRiddler]

Did I mention C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite? A book I read once every five years, like Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition.

[semper occultus]

http://www.naderlibrary.com/index.htm

wow...read this lot....( slightly more than 10 though ) ..is this "official".....

[Jerky]

Oh man, do I ever love this topic! I will be posting a detailed response of my 10 picks later today, after giving it some deep and serious thought!

Good picks so far!

YOPJ

[NeonLX]

http://www.naderlibrary.com/index.htm

wow...read this lot....( slightly more than 10 though ) ..is this "official".....

All of these years, and I've never visited the Nader Library. Thanks, semper O!

[slimmouse]

http://www.naderlibrary.com/index.htm

wow...read this lot....( slightly more than 10 though ) ..is this "official".....

All of these years, and I've never visited the Nader Library. Thanks, semper O!

On first glance, this looks a really good find, thanks S.O.

[Wombaticus Rex]

Several recent reads:

"The Age of Surveillance" - Frank J. Donner - completely incredible. On par with Shorrock's "Spies for Hire" in terms of information density. Donner was a long-time ACLU lawyer, before the national ACLU got pacified & trained by Langley, and his writing style is like James Fenimore Cooper: it is hard to believe people were ever so erudite, precise, and well-reasoned. Seriously, get this used, if only to have around for reference - excellent index. The depth of research in this book defies superlatives, mostly because I abuse them so much.

"The Death Merchant" - Joseph C. Goulden - this is a biography of Edwin P. Wilson. It showed up on a Saturday and I finished it that night, as Eric Idle might put it, this was A RIPPING YARN. I will be re-reading it along with my research slog through "Blond Ghost" & "Our Man in Mexico."

"The Old Boys" - Burton Hersh - flew through this because it was enjoyable. Subtitled "The American Elite and the Origins of the CIA" I will definitely need to go back and take notes. Challenged my assumptions about the agency. Increased my appreciation for post-Warren Commision, pre-Clinton research journalism.

[Six Hits of Sunshine]

War is a Racket by Major General Smedley Butler.

Smedley Darlington Butler
Born: West Chester, Pa., July 30, 1881
Educated: Haverford School
Married: Ethel C. Peters, of Philadelphia, June 30, 1905
Awarded two congressional medals of honor:
1. capture of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1914
2. capture of Ft. Riviere, Haiti, 1917
Distinguished service medal, 1919
Major General - United States Marine Corps
Retired Oct. 1, 1931
On leave of absence to act as director of Dept. of Safety, Philadelphia, 1932
Lecturer -- 1930’s
Republican Candidate for Senate, 1932
Died at Naval Hospital, Philadelphia, June 21, 1940
For more information about Major General Butler, contact the United States Marine Corps.

[Wombaticus Rex]

James Mills, "The Underground Empire." Got a Deep Politics thread on the subject going, and many more notes to post up once we have internets @ the new homestead.

It is a great counterpoint to books like PDScott's "Cocaine Politics" which is quite.....dry.

[Wombaticus Rex]

I found a couple topic-specific book review lists on NameBase over the years, but only this week realized they were part of a monstrously huge list of recommended reading...

Lo: http://www.namebase.org/reviews.html

Finding this is frankly unfortunate for me, because I have some discretionary funds and I can feel them evaporate as I peruse this...

[RocketMan]

Michael Salter: Organised Sexual Abuse

[elfismiles]

“Trilateralism: The Trilateral Commission and Elite Planning for World Management,” ed. by Holly Sklar, 1980. South End Press, Boston. http://www.neiu.edu/~circill/F461F.pdf

Trilateralism: The Trilateral Commission and Elite Planning for World Management
Holly Sklar

South End Press, Jan 1, 1980 - Political Science - 604 pages

This is a classic work--a highly-readable, wide-ranging study of the Trilateral Commission and the worldwide strategies of Trilateralism. It demystifies national and international events, power, propaganda, and policy making from World War II through the sixties and seventies and into the eighties.
http://books.google.com/books/about/Tri ... hangEACAAJ

.

Here's a list I put together in 2002 for one of the first 9/11 skeptic sites (Osama's Kidneys). Only one's an embarrassment to me.

http://911truth.org/osamas/reviews.html

A Useful Bibliography

<snip>

On an important organization within the global elite:

TRILATERALISM. The Trilateral Commission and Elite Planning for World Management. Ed. Holly Sklar. Black Rose Books, Montreal, 1980.

Conversation between reporter, Jeremiah Novak, and Trilateral Commission members, Karl Kaiser and Richard Cooper:

NOVAK (the reporter): Is it true that a private [Trilateral committee] led by Henry Owen of the US and made up of [Trilateral] representatives of the US, UK, West Germany, Japan, France and the EEC is coordinating the economic and political policies of the Trilateral countries [which would include the US]?

COOPER: Yes, they have met three times.

NOVAK: Yet, in your recent paper you state that this committee should remain informal because to formalize ‘this function might well prove offensive to some of the Trilateral and other countries which do not take part.’ Who are you afraid of?

KAISER: Many countries in Europe would resent the dominant role that West Germany plays at these [Trilateral] meetings.

COOPER: Many people still live in a world of separate nations, and they would resent such coordination [of policy].

NOVAK: But this [Trilateral] committee is essential to your whole policy. How can you keep it a secret or fail to try to get popular support [for its decisions on how Trilateral member nations will conduct their economic and political policies]?

COOPER: Well, I guess it’s the press’ job to publicize it.

NOVAK: Yes, but why doesn’t President Carter come out with it and tell the American people that [US] economic and political power is being coordinated by a [Trilateral] committee made up of Henry Owen and six others? After all, if [US] policy is being made on a multinational level, the people should know.

COOPER: President Carter and Secretary of State Vance have constantly alluded to this in their speeches.

KAISER: It just hasn’t become an issue.

Source: “Trilateralism: The Trilateral Commission and Elite Planning for World Management,” ed. by Holly Sklar, 1980. South End Press, Boston. Pages 192-3.

http://www.neiu.edu/~circill/F461F.pdf

[JackRiddler]

Oh yeah, Holly Sklar, about to unpack that one out of the boxes too!

[guruilla]

This thread has proven massively helpful in terms of finding people to talk to for a new (academic-based) podcast project I am involved in, so just popped in to say thanks to everyone, and to request some updates, please!

Here's some books I found out about while following up leads mentioned here:

Conspiracy Theory in America Paperback – 2014 by Lance deHaven-Smith

Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics and Power in the Study of Religion, 2012 by Hugh B. Urban

America’s Deadliest Export: Democracy – The Truth About U.S. Foreign Policy and Everything Else by William Blum

Selling War, Selling Hope: Presidential Rhetoric, the News Media, and U.S. Foreign Policy Since 9/11, 2016, by Anthony R Dimaggio

Sexual Abuse, Shonda and Concealment in Orthodox Jewish Communities, 2014, by Michael Lesher.