EXCERPT: "THE SIMULACRUM OF UTOPIAN DECAY" (A.GLASS 2020)

 

"If we see a theory of a society clinging to an idealism of stability through two aspects

of history; 1950s and the 18th Century Utopian collectives, as portrayed in this discussion

of Utopian and the decay that it unavoidably has become. Could be seen in its reasoning,

despite the failings of the current global interaction, as a template of stability – in

comparison to Communism which did collapse in a complete manner, but, it could be said

after the so called 2008 Financial crisis, so did capitalism. If there is a desire of stability,

which as discussed in the first part of this series, it also adheres to the ‘nuclear’ family

traditionalism and practical consumption. Only in reflection of the golden era after World

War Two, which was not just confined to Capitalism, but also Communism, as most

developed countries all experienced what the French at the time called Trente Glorieuses

(Glorious 30 years) which ended in the early 1970s through the variants of economic crisis

thereafter. However this synchronized boom resonated throughout those 30 years, as a

spectral imprint from over 70 years ago, also being recopied into a Simulacrum in the 21st

Century. Fused with the Utopian aspects, over 200 years ago, through the interconnected

digital networks.

The belief that the grandeur of technology will free us and that the wealth effect of a

productive and collective society will benefit all, except these societal imprints of a past

resonance, ceased to exist a long time ago. Only this Simulacrum of Urban Decay remains

as a collapsed structure, pinned together within its fabricated design – and if we look at the

configuration of this copy, it reveals decayed aspects in a very obvious manner. One being

the global debt to Gross Domestic Product is over two hundred trillion US dollars, the

Utopian and pragmatic 1950s, government and public debt was very low, productivity and

savings were so much higher than what it is today.

After the 2008 financial crisis, instead of reining in public and government debt, it

expanded. The whole concept of the Utopian dream, which was orchestrated in the 1800s

after the French revolution was to ensure that a shared responsibility between participants

on the interconnectivity of a European Union. This became an issue when the poorer

European countries after 2008, requested that they stay within the Union asking that their

billowing government debt be forgiven or at least bailed out by the wealthy countries such

as Germany and France.

The wish of a Utopian socialist two hundred years ago and the later glorious 1950s, was

to allow wealth to be spread out with low taxes, in lieu with interest rates being relatively

balanced; for a productive industrial society to continue its contributions this would be

ideal. Of course this is all but a myth."

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Full essay/article:  "The Simulacrum of Utopian Decay" (A.Glass 2020)