Negotiate with society or you will lose
This video presentation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hVscA3W7gI) introduces the idea that every individual HAS sovereign power over his/her own life. Therefore, it is up to him/her to negotiate a good social contract with society (or the elite and ruling class).
The book The Sovereign Individual, by Davidson and Rees-Mogg, provides more details on the economically sovereign individual and the current transformation of our world into a sociopolitical context that favors the emergence of such individuals.
One key message I got from reading the book is that individuals can be incredibly empowered by technologies, the most powerful of which is the Internet.
However, technology is only a tool. Knowledge is the real power. Self-knowledge and knowledge of how things work in society (social psychology, business, economics, politics, etc.).
After a person has gathered the key knowledge, which are not taught in any one book or any one course, he/she then has enough power to negotiate confidently with society.
For example, having more knowledge gives you the ability to create more options, and then you can choose the best option. My career strategy, throughout the 90s, has always been to generate at least two job offers so I could choose the best one.
I will write more about negotiation techniques and tactics, but the point here is that without power, you can't negotiate effectively with society. You would have to take whatever is handed to you (by your boss, your employing organization, your peers, even your friends).
Power is the basis of freedom, but the way to power can only be through knowledge.
The elite and the ruling class knows and understands that knowledge (including ideas) is power. This is why Stalin, one of the more ruthless dictators of the 20th century, said: "We would not allow our enemies to have weapons. Why would we allow them to have ideas?" As a result, he created a ministry of information and a secret police that controlled what information people have access to.
Same thing in Latin American countries where a new dictator has risen to power. His first order is to send a death squad to universities in order to "revise" the history books and install a new curriculum, enabling them to control the minds of current and future generations.
In the West, we may think that we have democracy and freedom of thought. However, this may not be true.
In dictatorships, information is controlled and highly regimented. In our "democracy", it's the reverse: there is too much information, especially with the Internet and the proliferation of media platforms (cell phones, Blackberry, websites, podcasting, etc.). As a result, people do get the information but it's mostly information that has low value, is inaccurate, or grossly irrelevant to a person's goals (assuming people do have clear goals, which is actually not the case at all - about only one person in 20 has clear written goals.).
To learn more about how you can craft your own system for gathering high-value intelligence -- keeping in mind that intelligence is "actionable information" -- read the book The Intelligence Edge by George Friedman. It's usually available at university libraries. You can also buy a copy online.
My point is simply that to get the best out of life, you have to negotiate with society. To negotiate effectively, you have to be in a position of power. To be in a position of power, you must have knowledge. To have knowledge and continually increase it, you have to stop the incoming flow of low-value information into your life (from mass magazines, TV, Internet, etc.) and create new channels (like this blog) where valuable, strategic and insightful knowledge can come to you.
The book The Sovereign Individual, by Davidson and Rees-Mogg, provides more details on the economically sovereign individual and the current transformation of our world into a sociopolitical context that favors the emergence of such individuals.
One key message I got from reading the book is that individuals can be incredibly empowered by technologies, the most powerful of which is the Internet.
However, technology is only a tool. Knowledge is the real power. Self-knowledge and knowledge of how things work in society (social psychology, business, economics, politics, etc.).
After a person has gathered the key knowledge, which are not taught in any one book or any one course, he/she then has enough power to negotiate confidently with society.
For example, having more knowledge gives you the ability to create more options, and then you can choose the best option. My career strategy, throughout the 90s, has always been to generate at least two job offers so I could choose the best one.
I will write more about negotiation techniques and tactics, but the point here is that without power, you can't negotiate effectively with society. You would have to take whatever is handed to you (by your boss, your employing organization, your peers, even your friends).
Power is the basis of freedom, but the way to power can only be through knowledge.
The elite and the ruling class knows and understands that knowledge (including ideas) is power. This is why Stalin, one of the more ruthless dictators of the 20th century, said: "We would not allow our enemies to have weapons. Why would we allow them to have ideas?" As a result, he created a ministry of information and a secret police that controlled what information people have access to.
Same thing in Latin American countries where a new dictator has risen to power. His first order is to send a death squad to universities in order to "revise" the history books and install a new curriculum, enabling them to control the minds of current and future generations.
In the West, we may think that we have democracy and freedom of thought. However, this may not be true.
In dictatorships, information is controlled and highly regimented. In our "democracy", it's the reverse: there is too much information, especially with the Internet and the proliferation of media platforms (cell phones, Blackberry, websites, podcasting, etc.). As a result, people do get the information but it's mostly information that has low value, is inaccurate, or grossly irrelevant to a person's goals (assuming people do have clear goals, which is actually not the case at all - about only one person in 20 has clear written goals.).
To learn more about how you can craft your own system for gathering high-value intelligence -- keeping in mind that intelligence is "actionable information" -- read the book The Intelligence Edge by George Friedman. It's usually available at university libraries. You can also buy a copy online.
My point is simply that to get the best out of life, you have to negotiate with society. To negotiate effectively, you have to be in a position of power. To be in a position of power, you must have knowledge. To have knowledge and continually increase it, you have to stop the incoming flow of low-value information into your life (from mass magazines, TV, Internet, etc.) and create new channels (like this blog) where valuable, strategic and insightful knowledge can come to you.
posted by Super Peter at 2:33 PM
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