Mentatul

Tag: evolution

  • The Corporation as a Lifeform

    The Corporation as a Lifeform

    It is agreed^ that life on Earth started with single cells, around 4 billion years ago. After a very, very long time, roughly 2 billion later, multicellular life appeared. This followed a catastrophic event called the Great Oxidation Event^ (GOE). But what was catastrophic for others was a gift for us. Without the oxygen created during the GOE, we wouldn’t have been here. Multicellular life brought a plethora of evolutionary advantages and soon enough, dominant lifeforms were born. Living longer, stronger and, most importantly, smarter.

    So what does this have to do with corporations, capitalism and the stock market? As I’ll show, quite a lot. The current market ecosystem^ is a place where companies undergo natural selection. But unlike the past 4 billion years, the evolution of our economic organisms is supercharged, almost out of control – this, unfortunately, sometimes comes with a steep cost for our environment^ and current social structures.

    But what if a new breed of corporation triggers a financial chain reaction (like the GOE), wiping out most of its competition? Already, a new generation of companies is starting to take shape. And, as new ways to apply technology are found, the chance of a new business model emerging is much greater. Capitalism is bound to evolve^.

    Take a look from (very) high above

    Let’s zoom out at the level where we, individual humans, can be seen as cells, while our various social structures can be seen as multicellular organisms. From this high up, the corporation is a multicellular organism comprised of humans. A nation-state or ethnic group can also be seen in the same way, but as I will show, the corporation has many more behaviors similar to lifeforms than other social structures do.

    First of all, companies evolve at a much faster pace than any other previous social structure. Similar to most complex organisms, in a company we can find groups of cells with different roles. In this case, the cells are humans with different education and skills – including the skill of using advanced tools, which are themselves evolving rapidly. The evolution of our tools is very important, because this is precisely what supercharges the current evolutionary cycle. Not only do we evolve, but so does all our technological ecosystem.

    This new form of life has appeared for the same reasons why multicellular organisms thrive. The same natural laws of evolution apply: there are many advantages just waiting to be applied due to the synergies between different types of cellular organization. Think of departments in a company as specialized tissues in a body. Think of different technologies as new means of acting on information and generating survival-value for the company.

    Corporations are good at inventing new tools. They do so for the same “survival of the fittest” reason as any other lifeform. The only problem is that we humans are evolving slower than our tools^. As our technology skyrockets, so does the risk of catastrophic events, accidental or otherwise.

    Capitalism and the stock market

    Capitalism is fueled by an extremely strong impetus to produce more. This primal urge is one of the chief motivators for researching new technologies. The problem with this all-consuming focus is that anything that does not create profit (immediate or forecasted) is disregarded.

    The superpower of capitalism seems to be the creation of new meta-lifeforms: economic entities that absorb human capital and create other forms of capital, usually in the form of material goods and technological advances. These technological advances allow capitalism to perfect the entities it creates.

    As an evolutionary driver, capitalism is pretty damn good. The problem is that this early 21st century capitalism is obsessed with numbers in fake currencies. The fact is that capital takes many other forms: brain capital, ideological capital, ideation capital and even emotional capital.

    There aren’t many corporations that invest in philosophy or the arts. Sure, if the investment can serve towards some economic purpose (for example a PR stunt), then perhaps a company may invest in some artistic or charitable event. The problem with this approach is a short-sightedness regarding what is profitable and what is not. Actually, philosophy and art are extremely profitable because society (which is where the workforce is coming from) is built on ideas and inspiration, not on material goods.

    Unfortunately, for the time being, our companies are locked within the context of a money-centric stock market. This makes sure that the corporation is a master of financial efficiency. That’s all fine up to a certain point. When things go awry is when our companies fail in their social responsibility and ethical code. In the rabid chase for profits, this has started to happen increasingly often.

    Corporations crush each other without almost any regard for the people involved in the conflict. It’s pretty much like war, except people don’t get killed, they get laid-off. True, that’s a great improvement from our times as barbarians (which haven’t yet passed, just watch the news).

    But society is starting to catch on. The people are starting to rebel against corporate irresponsibility. In the near future, expect alternative stock markets to appear. Markets that value a company’s long-term sustainability (ethics, social & environmental responsibility, impetus on R&D). As I will show, such developments are not only necessary, but almost unavoidable.

    As technology advances, money will begin to lose relevance (basic income^ will happen sooner or later). Therefore, the corporations that invent new weapons to compete with are those that will survive the next evolutionary leap. Technology will also become too powerful to handle by such crude mechanisms such as the stock market. After all, the stock market is already falling prey to the technology of its own inhabitants^.

    The unstoppable march of progress

    Every major civilization had at least one mammoth, culture-defining project. For example, the Romans are known for their works of infrastructure and Egyptians are often associated with the monolithic remnants of their pharaohs: pyramids and other massive structures into which their empire has poured enormous amounts of resources (rushing its own demise).

    Currently, the most coveted technology seems to be artificial “intelligence”. I used quotes because A“I”, as is currently developed, is not really intelligent^. Humans fear true AI because they believe a sentient “computer” might endanger our species. But we’re very far from creating a sentient being; this is a feat that will require more than just quantum computing. Instead, wherever we read “AI” what they really mean is human-developed algorithms that have certain learning aptitudes (which is why a more correct term is ML – Machine Learning).

    But our greatest fear shouldn’t be true AI (sentient AI) but rather this ongoing development of human-defined ML. This is because rather than it being sentient, it is a slave to sentient humans. And because most humans are still very selfish beings^, putting advanced ML systems in the wrong hands might seriously jeopardize society^ (rogue killer drones and automated armies, automatic hackers, stock market viruses, large-scale social engineering).

    Corporations are already becoming increasingly complex and will be at least partially ruled by artificial intelligence algorithms (it’s already happening^). The corporation of the future is a master of synergy between humans, computer algorithms and other assets. This sort of company will have a human/machine leadership where machines can work with nanosecond decisions and humans can assist with high-level strategic thinking and ideation.

    All of a sudden, we’re heading towards a future that will see thousands of different economic lifeforms, communicating with each other, engaged in perpetual ideation and competition on many more fronts than just money. Could it be that the next stage of life on this planet are corporations? And then, what happens to us?

    Ethical capitalism

    Just like the cells in our own bodies thrive if we’re healthy, so will we if this higher form of life we find ourselves building is well-behaved^. Quite simply, our future depends on how comfortable and sustainable our corporations will be. And that is why ethics and empathy are important^.

    Regardless if corporations will ever be classifiable as life (after all, they eat each other and can spawn all sorts of weird babies), what is certain is that the business sector is far nimbler than government. It is therefore not surprising that governments around the world are becoming the puppets of business interests. Of course, one can argue that it was always so. Perhaps, but now-a-days, the possibilities of buying politicians have increased, because the wealth amassed by various corporations has also increased.

    Government has lost its way^ for a good reason: society’s way of ruling itself is not only inefficient and archaic, but it also has very little defense for corruption and other chronic illnesses. A broken democracy^ is like a sick organism: it’s very easy to conquer by infection and disease. As I pointed out in the past, I believe that the only hope for government is a serious make-over, alongside the lines of a Government 2.0^, which is in fact inspired from the way of doing things in the private sector.

    Judging by the political circus we’ve all witnessed in the past few years (even decades, centuries), I’m not betting on government ever recovering from this downward spiral. Ironically, this social activist is beginning to think that an evolution of the private sector to higher ethical standards is perhaps the best chance for peace and prosperity.

    This evolutionary leap is not only possible, but outright necessary, as many companies have started to discover that an increasingly higher percentage of employees lack motivation. Because the percentage of creative jobs on the market is rising (and will continue to rise) and because lack of motivation kills creativity, the only option for the company of the future is to change in such a way that its constituents are happy and feel a connection with the entity they’re part of.

    After all, what’s not to love about a meritocracy based on economic performance and everything this means (intellectual progress of all kinds with happiness as a chief motivator). Combining the efficiency of capitalism with a code of conduct based on empathy may yield a species of corporation that many of us may actually feel happy to be a part of.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/03759-CorporationAsLifeform-Share.png’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/03759-CorporationAsLifeform-Thumb.jpg fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’The Corporation As A Lifeform’ desc=’Zoom out. Individual humans, can be seen as cells, and corporations as multicellular organisms. The current market ecosystem is a place where companies undergo natural selection in an ever-quickening race for survival.’]

  • Thank You, Capitalism. It Could Be Worse…

    Thank You, Capitalism. It Could Be Worse…

    My readers know all too well that I’m no fan of capitalism. Throughout the past years I’ve attacked^ several attributes of this economic system (consumerism^, the stock market^, income inequality^). This year, I’m about to step it up a notch, going into how capitalism has facilitated the slow and insidious rotting of most democratic countries. I intend to write about how a broken economic system can drag down education and create immeasurable suffering on a planetary scale, most of which is hidden from sight by the mainstream media so that the machine can keep marching.

    But this doesn’t mean that I lack appreciation towards the enormous benefits that have burst from the minds of countless entrepreneurs who, thanks to a free market, succeeded in advancing our culture and civilization. After all, I write these words using capitalist products!

    Evolution

    Capitalism is just another system that evolved from others before it. Perhaps it’s not the fairest, but it’s definitely more efficient than some that existed before. The gradual development of economic systems that has given birth to capitalism also implies that capitalism will not be the last economic system. And that’s precisely why I’m writing about its flaws. It’s not because I hate it, it’s because there are things that I believe can be improved.

    Capitalism will eventually give way to another, better economic system. It’s inevitable. The question, however, is if that system will be better for humans and our ecosystem. It is entirely possible that capitalism will evolve into a system that is even more efficient at squeezing the life out of this planet and transforming it into objects, technological advances (for its own sake) and gargantuan projects.

    I believe one such gargantuan project is the development of artificial “intelligence”, in quotes because it’s not really intelligent^. It lacks and will continue to lack sentience, which I consider a prime ingredient of intelligence, for at least until such a time when we have achieved major advances in quantum computing. I went through some of the dangers posed by this sort of artificial non-intelligence in the linked article, or here^, on the more concrete topic of stock markets.

    Better life through technology

    One of the main long-term goals of capitalistic entities is to discover tools and technologies that allow them to produce more. These discoveries eventually trickle down through all social layers and can improve quality of life. It doesn’t always happen so, but it’s not usually a problem with capitalism per-se, but with the human element (corruption, greed^).

    Capitalism has brought a number of major advances in all sorts of fields: manufacturing, delivery, recycling, retail & customer experience, product diversity, the list can go on and on. I honestly believe we’d be far less advanced without the explosion of knowledge that resulted from setting human intellectual capital free to associate in whatever form.

    Less is more

    Because our civilization is still at a stage where the survival instinct is dominating^ our choices and policies, we can’t expect any economic system to reach a sort of moral high-ground. Communism used to look good on paper. History tells a different story about its implementation. It’s a case of “change yourself before you change others”.

    In other words: we have to fix our way of thinking and how we go about daily life before we can even expect a highly efficient and in the same time ethical economic system to emerge. Capitalism is, simply put, the best that some societies are capable of. They wouldn’t tolerate it otherwise.

    Capitalism embodies our instinctual thirst^ for more. The problem is that “more”, in this case, is usually not something that contributes to human happiness, but rather provides tangible results (objects, technologies). Even though life in most (truly) capitalistic countries has improved from a material standpoint, psychological health has declined. People feel disconnected and disengaged. A culture of extreme individualism is being promoted, probably because it produces better consumers.

    Would less production and less consumption be anti-capitalistic? Perhaps from a purely financial standpoint. But a situation where capitalism “eases down” might actually be the smartest investment ever made: an investment in nurturing human capital. Healthier, happier humans can not only produce more, but will also invent more.

    Diversity is beautiful

    One of the things I’m most thankful about with capitalism is the fascinating product diversity it led to. But too much of a good thing is not a good thing at all anymore. And while I appreciate the diversity, I also recognize that in the past decades it has started to resemble the behavior of cancer. Too much diversity is a tumor that feeds on our ecosystem, running amok with almost no planetary governmental oversight. Even so, I do believe that with capitalism we’re closer to the ideal product diversity state than with, say, communism.

    Economy influences our society and, not only by extent, our way of government. Politics, economy and culture are all intertwined with other pillars of human development to form what we call civilization. As a prime ingredient of civilization, economy shapes not only how we trade, but our attitudes as well.

    For example, in capitalism, it’s not profitable to reject minorities of any kind (sexual, racial, religious). This, slowly but surely, trickles into society. True capitalistic societies are more tolerant towards minorities, partly as a consequence of this being the most profitable behavior.

    My first 7 years of life happened before the fall of communist Romania, during one of its worst periods (which was still way better than places in less developed parts of the world). I then witnessed the gradual implementation of capitalism, during a slow, painful process during which a number of sly Romanians became rich overnight through various forms of abuse. 20 years later I moved to Sweden, a country renowned for its socialism, but which has become increasingly capitalistic during the turn of the millennium and even more so under my very eyes in the past decade. All these varied economic landscapes have shaped me in all sorts of ways.

    I am thankful to the diversity that capitalism has exposed me to. I’m thankful for its contribution to the civilization that I enjoy being a part of. I couldn’t imagine myself happy in a system that would restrict my freedom of speech (even though censorship is definitely on the rise everywhere in the world, including the proud Western democratic block).

    I’m even thankful for capitalism’s flaws, for without flaws, there is nothing to improve. I’m one of those humans with a pull towards perpetual improvement. My work on this website is not only about improving the society I belong to, but also about improving myself. Throughout this process, it is vital for me to emphasize that despite my criticism, I am not blind to the luxury I am granted simply by having a roof over my head and warm, clean water at the tap. Oh, and fancy gizmos to play with.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/03451-ThankYouCapitalismItCouldBeWorse-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/03451-ThankYouCapitalismItCouldBeWorse-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Thank You, Capitalism. It Could Be Worse…’ desc=’The gradual development of economic systems that has given birth to capitalism also implies that capitalism will not be the last economic system.’]

  • Ethical Economy

    Ethical Economy

    If one would be to chronicle the history of illegal or unfair use of economic practices, one would probably need to fill ten tomes of at least a thousand pages each. From rich to poor, almost everybody has, at least once, suffered due to our misshapen financial system.

    There are many reasons for this, such as perfectly healthy and natural human greed^. The problem is that greed and other evolutionary adaptations have been allowed to spiral out of control by a broken educational system^. Insufficient education allows profit-seeking entities to exploit evolutionary weaknesses. They profit by making individuals invest into items and activities of no real value (no increase in happiness and no profit for the individuals or their families).

    This social weakness has brought with it the perpetuation and success of a class of dangerous individuals^. People of otherwise great potential, but who are successful because of a dangerous disconnection from the society they should (as skilled individuals and leaders) be taking care of. These people only behave this way because it’s possible. They can (still) get away with it.

    Fake money

    At the very core of economic unfairness lies the manufacture of money out of thin air. Or, more precisely out of paper and ink. Actually, in the Information Age^, money is made out of electricity (lots of it^). Cryptocurrencies, for all their rebellious hopefulness, epitomize the ridiculous of the times we live in: billions are created based on something as fickle as public opinion, unsubstantiated ideas and charismatic individuals (Musk, anyone?^).

    The fact that money is fake has never been more evident than it is today. We’ve also never had more debt than today. Most money in the world is, actually, debt. It is an instrument of distraction that has been used masterfully for thousands (yes, thousands) of years. But that’s history and we shouldn’t let ourselves condemned by it. Let history be history and look towards the future. Besides, back when money was invented, we didn’t have the technology we have today.

    Ethical everything

    We are fortunate to have evolved to a state of awareness that allows us to make some significant leaps forward when it comes to knowing right from wrong^. Economic structures that were inconceivable decades ago are now gaining traction. We have concepts such as ethical consumerism^ and ethical banking^.

    Technology today, in fact, allows us to very accurately measure each individual’s contribution to society. And ethics today allow us to discern meaningful contributions from wasteful or even toxic contributions.

    What I advocate is ethical everything. The implementation of such a system concerns the fusion between an ever-evolving ethical framework and a super-fragmented decentralized financial system. Let’s see what these terms mean.

    The ever-evolving ethical framework

    Society usually adapts to new ethical principles on a generational level. But ethics can change from one minute to the next. One of the catalysts of prosperity is a society’s ability to quickly adapt to changes in the way humans relate with each other. A social life with reduced friction ensures that individuals can channel more energy into constructive ventures.

    The implementation of ethics into law is sometimes very sluggish. The economic system of the future, however, has to be able to adapt, sometimes in a matter of hours, to people who might exploit it. Think about how an antivirus company works. Once the company is aware of a dangerous application, they release a software update that allows their product to protect users from that application. The same can be done with all sorts of harmful social behaviors.

    It is therefore imperative for our future financial institutions to continuously adapt and climb to a high moral ground. Having “Financial institutions” and “moral high ground” in the same sentence is almost laughable in this day and age; but things will change. The alternative is to continue living in a state of perpetual financial seizure where an ever-increasing number of people suffer during economic downturns.

    The super-fragmented decentralized financial system

    Through the use of cryptocurrencies, we can create a highly adaptable financial system. This would consist of a world-wide currency that would then split itself into regional (state-level) denominations, then city-state level denominations and then further down to villages, families and even per-individual currencies. The purpose of this fragmentation would be to drill down to where actual value is created: the individual.

    All currencies would feed back into the planetary currency, a sum yielding the total value generated by the entire species. How such a hierarchical cryptocurrency system could be implemented is homework for those that are experts in this field.

    Econoethics

    The fusion of economy and ethics can be called econoethics. This could be achieved, for example, through the implementation of an ethical layer within the global cryptocurrency we discussed earlier. Such a construction can bring the concept of dollar voting^ into the foreground of our economic lives.

    This ethical cryptocurrency would be both hierarchical, fragmented and subject to localized ethics transformations. This means that for a social structure located in a certain area, the currency’s development will be influenced (transformed) by the ethical principles valid in that area. Indeed, ethics should be culture and region-specific.

    What this means, in practice, is that a manufacturer that produces a good that is considered undesired in a certain society will not make that much profit off of it. Or, citizens that have an important contribution to their surrounding society will enjoy better pay. In a society governed by different laws, roles might reverse.

    Implementing such systems is not easy and would require a lot of testing and brainstorming. But make no mistake, this is already doable with today’s (primitive) technology. All that is required is some good will and the courage to experiment.

    I have faith in the thousands of engineers, thinkers and tinkerers around the globe to come up with the foundations for a new financial framework; one that will give us a more transparent, cleaner and healthier economic development during the following centuries.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/03167-EthicalEconomy-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/03167-EthicalEconomy-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Ethical Economy’ desc=’The fusion between an ever-evolving ethical framework and a super-fragmented decentralized financial system.’]

  • Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality

    Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality

    We often gasp at the amount of wealth various entrepreneurs have amassed. News about economic inequality^ (sometimes known as income inequality) is quite common lately, and so it should be. Slowly but surely, society’s patience^ is reaching the breaking point^ and when that happens, chaos^ ensues.

    It is hard not to be shocked when confronted with the knowledge^ that the accumulated wealth of 42 individuals (no typo, it really is a two-digit number) is greater than that of the poorest half of the world’s population put together. And then there’s that already outdated statistic about the world’s top 1% owning more than the bottom X% (82% as of 2017 and growing).

    Is there a reason to rage when these statistics show up? To many, the answer is an obvious “yes”. Indeed, the disparity is staggering, but fury isn’t usually the right attitude to address a problem. There are many factors that contribute to the present state of affairs and we are directly responsible for some of them. Owning up to this is the first step towards improving things.

    As I’ll soon show, there are different kinds of “rich and powerful”. Some of these people are highly beneficial for the progress of our species, while others are destroying lives and wrecking our ecosystem, dragging down society by setting the wrong examples.

    The problem isn’t with the rich. If we can even call it a problem, it lies with a society that produces individuals who would do anything to accumulate more wealth, fame and power. When such people do not possess neither the skills nor the opportunity to advance, they start breaking the rules. Eventually, they lose touch with constructive social values while trying to satisfy their insatiable hunger. Empathy and ethics go down the drain so there’s no wonder some of these people act in a completely alien way^. The good news is that it is well within our power to modify the social constructs that are at the root of all this.

    Greed and recklessness

    Examples about the excesses of the rich are very easy to find. Most of these cases concern an increasingly staggering waste of resources: luxury goods of questionable origin, extravagant properties and a way of life that is severely out of balance with the rest of society. Unfortunately, there are even worse excesses than the material ones, such as the exploitation of other people and, to generalize, disrespecting the ecosystem.

    Some of these behaviors are not that difficult to understand because they are driven by instinct. Read this earlier article about the rules of the human game^, which describes how instinct drives a wedge between society’s noble goals and the often-greedy personal needs. Fortunately, we’re a highly adaptable species. It’s up to us to change the rules by which we play with.

    Take the worst example of a human being you can think of and realize that the way they acted is, for the most part, a consequence of their education and life experience. We were all born innocent. Genetics plays a role too, of course, but especially when it comes to character and life choices, it is mostly society that shapes individuals.

    Philanthropy and inspiration

    What many people seem to ignore is the fact that most of the wealthy tycoons are talented administrators and gifted visionaries. They are alchemists of skill and opportunity. Many of them have blasted their way through the hard rock of ages to carve a path through which our civilization can advance.

    It is not only scientists and philosophers who deserve credit for our progress. More often than not, having the courage to invest in the dreams of another (even if doing so for the purpose of taking over said dreams when they mature) and having the will power to pour one’s entire life to reach a certain goal are qualities that can produce tremendous benefit for society.

    So how exactly do the super-rich help us? There are countless examples of charitable acts that have helped our society, going back to the dawn of recorded history. As our philosophy and social ethics developed, charity evolved into philanthropy^ (read the first paragraphs of the linked article to learn about the difference between the two). The number and influence of philanthropists^ make this into a very powerful social force.

    One of the best examples is the Nobel Prize^. It shows how one wealthy man’s donation can ripple through time to create one of the most distinguished and inspiring recognitions of achievement a human can receive. Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge^ is also worth mentioning as a catalyst for such acts. A less clear-cut example is Bill Gates’ wealth, which led to the creation of a foundation whose modus operandi and purposes are slightly questionable^.

    We need people like Elon Musk (as controversial^ as he is) and all the other up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Such individuals always had the potential to find new ways through which we can progress. This does not mean that the abuse and unfairness of some magnates should be tolerated and accepted as the status quo.

    This is why we have free press (in most of the world), so that we may find out about and openly condemn people demonstrating an unethical, unconstructive behavior. Hopefully, one day they will realize that they’ve strode away from the honorable path. Yes, these things do exist: honor, ethics and wisdom. You won’t see these words too often in the mainstream media because a sort of hopeless pragmatism has infected many writers. They have either given up on their inner idealist, or are on the payroll of the wrong camp.

    The social impact of the rich and famous is very important. They can inspire in both directions: towards the betterment of society or towards the obsessive interest with one’s ego. Again, let’s not forget that we are responsible for growing the powerful people of tomorrow.

    A new method is required. And here is where the Internet and social media come into play. Today, we can unite in our thoughts regarding the worldwide changes that we desire. Through direct communication and public appeal, our words will slowly make it to the ears of the people at the top of the pyramid. And instead of beheading them or, worse, scaring them into beheading us, we will pass along a message of friendship and understanding. A message that we can start…

    Building together

    Many activists are so hooked on this idea of “revolution”. They are strung up on violent upheaval and showing their frustration using the fist and the gun. Some people^ knew this was wrong decades ago^. Have we completely forgotten them? Revolution is not what we need. A revolution implies a return to the status quo, but history must stop repeating itself. This can only be accomplished through evolution.

    It’s time to decriminalize “utopia”. We need to cut some slack to the few dreamers who believe we can transform our society into something greater. We need to forgive ourselves for our history and understand, once and for all, that our future is our own choice. Our history is not a song stuck on repeat. Only then, will we see the light at the end of the tunnel and can begin pushing ourselves towards it.

    And tell me, what wise leader wouldn’t enjoy knowing that he or she has empowered this species to change its course? It’s true that there are not many wise leaders today. They mirror our society, which in turns mirrors an obsolete industrialized educational system.

    The wealthy who abuse power only do so because that’s the only way they know how to cope with their inner struggles or how to derive pleasure from their existence. A significant percentage of the world’s population suffers from a disastrous lack of understanding of what happiness really is (among others: it’s not a destination, but a way of traveling through life).

    It is up to us to show what life and this world can be. But we won’t ever succeed if all we do is complain until it gets too much and then violence becomes the last resort. Nothing short of a work of art will suffice. And this work of art is the web of knowledge that is right now being spun by thoughts such as these, or these^ or these^. Countless writers in countless ways^ echo the same verdict: the time for change is near.

    The way forward is to spread this knowledge. Because those of us that understand what working together truly means are still in the minority, we must be patient, we must wait for our peers to be interested in the alternatives we come up with. The struggles ahead must be overcome together. This is the next test that evolution has laid in front of us.

    Discouraging violent response and encouraging calm and rational discussion (this is not incompatible with going out in the streets and voicing our arguments) is the only way we can write a new chapter in this species’ history, without the stains of blood and xeroxed cemeteries that come with the ravaging tides of war.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02761-FairnessInTheWorldOfEconomicInequality-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02761-FairnessInTheWorldOfEconomicInequality-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality’ desc=’People often rage at the amount of wealth various entrepreneurs have amassed. But let's give them some credit and see if we can work together.’]

  • Desert Dwellers – New Generation (feat. Darpan – Temple Step Project Remix)

    Desert Dwellers – New Generation (feat. Darpan – Temple Step Project Remix)

    Time for a hopeful look towards tomorrow. Desert Dwellers’ psybient song “New Generation” was begging for some more message. As luck would have it, Temple Step Project stepped in the project. Now, the already awesome vibes of “New Generation” are joined by a beautiful speech which integrates seamlessly with the music.

    Temple Step Project went all in for the “new generation” message and gave the song a powerful, intentful message – if at time a bit too bombastic for its own good. It’s one of the better remixes out there. Even better, courtesy of a wonderfully composed fan-video we are transported to what is and what could be. I’ll link the original song too because it’s too good not to.

    “We stand at the threshold of a great dawning.
    Something deep within life is changing.
    An era is ending.
    And at the very core of creation something new is being born.
    We are awakening from a long collective sleep.
    An in-vitro dreaming deep in the womb of our mother Earth.
    We are awakening

    […]

    Let go, and let life be you. Let life be the dancer, and simply become the dance.”

    You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase Temple Step’s album :).

    https://templestepproject.bandcamp.com/track/desert-dwellers-new-generation-temple-step-project-remix^

    YouTube (decent quality, beautiful fan-made video):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d2k6CKgtmM^

    For Spotify Users (high quality):

    http://open.spotify.com/track/5kEuLhyDDmtYJXR8ZhNPSW^

    For Deezer Users (high quality):

    http://www.deezer.com/track/36050441^

    Original version of the song:

    You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase Desert Dwellers’ album :).

    https://desertdwellersmusic.bandcamp.com/track/new-generation^

    YouTube (decent quality):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGUe6r1mLRs^

    For Spotify Users (high quality):

    https://open.spotify.com/track/3A4BWQiyXeT2QpF0DDXaUq^

    For Deezer Users (high quality):

    http://www.deezer.com/track/14118856^

    This Weekly Song entry has been brought from the FaceBook archive of Weekly Song^. This exploration was originally started through a FaceBook page, about 13 months prior to launching Mentatul. Slowly but surely, the entire FaceBook archive will be brought here.

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/01652-TempleStepDesertDwellersEmbraceTheOne-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Desert Dwellers – New Generation (feat. Darpan – Temple Step Project Remix)’ desc=’The already awesome vibes of "New Generation" are joined by a beautiful speech which integrates seamlessly with the music.’]

  • This Guy Talked to God

    This Guy Talked to God

    At long last, finally there’s somebody in our current generation that managed to talk to God! It’s been some time since this last happened, but judging by what this person wrote, he may belong to a new generation of prophets. Or maybe he’s just a good writer. Here, judge for yourself:

    http://www.fullmoon.nu/articles/art.php?id=tal^

    There’s quite a lot of interesting reading on that philosopher’s website.

    And in case his website ever goes down, I’ve saved the PDF and the text. You can find them at the links below:

    www.mentatul.com/axup/Harry Stottle – Talking to God.docx^

    www.mentatul.com/axup/Harry Stottle – Talking to God.pdf^

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/00794-TalkedToGod-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’This Guy Talked to God’ desc=’At long last, finally there's somebody in our current generation that managed to talk to God!’]