Publicly owned systems are the last exploitation frontier. Public systems are made to fail by budgetary manipulations. Solution? Public private partnerships, of course! This really means privatization of the publicly owned sphere. Inefficiencies of the public sector are replaced with privately owned crappy services at higher costs. That is so much better! From there on public treasury always pays for the necessary increases in costs without any questions or criticism. After all, business must make a profit! ;-)
They are scheming to put a toll booth on air, water, your street, etc. Perhaps one day, they will charge us for our farts. Noxious fumes will be detected by an IOT (internet of things) sensor. You know, global warming and all. For that they will just create another public private partnership! Once you switch over there is no going back!
They are constantly scaring us with “danger of fascism”, but the reality is that the totalitarian nightmare they are building is infinitely worse than anything classical fascism could have done. Contrary to the common belief, the profit motive is not the primary mover in all of this. The overarching goal is the global oligarchical merger and its neo-feudal vision with drastically reduced human populations. They are willing to do ANYTHING to achieve their dream. Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin,…, are mere clowns in comparison to the Criminals driving this change. There are no individual dictators in this system, none would be tolerated. Instead, totalitarian controls are embedded in the operating system.
This is 'empire™' returning 'home' to devour, Saturn-like, its own children in the West.
'Public-private partnerships' are nothing but the next stage of corporate tyranny (you might want to call this 'capitalism', which it is not). Private businesses appear to be incapable of out-competing Chinese ventures (financed by the same investors), which makes this doubly weird.
The 'fasco-scare' is so over at this point; let this run for a few more years and people will call for a 'strong', or 'charismatic' (Max Weber), leader to 'set things right once more'.
You write:
'You know, global warming and all. For that they will just create another public private partnership!'
In the mid-1990s, funding for universities and eq. higher education was changed.
Earlier, they got a lump sum to spend as each university saw fit (with the usual inter- and intra-disciplinary cajoling and politicking, of course, which was to the greater good in the end as it kept things competitive).
But then two things were changed, apart from funding:
A political representative was made mandatory on each university board of directors - purely advisory and only as oversight, was the excuse. In reality, they act as political kommissar (except they don't shoot people, they wreck their careers instead).
And:
Every institution had to have a board sit on each course, so that every tutor had to get the literature they had chosen approved by that board, according to such scientific criteria as race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, et cetera. Because your sexual proclivities are oh so important in molecular biology, aren't they?
But I mentioned funding. The new (current) model is, each university et c get their funding based on number of students completing courses/semesters. The more they churn, the more they earn.
Leading to nonsense-courses like "Investigating the Moomin family and their mythology" (which should be a topic for an essay in contemporary literature & popular culture, not a course as such).
Which means that the bar for entry to become (f.e) a teacher in history for what is called gymnasium in Sweden (16-20 year olds, prep. for university) is in some Teachers' Colleges low. 0.1 out of 2.0 on the test. If you do the test blindfolded, you'd (statistically speaking) get 0.3.
While my old education is worth diddley-squat. Two years of english, two years of pol sci, one year of sociology, with rhetorics, psychology, history, economy, information/communication analysis, and much more heaped on top.
All worth less than someone who's learned the course books to pass the test and can only teach from the students' book.
You're so correct on many counts but for the last one: even before that edifice has come crashing down, 'new'--really old--structures will emerge; if you'd like to peer into the future, check out New College in Florida (which Chris Rufo is re-organising by throwing out the woke) or Hillsdale College (which has partnered with Jordan Peterson). I generally recommend The City Journal in this regard.
There's no 'free market' or the like in 'education', there's but a monopoly. Monopolies, being generally bad, are even worse in 'education'.
"The main problem, as I see it, is that Western Civ, or what’s left of it anyways, has moved beyond the threshold of consequences. There are virtually no more hardships, social, economic, of otherwise (shame), associated with failure."
Yes, but only if the offending incompetence is by those belonging to particular social strata and and of particular educational attainment. If Max Musterman (regular Joe) of insubstantial means and influence messes up at entry level with entry level qualifications, there are still consequences!
It's arguably worse in the US system. I recall a visit at Washington U in St Louis in 2018 (I attended a conference with fellow early modernist scholars). At the conference dinner, a Vice Dean of whatever came and gave a 15 minute-long 'stream of consciousness':
You see, we were told, the university was putting up a new engineering (if memory serves) building, which was unneeded. The construction was due to 'store policy' of not keeping stock options (which had been donated by a former student earlier). 'We don't need the building', the Vice Dean said, 'but the donated funds were earmarked and we would not have gotten them if we didn't do it'.
These are 'the best and the brightest™', and this is why technocracy will spectacularly fail.
You know, with earlier 'battlefield promotions', Napoleon conquered Europe but failed to build lasting administrative structures. Same in the 20th century where 'old fellows' were put into positions of power, often with predictably bad outcomes.
Agree. Totally foreseeable and inevitable
It's like watching a beheaded chicken run around a bit, but the collapse is inevitable.
Yes! Exactly
So, let's all lend a hand, shall we?
We try. A little here, a little there
Publicly owned systems are the last exploitation frontier. Public systems are made to fail by budgetary manipulations. Solution? Public private partnerships, of course! This really means privatization of the publicly owned sphere. Inefficiencies of the public sector are replaced with privately owned crappy services at higher costs. That is so much better! From there on public treasury always pays for the necessary increases in costs without any questions or criticism. After all, business must make a profit! ;-)
They are scheming to put a toll booth on air, water, your street, etc. Perhaps one day, they will charge us for our farts. Noxious fumes will be detected by an IOT (internet of things) sensor. You know, global warming and all. For that they will just create another public private partnership! Once you switch over there is no going back!
They are constantly scaring us with “danger of fascism”, but the reality is that the totalitarian nightmare they are building is infinitely worse than anything classical fascism could have done. Contrary to the common belief, the profit motive is not the primary mover in all of this. The overarching goal is the global oligarchical merger and its neo-feudal vision with drastically reduced human populations. They are willing to do ANYTHING to achieve their dream. Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin,…, are mere clowns in comparison to the Criminals driving this change. There are no individual dictators in this system, none would be tolerated. Instead, totalitarian controls are embedded in the operating system.
This is 'empire™' returning 'home' to devour, Saturn-like, its own children in the West.
'Public-private partnerships' are nothing but the next stage of corporate tyranny (you might want to call this 'capitalism', which it is not). Private businesses appear to be incapable of out-competing Chinese ventures (financed by the same investors), which makes this doubly weird.
The 'fasco-scare' is so over at this point; let this run for a few more years and people will call for a 'strong', or 'charismatic' (Max Weber), leader to 'set things right once more'.
You write:
'You know, global warming and all. For that they will just create another public private partnership!'
What, then, is the IPCC?
In the mid-1990s, funding for universities and eq. higher education was changed.
Earlier, they got a lump sum to spend as each university saw fit (with the usual inter- and intra-disciplinary cajoling and politicking, of course, which was to the greater good in the end as it kept things competitive).
But then two things were changed, apart from funding:
A political representative was made mandatory on each university board of directors - purely advisory and only as oversight, was the excuse. In reality, they act as political kommissar (except they don't shoot people, they wreck their careers instead).
And:
Every institution had to have a board sit on each course, so that every tutor had to get the literature they had chosen approved by that board, according to such scientific criteria as race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, et cetera. Because your sexual proclivities are oh so important in molecular biology, aren't they?
But I mentioned funding. The new (current) model is, each university et c get their funding based on number of students completing courses/semesters. The more they churn, the more they earn.
Leading to nonsense-courses like "Investigating the Moomin family and their mythology" (which should be a topic for an essay in contemporary literature & popular culture, not a course as such).
Which means that the bar for entry to become (f.e) a teacher in history for what is called gymnasium in Sweden (16-20 year olds, prep. for university) is in some Teachers' Colleges low. 0.1 out of 2.0 on the test. If you do the test blindfolded, you'd (statistically speaking) get 0.3.
While my old education is worth diddley-squat. Two years of english, two years of pol sci, one year of sociology, with rhetorics, psychology, history, economy, information/communication analysis, and much more heaped on top.
All worth less than someone who's learned the course books to pass the test and can only teach from the students' book.
Let it burn. Then burn the ashes.
You're so correct on many counts but for the last one: even before that edifice has come crashing down, 'new'--really old--structures will emerge; if you'd like to peer into the future, check out New College in Florida (which Chris Rufo is re-organising by throwing out the woke) or Hillsdale College (which has partnered with Jordan Peterson). I generally recommend The City Journal in this regard.
There's no 'free market' or the like in 'education', there's but a monopoly. Monopolies, being generally bad, are even worse in 'education'.
"The main problem, as I see it, is that Western Civ, or what’s left of it anyways, has moved beyond the threshold of consequences. There are virtually no more hardships, social, economic, of otherwise (shame), associated with failure."
Yes, but only if the offending incompetence is by those belonging to particular social strata and and of particular educational attainment. If Max Musterman (regular Joe) of insubstantial means and influence messes up at entry level with entry level qualifications, there are still consequences!
Should have added that disclaimer, which is true: rules for thee, but not for me.
Hahaha. There is a university in Perth building a new city campus. However, the government is cracking down on foreign student visas and we have the lowest rental availability in the world. It will be bankrupt like the canteen but on a MASSIVE scale LMAO. https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/perth-now-one-of-hardest-cities-in-the-world-to-find-a-rental-20240612-p5jl5w.html
Excellent.
It's arguably worse in the US system. I recall a visit at Washington U in St Louis in 2018 (I attended a conference with fellow early modernist scholars). At the conference dinner, a Vice Dean of whatever came and gave a 15 minute-long 'stream of consciousness':
You see, we were told, the university was putting up a new engineering (if memory serves) building, which was unneeded. The construction was due to 'store policy' of not keeping stock options (which had been donated by a former student earlier). 'We don't need the building', the Vice Dean said, 'but the donated funds were earmarked and we would not have gotten them if we didn't do it'.
These are 'the best and the brightest™', and this is why technocracy will spectacularly fail.
You know, with earlier 'battlefield promotions', Napoleon conquered Europe but failed to build lasting administrative structures. Same in the 20th century where 'old fellows' were put into positions of power, often with predictably bad outcomes.
There's nothing new under the sun.