Survival__ Structuring Prosperity for Yourself and the Nation - Charles George Smith [146]
Illusions of Incremental Change
We introduced the illusion of incremental change in Chapter Ten:
The State and Plutocracy respond with incremental changes (simulacrum of fundamental change) which they hope will reverse the decline without affecting their power, wealth and privilege. Alas, merely adjusting the parameters in a failing system is not enough to rescue it from collapse.
The illusion of incremental change is both an appealing self-deception and a crassly conscious attempt to dissipate political discontent.
Various analogies spring to mind: a rotting bridge, to name but one. As boards rot to the threshold of breaking, then patches are made; new boards are tacked over the rotted planks to offer the illusion of repair, even as the beams and posts of the entire bridge weaken by the day. At some critical threshold (the "tipping point" or phase shift), the entire bridge collapses, "repairs" and all.
Superficial "reforms" and repairs made for show are simulacra designed to divert attention from real reforms, and thus minimize the sacrifices required by real change.
We all want to believe that our modest incremental changes will lead to fundamental transformation; but consciously or unconsciously, we select imitations of change rather than real transformation. This provides us with the comforting illusion that all our existing perquisites can continue on untouched by real change.
Believing our own self-deception, we also present these simulacra of reform as authentic in order to win the approval of others and gain a stay from real change. This blatant manipulation never strikes the originator as deceptive or fraudulent. For having convinced themselves that a facsimile of change is equivalent to true transformation, those presenting the illusions are enjoying the best of both worlds: they believe their own deceptions (and thus suffer fewer self-recriminations) and as a result their persuasive powers are enhanced when they "sell" simulacra of reform to others as real transformation.
That the bridge will collapse is not important; what is important is that it will collapse in the future, not now. That is the ultimate power of the illusion of incremental change.
The Decline of Transactional Churn
The credit/debt-dependent financial Plutocracy and the State both prosper off what I call transactional churn--the constant purchasing and sales of new goods and services which can be taxed and which require credit transactions that then generate enormous fees.
As the economy devolves, a new feedback loop forms: as incomes drop, people save more, buy less and speculate less with what remains of their wealth. Transactional and credit-based churn--the lifeblood of both the financial/banking Plutocracy and the State--plummets in a self-reinforcing (positive feedback) decline.
This steady erosion of income is itself a structural obstacle to reform, as it limits the State's ability to service debt and thus to placate all its competing fiefdoms and dependent constituencies with more borrowing.
The High-Cost Structure Economy
Previous chapters have laid out the reasons why the U.S. economy has become a high-cost, high-overhead system: marginal returns, complacency, etc. It is worth noting that together these forces have created a top-heavy economy resistant to cost-cutting. Just trimming budgets triggers internecine warfare, as noted above, but even that process does not address bureaucratic creep, endemic insurance fraud, a legal system which burdens every business with hidden costs, high taxes, an absurdly costly and inefficient healthcare system, etc.
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